| CODE | ANT3041 | ||||||
| TITLE | Anthropology of Islam | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Anthropological Sciences | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Objective: An exploration of classic and contemporary approaches to the study of Islam, especially in the Mediterranean. Content: Different Islamic religiosities, such as those associated with the cult of saints, modernism, mysticism, and radicalism, will be examined with special attention paid to the interplay between power, rhetorics and social institutions. Study-Unit Aims: - To teach the distinction between Islam as faith and historicised identity (whether socio-economic or personal); - To impart an understanding of the analytical frameworks used to understand the various social and cultural lives of Muslims. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Have a preliminary knowledge of the range of Muslim religiosities and practices in the world, and how they challenge stereotypes; - Have a preliminary knowledge of the range of explanations that have been offered for the diversity; - Have a preliminary knowledge of the range of ways in which the plurality of Muslim identities are experienced. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Analysis of religion within the context of other means and of persuasion; - Analysis of the impact of states and global processes on the practice of religion, especially Islam; - Ability to weave general arguments out of particular ethnographic cases studies; - Ability to test general theories against particular case studies. Reading list: A wide range of classic and contemporary readings will be provided, including but not limited to: - Bowen, John R. A New Anthropology of Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. - Geertz, Clifford. Islam Observed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971. - Gellner, Ernest. Muslim Society. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1981. - Gilsenan, Michael, Recognizing Islam, 2nd edition, (London/Berkeley: I.B. Tauris, 2000). - Lindholm, Charles, The Islamic Middle East, revised edition, (Blackwell Publishing, 2002). - Osella, Filippo and Soares, Benjamin (eds.) Islam, Politics, Anthropology. Wiley Blackwell, 2010. - Ruthven, Malise, Islam: a very short introduction (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997). - Turner, Bryan. Understanding Islam. Edinburgh University Press, 2023. - Varisco, Daniel. Islam Obscured. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Ranier Fsadni |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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