Islam, Race, Power

Catalog description

Students will undertake a critical investigation of race and ethnicity within Islam from the classical period to the present. The course examines how different Muslims approached the concepts as well as how those concepts were applied to or imposed upon particular Muslim communities. The historical experience of Black Muslims serves as a recurring case study. Moreover, the relationship of race to power is also a central analytical theme. Topics to be discussed include the construction of race, slavery and its abolition, the Black American Muslim experience, and Muslim theologies of liberation and resistance. This course is research and writing intensive.