ANTH 304; 304H [690A-2] MUSLIM CULTURES IN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE FALL 2007 Meeting time: T/ TH 3.30- 4.45 Meeting place: SB 104 Professor: A. K. Molnar Office Hours: T/ Th 2.00-3.00 pm Office: SB202B Office Tel: 815-753-8578 Course Description: Students are introduced to the cultures and social issues of the Islamic regions in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The course takes a comparative approach in addressing a wide range of anthropological issues, thereby exposing students to both the cultural variations and similarities across Muslim cultures. The course first provides an overview of the history, development, and spread of Islam. This general orientation lays the foundation for seminar style student discussion of focused sets of readings, films, and lectures on anthropological aspects of selected Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian cultures, including social organization, gender, marriage, law among others, in an Islamic context. Course requirements include several short essays, a library based research paper, and oral presentations. Goal of the course: The goal of the course is to raise awareness of students and educate them on the cross- cultural variations on Islam through an anthropological consideration of specific cultures from the Muslim regions of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The course also provides students with an understanding of Islam and its different traditions (Sunni, Shi’a, Sufi, Wahhabi, and briefly Salafi) and the way various societies from the Middle East to Southeast Asia have culturally adopted and have been shaped by these Islamic traditions. This course addresses a highly salient topic in our current global political environment. The issues that this course focuses on are very important in Southeast Asia Expectations of Students: Since the course is mainly a seminar style explorations of Muslim cultures, students are expected to: • regularly attend the once a week meetings, • having read and prepared to discuss all assigned readings, including leading discussions • know how to do library research (and learn if not yet) • know how to write short CRITICAL and ANALYTICAL essays and research papers (and get help from the NIU writing center if not ) • meet deadlines for essays, papers, and exam [ABSOLUTELY NO make-ups or extra credit assignments provided] NOTE: READINGS AND CLASS MATERIALS COMPLEMENT AND SUPPLEMENT EACH OTHER. THIS IS A COURSE HEAVY IN READING AND WRITING. IF YOU ARE ENCOUNTERING DIFFICULTIES DUE TO LACKING SKILLS FROM YOUR PREVIOUS ACADEMIC TRAINING, PLEASE SEEK HELP FROM: 1. STUDY SKILLS TRAINING PROVIDED BY STUDENT COUNCELLING AND 2. NIU WRITING CENTER Course requirements and grading: Several short essays, a library based research paper, and oral presentations on readings and leading of discussions. The latter requires regular attendance. Therefore grading is as follows: 4 Short critical and analytical essays based on readings: without counting full bibliography and footnotes 4-5 pages double spaced with 1 inch margins, and 12 font. Each is worth 5% towards final grade 20% of Final Grade For graduate students: 10% each; 40 % of final grade September 25 October 16 October 30 November 8 Library based research paper on cultural issues of Islam either in a Middle Eastern or a Southeast Asian culture. However, culturally comparative papers are also welcome. A research paper advances a specific thesis and is highly critical and analytical in nature; utilizing the most recent professional journal, ethnographies, dissertations, etc. as sources. Students are expected to utilize anthropological sources, however, additional sources from political sciences, sociology, history are also accepted and encouraged. Research paper should be at least 20+++ pages long and that is without counting full bibliography and footnotes. Use same formatting specifications as for short essays. The research paper is worth 45% of your final grade 45% of Final Grade For graduate students: 45 % of final grade November 29 Oral presentations and leading discussions on the assigned readings is worth 20% of the final grade. 20% of Final Grade For graduate students: 5% of Final grade Called upon in each class. One examination in early part of the course covering the materials on the Tenets, branches, and historical development of Islam. The exam is worth 15% of final grade For graduate students: 10% of final grade September 27 TOTAL: 100% Outline for the course: Week 1-2: What are the main tenets of Islam? What are the different traditions of Islam? Readings: Fealy and Hooker ch 10, 14 Week 2-4: Development and Spread of Islam Readings: Fealy and Hooker ch 11 Week 5-6: Anthropological considerations of selected Middle Eastern cultures Readings: Fernea 1989 and Elton 2006 Week 7-9: Anthropological considerations of selected Southeast Asian Muslim cultures: Southern Thailand and Malaysia Readings: Gilquin; Fealy and Hooker ch 9, 6, 12.2 Week 10-11: Anthropological considerations of selected Southeast Asian Muslim cultures: Indonesia and the Philippines Readings: Fealy and Hooker ch 5, 7, 12.1, 12.4, 13 Week 12: Anthropological issues of religious and ethnic conflict in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao in the southern Philippines Readings: McKenna Week 13: Inter-ethnic conflict in Eastern Indonesia-- Maluku, Ambon, Sulawesi: role of religion, history and recent regional autonomy Readings: Fealy and Hooker ch 15.2 Week 14-15: Current issues in Muslim cultures of Southeast Asia: the different cultural identities and challenges in Muslim minority vs. Muslim majority societies Readings: Fealy and Hooker ch 15.1 REQUIRED COURSE BOOKS: Fernea, Elizabeth Warnock 1989 [1969] Guests of the Sheik: an ethnography of an Iraqi Village. Elton, Daniel L. 2006 Culture and Customs of Iran. Gilquin, Michael 2002 The Muslims of Thailand Fealy, G. and V. Hooker 2006 Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia: A contemporary sourcebook PLEASE NOTE: RESERVED READINGS ARE READING PACKETS NUMBERED #1- 14. IT WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN CLASS WHICH OF THESE READINGS WILL BE FOR BOTH UNDERGRAD. AND GRAD. STUDENTS AND WHICH WILL BE ONLY FOR GRAD. STUDENTS. THUS THE NUMBER OF READINGS IS NOT AS EXTENSIVE (RESERVE READINGS) AS THE ABOVE LIST OF READINGS MAY SUGGEST. HOWEVER, YOU MAY ALSO UTILIZE THE RESERVE READINGS TOWARDS YOUR RESEARCH PAPER FOR THE COURSE. OTHER RECOMMENDED SOURCES: Abuza, Zachary 2003 Militant Islam in Southeast Asia:crucible of terror. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers Ahmad, Imtiaz (ed.) 1973 Caste and social stratification among the Muslims. Columbia, MO: South Asia Books Andaya, Barbara 2000 Other Pasts: women, gender and history in early modern Southeast Asia. Honolulu: Center for Southeast Asian Studies. University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Armstrong, Karen 2000 The Battle for God. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Asne Seierstad 2004 The Bookseller of Kabul. New York: Little, Brown & Company. Beatty, Andrew 1999 Varieties of Javanese Religion: An Anthropological Account. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press Bubandt, Nils and Andrea Molnar (eds.) 2004 In the shadow of conflict: Eastern Indonesia between decentralization and religious riots. Special edited volume of Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia. Casiño, Eric S. 2000 Mindanao statecraft and ecology: Moros, Lumads, and settlers across the lowland-highland continuum. Cotabato City: Notre Dame University. Dhofier, Zamahsyari 1982 The Pesantren Traditon: The Role of the Kyai in the Maintenance of Traditional Islam in Java. Tempe, Arizona:Program for Southeast Asian Studies, Arizona State University. Eickelman, Dale F. 2002 The Middle East And Central Asia: An Anthropologica Approach. 4th edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Esposito, John L. (ed) 1987 Islam in Asia: Religion, Politics, & Society. New York: Oxford University Press 1998 Islam the Straight Path. New York:Oxford University Press Horrie, Chris &Peter Chippindale 2003 What is Islam? A Comrehensive Introduction. London: Virgin Books. Kiefer, Thomas 1972 The Tausug: Violence and Law in Philippine Moslem Society. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Laffan, Michael Francis 2003 Islamic Nationhood and Colonial Indonesia: The umma below the winds. New York: Routledge Lewis, Bernard 2004 The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. New York: Random House Manderson, Lenore and Linda Rae Bennett (eds.) 2003 Violence Against Woman in Asian Societies. New York: Routledge. Manji, Irshad 2005 The Trouble With Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. Nafisi, Azar 2003 Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books. New York: Random House Suwandi, Raharjo 2000 A quest for justice: The millenary aspirations of a contemporary Javanese wali. Leiden: KITLV Press Tule, Philipus 1998 “The Indigenous Muslim Minority Group in Ma’undai (Keo) of Central Flores: Between the House of Islam and the House of Culture”. Indonesian Journal of Social and Cultural Anthroplogy. 56:68-85 Warren, James 1987 At the Edge of Southeast Asian History. Quezon City : New Day Publishers Armstrong, Karen 2002 Islam: A short History. New York: A Modern Library Chronicles Book. Madmarn, Hasan 2002 The Pondok and Madrasah in Patani. Bangi, Malaysia: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. [on reserve] Abinales, Patricio N. 2000 Making Mindanao: Cotabato and Davao in the Formation of the Philippine Nation. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Peletz, Michael G. 2002 Islamic Modern: Religious Courts and Cultural Politics in Malaysia. New Jersey: Princeton University Press Hefner, Robert W. and Patricia Horvatich (eds) 1997 Islam in an Era of Nation-States: Politics and Religious Renewal in Muslim Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Latifa 2003 My Forbidden Face: Growing up under the Taliban: A young woman’s story. Miramax Books. Chaiwat Satha-Anand 2005 The life of this world :negotiated Muslims lives in Thai society .Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Academic, 2005 NOTE: RECOMMENDED SOURCES MAYBE UTILIZED FOR THE RESEARCH PAPER IN THE COURSE.