Module ARA3046 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ARA3046: Islam, Muslims and the Environment
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The overarching aim of this module is to provide you with a well-rounded introduction to key relationships between Islam (as a religious tradition), Muslims (as individual and institutional actors, past and present), and the environment (both in its natural state, and under the impact of the current ecological crisis). The module also aims to help you begin to appreciate how multidisciplinarity is necessary to be able to participate debates around environmental sustainability and global Muslims.
The module is recommended for multi- and inter-disciplinary pathways; and to anyone who wishes to learn the basics about ‘Islam, Muslims and the environment’, from an academic or practitioner perspective.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate familiarity with the various ways in which the environmental crisis is affecting global Muslims (at the environmental, socioeconomic and political levels), and how these are interrelated 2. Demonstrate conceptual awareness of key environmental notions/principles (ethical, juridical, practical) from the Islamic tradition 3. Demonstrate knowledge of ongoing Muslim greening processes (environmentally-focused discourses, trends, initiatives, actors, etc.); and an understanding of how these relate to each other, and to broader contexts |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Find, employ and analyse reliable (primary and secondary) data and sources from the multiple disciplines engaged through the module, which are relevant to specific issue areas 5. Develop critical arguments by applying concepts/theories/analytical approaches from different disciplines 6. Demonstrate familiarity with a multidisciplinary approach to key themes and issues related to Islam, Muslims and the environment |
| Personal and Key Skills | 7. Conduct independent work/research 8. Find, synthesise and analyse information from a wide range of sources and disciplinary perspectives 9. Demonstrate analytical writing skills, including reasoned, coherent and supported argumentation |
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:
- Today’s ecological and climate crisis (1) - Impacts on natural systems in the Muslim world
- Today’s ecological and climate crisis (2) - Impacts on human systems in the Muslim world
- Approaching the field (1) - The role of social sciences and humanities in the environmental crisis
- Approaching the field (2) – The construction of ‘Islam and the environment’ and of Muslim/’Islamicised’ environmentalisms: epistemologies, actors, strategies
- Islam and the environment (1) - The environment and the human-environment relationship in Islam’s primary sources
- Islam and the environment (2) - Islamic ‘environmental law’: preservation, use and conservation of natural resources (and animals)
- Muslims and the environment (1) – Contemporary global attitudes and trends
- Muslims and the environment (2) – Varieties of ‘Muslim environmentalisms’
- Muslims and the environment (3) – Key initiatives and organisations
- Muslims and the environment (4) – Religious authorities and institutions: ‘Green Shaykhs’, ‘Green Fatwas’, ‘Green Mosques’
- Muslims and the environment (5) – Environmental sustainability in the Muslim world: past and present
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 Activities | 22 | 11 x 2 hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 44 | Reading for seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 84 | Completion of coursework |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
https://muslimheritage.com/category/environment/
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group discussion of reading assignments, arguments presented by the lecturer, peer presentations | Weekly, 10 minutes | 1-8 | Oral feedback |
| Individual student presentation | Weekly, 10 minutes each (depending on the size of the class) | 1-8 | Oral feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay 1 | 40 | 2,000 words | 1-9 | Written feedback |
| Essay 2 | 60 | 2,000 words | 1-9 | Written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay 1 | Essay (2,000 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay 2 | Essay (2,000 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Abdul-Matin, Ibrahim. Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2010
Ahmad, Akhtaruddin. Islam and the Environmental Crisis. London: Ta-Ha Publishers, 1998.
Albrecht, Jamie. Muslim American Environmentalism: An Emerging Environmental Movement in America and its Implications. Lambert Academic Publishing, 2011
Cahan, Jean. Water Security in the Middle East: Essays in Scientific and Social Cooperation. Anthem Press India, 2017
Davis, Diana, and Edmund Burke, eds. Environmental Imaginaries of the Middle East and North Africa. Ohio University Press, 2011
Faruqui, Naser, Asit Biswas, and Murad Bino, eds. Water Management in Islam. Tokyo, Japan: United Nations University Press, 2001
Foltz, Richard C., Azizan Baharuddin, and Frederick M. Denny, eds. Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust. Cambridge, Mass.: Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2003
Foltz, Richard. ed. Environmentalism in the Muslim World. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2005
Gade, Anna M. Muslim Environmentalisms: Religious and Social Foundations. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019
Haleem, Harfiya Abdel, ed. Islam and the Environment. London: Ta-Ha Publishers, 1998.
Hancock, Rosemary. Islamic environmentalism: activism in the United States and Great Britain. Abingdon: Routledge, 2018
Husaini, S. Waqar Ahmad. Islamic Environmental Systems Engineering. London: Macmillan, 1980
Izzi Dien, Mawil. The Environmental Dimensions of Islam. Cambridge: Lutterworth, 2000
Allan, John Anthony and Chibli Mallat. Water in the Middle East: legal, political and commercial implications. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 1996
Khalid, Fazlun, and Joanne O’Brien, eds. Islam and Ecology. New York: Cassell, 1992
Khalid, Fazlun. Signs on the Earth: Islam, Modernity and the Climate Crisis. Markfield: Kube Publishing, 2019
Masri, Al-Hafiz. Animal Welfare in Islam. Markfield: Islamic Foundation, 2007
Mikhail, Alan, ed. Water on sand: environmental histories of the Middle East and North Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013
Verhoeven, Harry, ed. Environmental politics in the Middle East: local struggles, global connections. London: C. Hurst. 2018
