Spring 2021

ARAB-406 /INAF-406: Slavery and Islam

Taught by Jonathan A.C. Brown
Mondays 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | ICC 270

The following are understatements: slavery and its global legacy have been in the news; and Islam always seems to be in the news. And ‘Islam & slavery’ has been in the news.  When ISIS achieved prominence in 2014, Western audiences were stunned by the movement’s revival of enslaving prisoners of war. Many, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, were shocked at ISIS’ justification of slavery with reference to Islam’s scriptures and laws.  But the debate over Islam & slavery is much older, going back centuries.  It forms part of the global history of the phenomenon called slavery, a phenomenon that is as controversial at the level of academic study as it has been in its real-world manifestations. 

This course will examine efforts of philosophers and scholars to describe, justify or criticize a spectrum of phenomena we call slavery.  It will place the Islamic tradition within this setting, charting the history, laws and practices of slavery in Islamic civilization, following it all the way up to debates over abolition and the efforts of some to revive slavery today.

ARAB-443 /INAF-426: Readings in Fatwa Literature 

Taught by Jonathan A.C. Brown
Wednesdays 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | ICC 270

This class will investigate the important Islamic thought genre of fatwas, or legal response. It will involve in-depth reading in the Arabic sources, discussion of their contents, and a survey of existing scholarship on the subject.

INAF-233: Racialization of Religion

Taught by Tamara Sonn
Tuesdays / Thursdays 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. | ICC 270

This seminar explores the intersection of religious, racial, ethnic, and class prejudice and its/their impacts in the U.S. and beyond. The course is discussion driven. Students will discuss assigned readings weekly, develop their own research questions, and present their preliminary findings to the seminar. They will then develop these findings into a final research paper. Grades will be based on participation in weekly discussions (30%), presentation of research question and preliminary findings (30%), and final research paper (40%). This course fulfills the requirement for Core: Diversity/Domestic and Core: Diversity/Global, and counts as a core course for SFS/CULP, and College/SFS/REWA Area 3.