International Affairs 347 Religion and Society in the Middle East	Nathan J. Brown
Tuesdays, 7:10-9:00 pm	Office Address: 1957 E Street, Suite 512

 

REQUIREMENTS:  There are three requirements for the course. Each counts equally toward the final course grade.

·        All students are expected to complete all of the required reading and come to class regularly, prepared to discuss the topic of the week. 

·        For 8 weeks, students should submit a critical evaluation of the reading at least 24 hours before the class sessions.  Papers submitted less than 24 hours before class will be penalized; no papers will be accepted after the class session begins.  The papers should be sent to the instructor by email at nbrown@gwu.edu  They should be more than 500 words.

·        All students must submit a short paper (5-10 pages) by the final class date.  The paper should address a question related to religion and society in the Middle East and then present various scholarly views that address the question.  The question itself should be selected in consultation with the instructor; it pose a genuine puzzle and not require a purely descriptive answer.  Students should then read the equivalent of 3-4 scholarly books that address the question and write an analytical essay that compares those attempts to address the question.  Student should submit their final question and reading list by November 1; all consultation with the instructor should be completed by that date.

SCHEDULE:  Please note that the class includes a session for a guest speaker; this is reserved for a target of opportunity and therefore may be traded with another class session. In addition, the final class session will be devoted to a topic selected by the instructor after consultation with the students.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND PLAGIARISM: Students should familiarize themselves with GW’s Code of Academic Integrity: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html.  The issue that has proven most problematic in my past courses has been plagiarism.  Students should therefore take particular note of the definition of plagiarism and the procedures for violation explicated in the Code.

September 2--Introduction to the Course

September 9—Islam, Society, and Politics: Early Formulations, Modern Problems Required Reading: Asrafuddin, First Muslims

September 16—Islam, Society, and Politics: The Classical Tradition and its Relevance Required Reading:  Michael Cook, Forbidding Wrong in Islam

September 23--Islam and International Relations: The Classical Tradition and its Relevance Required Reading: Michael Bonner, Jihad

September 30—Class cancelled

October 7—Radicalism—Intellectual Approaches Required Reading:  Sayyid Qutb, Milestones

October 14—Radicalism—Political Sociology Required Reading: Wickham, Mobilizing Islam

October 21—A Contemporary Issue: Head Scarves Required Readings: John Bowen, Why the French Don’t Like Head Scarves Nathan J. Brown and Clark Lombardi, “Translation: The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt on Islamic Law, Veiling and Civil Rights: An Annotated Translation of Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Case No. 8 of Judicial Year 17 (May 18, 1996)” American University International Law Review Volume 21 (2006). Available through Blackboard

October 28—Education I Required Reading: Sam Kaplan, The Pedagogical State

November 4—Education II Required Readings: ·         Doumato, Teaching Islam ·         Other reading to be added later

November 11—Religion and Authority: The Ulama Required Reading: Muhammad Zaman, The Ulama in Contemporary Islam

November 18—Piety Required Readings: Mahmoud, Politics of Piety Other readings to be added later

November 25—Salafism and Political Movements Required Reading: Wiktorowicz, Management of Islamic Activism Other reading to be added later

December 2—Reserve class session for guest speaker

December 9 (make up)—Topic to be determined by class