ANTHRO 20N: Islam and the Idea of Europe

Course Description

Policy makers often ask whether Muslims can be integrated into Europe. The question itself presumes, often without justification, that Islam as such is foreign to Europe. This course seeks to challenge this presumption. What if the very idea of Europe was already shaped by the history of Muslim societies? How will we need to revise our basic assumptions about western civilization, especially with respect to its racial and religious foundations? We will explore these questions from a range of sites, from southern Spain, which witnessed eight centuries of Muslim rule, to the efforts of German converts to Islam who are rethinking their understandings of European enlightenment, and finally to those in France who claim belonging both as Europeans and as devout Muslims. Course materials will include readings in Anthropology, as well as several film screenings.