ANTH 346
Islam and Anthropology Spring 2016
Division II
Cross-listed REL 346 / ARAB 280 / ASST 346
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

If anthropology has helped to define Islam in global thought, Islam has returned the favor, holding a critical mirror to the anthropological endeavor perhaps more than any other traditional “object” of study. This course examines anthropological studies of Islamic societies for what they teach us both about Islam and about anthropology. We begin with foundational social theorists whose studies of religious phenomena helped give rise to the field of anthropology of religion. We then survey influential efforts to construct “ideal-type” models of Muslim society based on anthropological and historical knowledge, alongside efforts to critique, historicize, and redirect the model-building project (notably by Talal Asad and Edward Said). The second half of the course is devoted to ethnographies that explore, from a variety of perspectives and in several regions (Morocco, India, Egypt, Syria), questions of human agency, hierarchy and resistance, and Islam as discursive resource, ethical project, and embodied community.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 19
Expected: 19
Class#: 3845
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: weekly postings, one 5-page paper, one 10-page paper, discussion leading
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: juniors and seniors, Anthropology, Sociology or Religion majors
Distributions: Division II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
ANTH 346 Division II REL 346 Division II ARAB 280 Division II ASST 346 Division II

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