ANTHROPOLOGY OF ISLAM

Anthropology of Islam is part of the master's degree course in Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology, Ethnolinguistics. The course aims to familiarize students with the anthropological study of Muslim societies and with Islam as an anthropo-poietic project. During the course we will discuss some of the main theoretical approaches and conceptual issues in the anthropology of Islam from the 1970s to the present day, making extensive reference to concrete ethnographic cases.

The study of the required readings, along with regular attendance (recommended) and active participation in classroom seminar discussions, will allow students to obtain the following results:
1. Knowledge and comprehension:
• To become acquainted with the main themes and problems of the anthropology of Islam;
• To engage with case studies from the Mediterranean, to the "Balkan-to-Bengal complex," to Central Eurasia;
• To become aware of theoretical currents and research tools.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension:
• To apply the tools of the anthropology of Islam to concrete case studies;
• To interpret different case studies in a comparative framework sensitive to complexity.
3. Capacity for evaluation:
• To be able to produce plausible interpretative hypotheses in relation to ethnographic problems and encounters (in the literature or direct) with Islamic practices;
• To approach the literature critically, identifying open questions in the discipline as well as the limitations and strengths of each theoretical approach.
4. Communicative abilities:
• To be able to communicate complex ideas during discussions (in class), in written form (essay), and during the oral exam;
• To be able to master the specialized vocabulary of the discipline and apply it to concrete cases.
5. Learning capacity:
• To interpret case studies by applying anthropological tools;
• To engage with academic literature correctly and critically;
• To formulate, communicate, defend, and modify original hypotheses;
• To constructively intervene in intellectual conversations.

Knowledge of the basics of anthropological methods and theories is expected (students who have not taken any introductory or MA-level anthropology course are invited to contact the teacher in advance). Knowledge of the English language is required. Interest in the Islamic world and/or comparative religions is taken as a matter of course. Any knowledge of area (linguistic, geographical, historical, IR, etc.) relating to Muslim-majority regions is welcome, but not expected or mandatory.

The course aims at exploring Islam as a matrix for the production of human beings (anthropo-poiesis), resulting in a variety of its social outcomes. The course is articulated around four macro-themes:

Islam: civilization and/or ethical tradition?
The political life of Islamic virtue
Islamic places, practices, and economies
The Muslim subject: does it exist, who is it, how many are there?

The reading materials for the exam will be made available on Moodle. Any minor changes to the syllabus will be notified in class (applies to attending students only). Further (optional) readings will be suggested during the lessons and made available separately.

SEE BELOW FOR SYLLABUS

READINGS FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS

1) One of these two volumes:
Bowen J. 2012, A New Anthropology of Islam, Cambridge University Press.
Copertino D. 2017, Antropologia politica dell’Islam, Edizioni di pagina.

2) Reading materials (see Moodle):
Gellner E. 1981, Muslim Society, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (chapter 1: ‘Flux and reflux in the faith of men’, pp. 1-21, 35-48).
Geertz C. 2001, ‘The Near East in the Far East: On Islam in Indonesia’, Occasional Papers of the School of Social Sciences (12).
Asad T. 2009 (1981), ‘The Idea of an Anthropology of Islam’, Qui Parle 17 (2), 1-30.
Mahmood S. 2001, ‘Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Subject’, Cultural Anthropology, 16 (2), 202-236.
Hirschkind C. 2001, ‘The Ethics of Listening: Cassette-Sermon Audition in Contemporary Egypt’, American Ethnologist, 28 (3), 623-649.
Schielke S. 2009, ‘Being good in Ramadan: ambivalence, fragmentation, and the moral self in the lives of young Egyptians’, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 15 (1), S24-S40.
Mittermaier A. 2012, ‘Dreams from Elsewhere: Muslim subjectivities beyond the trope of self-cultivation’, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 18 (21), 247-265.
Rudnyckyj D. 2009, ‘Spiritual Economies: Islam and Neoliberalism in Contemporary Indonesia’, Cultural Anthropology 24/1, 104-141.
Osella F. and Osella C. 2009, ‘Muslim Entrepreneurs in Public Life between India and the Gulf: Making Good and Doing Good’, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 15 (S1).
Benussi M. 2020, ‘Public spaces and inner worlds: Emplaced Askesis and architectures of the soul among Tatarstani Muslims’, Ethnicities, 20 (4), 685-707.

READINGS FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

1) Two of these four volumes:
Marranci G. 2008, The Anthropology of Islam, Oxford/New York: Berg.
Bowen J. 2012, A New Anthropology of Islam, Cambridge University Press.
Chebel M. 2012, Il corpo nell’Islam, Argo.
Copertino D. 2017, Antropologia politica dell’Islam, Edizioni di pagina.

2) Reading materials (see Moodle):
SEE READING LIST FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS, POINT 2
The reading materials are the same. For any questions, please email the course instructor.

1) Active participation in class (for attending students), including a presentation on a topic of choice in collaboration with other students and upon pre-approval by the instructor. 20% of the final grade.
2) Written report on a topic of choice (other than that of the oral presentation) to be pre-approved by the instructor. 50% of the final grade.
3) Oral exam. 30% of the final grade (50% for non-attending students).

1) The course is articulated in a series of seminar meetings supplemented frontal teaching and additional assignments. Attending students are expected to prepare for each meeting on the basis of a list of topics circulated at the beginning of the course. Reading materials will be made available on the Moodle platform. Students will give presentations (individually or in groups depending on numbers) on subjects of choice and will be asked to actively contribute to class discussions. Further details will be provided at the beginning of the course.

2) Students will write an essay (in English or Italian) on a topic touched upon during the course. Essays will engage with the reading materials and/or, optionally and upon consultation with the instructor, other (relevant) sources. Essays must be handed in at least two weeks prior to the oral exam. A good essay will not merely regurgitate the contents of its sources but will critically reflect on ethnographic cases and analytical approaches. Essays should follow the stylistic parameters and editorial rules of anthropological journals. Further details will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Italian

Teaching language
Italian. Reading materials in English.

Type of exam
Oral and written (see above). English-language options available.

Other information
Class attendance is highly recommended. Both attending and non-attending students must agree on the topic of the essay with the instructor before embarking on it. Essays must be submitted by the deadline, that is, at least fifteen days prior to the oral exam.

written and oral