This course offers an upper-level overview of anthropological research on Islam and cultures of the Muslim world. In this seminar-style class, we will critically examine how anthropologists have approached the study of Islam and Muslim communities and whether there is something we can call the “anthropology of Islam.” We will approach these questions through the critical reading of challenging theoretical texts from the mid-20th to 21st century, but also by examining various manifestations of the Islamic tradition and the diversity and complexity of Muslim cultures around the world, including in sub- Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.
1.0 credit at the 300-level sociocultural anthropology course or Permission of Instructor