Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2021 - HIST 469 D100

Islamic Social and Intellectual History (4)

Class Number: 4366

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 8 – Dec 7, 2021: Fri, 12:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units including nine units of lower division history. Recommended: one of HIST 249 or 352.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Advanced analysis of specific problems in Islamic social and intellectual history, with an emphasis on traditional patterns and on their transformation in the modern world.

COURSE DETAILS:

Recent years have seen a resurgence of a politically and socially activist Islam throughout the Muslim world.  This seminar seeks to examine the textual, conceptual, and contextual background to this activism.  We will explore some of the ideas in foundational texts concerning political and social action, focusing on the concepts of khilafa (“caliphate”), umma ("community"), 'adl ("justice"), zulm ("tyranny"), jihad ("activism"), fitna ("revolt"), ridda (“apostasy”), munafiq (“hypocrisy”), hijra (“immigration”), and hijab (“gendered structures”). We will explore how these concepts are invoked and transformed in particular contexts, beginning with the eighteenth century. A wide range of modern political and social movements in various parts of the Muslim world will then be subjected to analysis, including movements of resistance against Muslim imperialism or European colonialism, movements of modernist accommodation, and movements of resistance against Muslim national states and elites.  How do these movements differ?  What do they share? To what extent do the new contexts of declining Muslim power, European hegemony, and post-colonial nationalism affect the re-appraisals of the contested texts and concepts? Special attention will be devoted to textual resources and contextual background.

Grading

  • Textual Essay 15%
  • Intellectual Essay 15%
  • Historiographical Essay 10%
  • Participation 20%
  • Islamic Movement Essay (Final Paper) 40%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Ira Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies (Cambridge University Press, 2014) [ISBN 0521732972]

Additional weekly sources made available through Canvas


Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

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TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2021

Teaching at SFU in fall 2021 will involve primarily in-person instruction, with approximately 70 to 80 per cent of classes in person/on campus, with safety plans in place.  Whether your course will be in-person or through remote methods will be clearly identified in the schedule of classes.  You will also know at enrollment whether remote course components will be “live” (synchronous) or at your own pace (asynchronous).

Enrolling in a course acknowledges that you are able to attend in whatever format is required.  You should not enroll in a course that is in-person if you are not able to return to campus, and should be aware that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who may need class or exam accommodations, including in the context of remote learning, are advised to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112) as early as possible in order to prepare for the fall 2021 term.