RL ST 116
(GH;IL)
Muslims in America (3) This course is a study of Muslims from multiple racial, cultural, and national perspectives; it explores what it means to be a Muslim in America.
RL ST 116 Muslims in America (3)
(GH;IL)
(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.
This course is a study of Muslims in the United States. It examines the multiple racial, cultural, and national groups that comprise this diverse community; we will question what it means to be a Muslim in America. It traces the trajectory of this seventh century faith as a transplanted faith in the New World. The course interrogates Islam in America starting with the historical record of the surviving Muslims that came to the shores of the Americas as African slaves and their enduring efforts to remain Muslims. Next, we examine African American Islam in its myriad formations. The influx of immigrants in the 1960s from the Arab Muslim world, Africa and Asia, including Central Asia became the second historical chronicle of Islam in America. This inquiry examines the narratives of each wave of Islam as a cultural and religious force in the development of Muslim identity in America. The course will examine how Muslim populations during each of these divergent waves confronted American pluralism, diversity and democracy. The course examines the transformation of the Islamic tradition from its origins in the Arabian peninsula to the shores of North America, including questions of authority, the growing salience of American Muslim women’s conception of gender jihad, the struggle of Muslim trans gender community to gain acceptance, institution building, and the efforts to develop an American Muslim identity. The course will also examine the musical genre of rap music with special reference to the second generation of Muslim. We will also examine the role of Islam in American prisons. The course will examine how the Islamic tradition has been adapted to the American cultural milieu and how Muslim culture is also influencing America. The course will examine how Islam and Muslim populations have been conceptualized in America before and after 9/11.
General Education: GH
Diversity: IL
Bachelor of Arts: Other Cultures
Effective: Summer 2010
Note : Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor. For these details check the specific course syllabus.