Content

What does it mean to conduct an anthropology of Islam? Such a claim might, at first sight, seem absurd for it presupposes that there is such a thing as Islam that exists as a sui generis or an entity and can be studied. Anthropologists, so the argument goes, do not study Islam but people who self-identify as Muslims. Attention is then given to the contradictory and complex ways in which Islam becomes reproduced or re-imagined in the everyday interactions, often in combination with other normative ideals. More recently, however, a significant number of scholars have challenged this perspective by paying attention to the formative role of Islamic concepts in the self-understanding of Muslims and their imbrication within a larger and older tradition. The distinct historicity of these concepts and their continuous transformation and renegotiation at the face of the changing circumstances and lived practices of Muslims is at the heart of this scholarly endeavor. Taking cue from these debates, this course will critically engage with a question that was already posed by Talal Asad in a seminal essay in 1986: what does an anthropology of Islam look like? In the first part of this course, the contours of these debates will be sketched through an engagement with the classical and contemporary anthropological texts. The second part of this course will consist of an exploration of various themes and concrete case studies.

Course material

The readings will be made available through Toledo.

Format: more information

Discussion - Group assignment - Traditional lecture

Lectures, groupwork and discussions