Course Schedule

(Subject to refinement...)

Islam and Modernity

1. Introductions and Contexts
   January 8-17
   1. Abou El Fadl, Speaking, "Induction"
   2. Keddie, Chapter 1, "Religion and Society to 1800"


2. MLK day: Monday, January 15, 2005
   NO SCHOOL
   
Islam and Islamic history
4. January 17


Shiism, Iran in the 19th century

5. Jan 22-24
Readings: Keddie, chapters 2, 3, 4
6. Jan 29-31
Readings: Keddie, Chapter 5 and 6
Jan 31: Sandy Schneider: Mosaddeq
Robert Newman's History of Oil. Hilarious and enlightening! But don't expect to understand every word...
7. Feb 5-7
Readings: Keddie Chapters 7 and 8
Feb 5: Quilly Miller: Muhammad Reza Shah
Feb 7: Lecture by Emory's Dr. Rich Martin. Class will meet in the Troy Moore Library, 9th floor GCB
8. Feb 12-14

Readings: Keddie, chapters 9 & 11 (by Tuesday),
Feb 12: Evan Wing: Jalal Al-e- Ahmad
Joey Colombo: Ali Shariati
Hope Rouchi: Ayatullah Khomeini
Amberley Zamzow: Velayet-e faqih (rule of the jurisprudent)

Feb 14: Alan Norman: Abdolkarim Soroush
Readings for Soroush include the Keddie chapter above but also from e-reserves:
Abdulkarim Soroush and Critical Discourse in Iran
and Abdulkarim Soroush (Ch. 5 excerpted from Islam, Democracy, and Religious Modernism in Iran)
To read more Soroush directly, the link below is an exerpt. This is optional for the class. Tolerance and Governance: A Discourse on Religion and Democracy


9. Feb 19-21

Women in Iran
Reading: Keddie Chapter 12
Higgins, Patricia. Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Legal, Social, and Ideological Changes
"Bergmann, Barbara. Comment on Higgins's "Women in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Legal, Social, and Ideological Changes"
Higgins, Patricia. Reply to Bergmann
Tabari, Azar. The Women's Movement in Iran: A Hopeful Prognosis
(emailed as PDFs and also available on Online Reserves)


On Monday, 2/19, we will discuss in class whether the Iranian revolution should be thought of as being good for Iranian women, bad for Iranian women, or neither. You will be asked to take sides. Higgins, Bergmann and Tabari take different positions on this.


Film: Divorce Iranian Style (Wednesday, 2/21)
Analysis of Shirin Neshat's photographic collections called "Unveiling" and "Women of Allah"

10. Feb 26-28
Reading: Book of Conduct of the Holy War
Bruce Lincoln: Myth, Countermyth and the Iranian Revolution
Talk about paper topics and format

11. March 1
Last day to Withdraw
12. March 5-7
Spring Break
13. March 12-14
Ottomans, Egyptian history
Reading: Handout, read the first part by Bruce Lawrence. Also, Strange career of Pan-Arabism
14. March 19-21
Reading: Abduh (handout: and Afghani Sayyid Jamal ad-Din "al-Afghani" "The Exchange with Ernest Renan" and Chapter 5: Egypt
Beer in the Snooker Club (Discuss in class on Wednesday. Writeup due. Questions: Who is most Egyptian in this novel? What is the role of England? What is Ram's problem? How is Egypt changing? How does colonialism shape their world? Why are we reading about this book in a class on modern Islam?)
15. March 21: Norouz, Iranian new year
16. March 26-28

Readings: Sayyid Qutb: Charactaristics of the Islamic Society and the Correct Method for Its Formation Presentations: Qutb and Salafis: (Brett)
Nasir: (Neelam)
Sadat: (John C.)
Urabi Rebellion: Rustin
Muhammad Ali: (Joshua)
Abduh: Kat
Hasan al-Banna and the Brotherhood: (Joey)
Rashid Rida, continuator and developer of modern Salafism (Christopher) Status of Christians and Jews in Modern Egypt (Ash)




India/Pakistan
17. April 2-4
Read: Zaman, Ulama, Introduction and chapter 1
18. April 9-11

Zaman, 54-86

Zaman, Chapter V

e-reserves: Taliban

19. April 16-18
Moth Smoke (what does the context of Moth Smoke explain about modern Pakistan? What kind of a state is it? How do you get ahead in Pakistan? How do the characters reflect what Pakistan has become? Where is Islam in all of this?) , Qasim Zaman, Mawdudi
Jihadis (by Pankaj Mishra)
Kandahar 1994: The Origins of the Taliban
20. April 23-25
Debate among liberal Muslims over the role Islamic law with Abou El Fadl as a major player Abou El Fadl, Speaking in God's name, chapters 6 and 7 (pp. 170-263)
21. April 30
Last day of class Papers are due today


22. Final Exam
    Wednesday, May 2, 2:45 p.m