Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT2017: Anthropology of Islam

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

You will be introduced to a range of approaches to the study of the Islam, including hermeneutics, ethnography, anthropology, and history, among others. You will then apply these analytical tools to a range of historical cases to explore the diversity of Islamic lifeworlds, with an emphasis on how Islam invites us to rethink fundamental questions about what it means to be human. Through a guided research project, you will develop your own personal approach to the study of Islam and then apply that approach to a particular contemporary or historical Islamic community of your own choosing.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate familiarity with the major contemporary approaches to the study of Islam; 2. show a developed understanding of specific issues related to the study of Islam, including definitional matters, the difficulty of defining the boundaries of Islam, and the limits of text-based approaches; 3. show a developed understanding of central concerns within contemporary and historical Islamic communities like space, locality, gender, kinship, economics, modernity and secularism.
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. apply various theories and methodologies to specific cases; 5. show competence in critically assessing claims about Islam; 6. think clearly about the social, political, and anthropological implications of Islam.
Personal and Key Skills	7. communicate effectively in written and oral form; 8. engage in cross-cultural translation and comparison; 9. conduct research on a topic and organize findings in written form in a compelling manner.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

The Idea of an Anthropology of Islam
Ethnographic Approaches to the Study of Islam
Islamic Origin Narratives
The Hermeneutics of Suspicion
Islam’s Role in the Origins of ‘Western’ Civilisation
Islam, Space, and Locality
Islamic Gender and Kinship
Islamic Economics
Islamic Modernity
Islam, Secularism, and Post-Islamism

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	11	11 x 1 Hour Lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	11	11 x 1 Hour Seminars
Guided Independent Study	12	Research Paper Proposal
Guided Independent Study	56	Weekly Reading for Seminars
Guided Independent Study	20	Weekly Discussion Posts
Guided Independent Study	40	Research Paper

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).