Course title | Islam and the West |
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Course code | KHI/IW |
Organizational form of instruction | Lecture + Seminary |
Level of course | Master |
Year of study | not specified |
Semester | Summer |
Number of ECTS credits | 5 |
Language of instruction | English |
Status of course | Compulsory-optional |
Form of instruction | Face-to-face |
Work placements | This is not an internship |
Recommended optional programme components | None |
Course availability | The course is available to visiting students |
Lecturer(s) |
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Course content |
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Learning activities and teaching methods |
unspecified |
Learning outcomes |
This course is taught in English. All reading and audio-visual material will be in English. All lectures will be supported by rich Prezi slides to which students will have semester-long access. Content and objectives The presence of Muslims in Europe as permanent residents was unimaginable for Europeans until the recent past. However, the third and fourth generations of Muslims are born and raised across the old continent today. According to census reports of local governments, 14% of the population in Amsterdam are Muslims, while the number in Antwerp is 16,9% and in Berlin 9%. The quarter of populations in Birmingham and Bradford in England are also Muslim according to numbers provided by local authorities. Rotterdam and London have Muslim mayors since 2009 and 2016 respectively. Many other cities across Europe has remarkably high numbers of Muslim population. Many Muslims in Europe are permanent residents or citizens of their countries and most stay in their country of residence for a lifetime. In light of these data, this course will have roughly two halves and two aims: - The first half of the course (first six/seven weeks) tells the story of the relations between Muslim societies and Europe. Chronologically, this first half provides an overview of the interactions and exchanges between the two worlds from the birth of Islam in the seventh century to the Ottoman modernization in the nineteenth century. The aim of the first half is to show students that the history of Muslim-European encounters is not simply a history of conflict. In fact, just as twenty-first-century Europe is a safe home for millions of Muslims, the pre-modern Islamic empires were once homes for Christians and Jews. - The second half of the course (second six/seven-week period) focuses on the present-day issues in Europe: In light of the most recent data and figures and with frequent references to the individual stories of many European Muslims, the second half of the course is designed to be a discussion platform about the circumstances and challenges surrounding Muslim lives in a modern and secular Europe. The following are some of the questions that are broadly discussed during the semester: - Are we today witnessing an unprecedented era in the relations between Islam and Europe? - To what extent are the recent globally influential encounters and interactions between Europe and a large variety of Muslim actors a continuation of the past? - Is the history of the relations between Europe worlds a story of conflict? - In what areas did the two parties influence or contribute to each other's development? - Are the Muslim refugees who flooded Europe in recent years a new phenomenon in the Old Continent? - Does Turkey belong to Europe? - How come London and Rotterdam have Muslim mayors, while non-Muslim mayors in Istanbul, Cairo, or Islamabad are inconceivable today? I strongly encourage all students registered in the class to actively participate in the class and bring forward their personal perspectives on present-day issues regarding the Muslim presence in their country of origin and in the broader Western world.
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Prerequisites |
unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria |
unspecified
Grading: Your final grade will be determined based on your performance on three separate assignments. 1. (25% of final grade, individual) The first assignment is an in-class presentation of an academic book about the relations between Islam and the West writ large. This book can be in your native language or in English. For this assignment, you should read the book in its entirety and present the book in class. I urge everyone to prepare a ppt. presentation for this assignment which you will submit to me after the presentation. The assignment should: - Shortly explain who the author is, his/her career, and why a book written by that author is worthy of attention and analysis. Don't just pick any author; make sure that you picked an author who is credible and possesses authority on the topic s/he his writing about. - First, you should summarize the arguments and thesis of the book. Why did the author write the book? Who is the intended audience? What are the central and secondary arguments/thesis of the book? - Next, you should make a structural presentation of the book: How many parts and chapters are there? What are the topics of each chapter? How does the topic of each chapter relate to the argument of the book? Here, you should evaluate if the book does a good job of substantiating the arguments and thesis of the book via evidence. Some of the questions you may answer are: Are some chapters better composed than others? Does the book need further evidence? Are some chapters unnecessary? - In the end, revise the argument and thesis of the book. Do you think the book delivers an important message? A brief Q&A session will follow the presentation. Your presentation should be approximately 10 minutes long. (More guidelines on Moodle) I will provide a detailed reading guideline. |
Recommended literature |
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Study plans that include the course |
Faculty | Study plan (Version) | Category of Branch/Specialization | Recommended semester | |
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Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA21) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA20) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA23) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA24) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA19) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): History (2019) | Category: History courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2023) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): History (2019) | Category: History courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2023_S24) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA24) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA20) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA19) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA21) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA22) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2023_N24) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2019) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA22) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Education | Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA23) | Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): History (2019) | Category: History courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): History (2012) | Category: History courses | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |