Department of History Fall 2022
Juan Cole History 497.002
Instructor: Juan Cole
Weds. 3-6
Office hrs: Mondays 2:30-3:30 by Zoom. Or by appointment.
U-M uniquename: jrcole
This course involves soundings in the intersection of American history and Islam. Substantial time will be spent on the era of slavery and the position of Islam as a slave religion during that era. It examines some aspects of Muslim presence, thought, art and social action in North America. It also looks at the ways in which American philosophical and literary traditions have engaged with Islamic themes. It is underlined that Islam has a long indigenous tradition in North America that predates Puritanism, but we do look at waves of immigration (1880-1924 and 1965-), and the place of Muslims in them. The main ethnic groups of American Islam-- African-Americans, whites and Latinos/as, Arab-Americans and South Asian Americans, will all be considered. Some attention will be given to denominations of American Islam--Nation of Islam, Sunnism, Shi`ism and Sufism. The course comes back at the end to consider the impact of Islam on youth and popular culture in the fraught era after 9/11. Grading in the class is based on class participation and evidence of having done the reading (not doing the reading or trying to coast on others' discussion is not acceptable), as well as writing at the Canvas Discussion tab when instructed, and a 15-page term paper on a subject of your choosing..
Readings:
Books at Barnes and Nobles, Wolverine Access outlets
Diouf, Sylviane Anna, Servants of Allah African Muslims enslaved in the Americas, New York University Press, 2015 ISBN 1479847119
Lalami, Laila, The Moor's Account, Vintage, 2015. ISBN 978-0804170628
Little, Malcolm, with Alex Haley. The autobiography of Malcolm X, Ballantine Books, 1998 [1965]. ISBN 9780345350688
G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal, Marvel Comics, October 28, 2014.
Aug. 31 Orientation: Islam and American History
Sept. 7 Andalusian Heritage
John O. Voll, “Islam,” Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, 2010. p1381-1388.Anne B. Allen, “Estevanico the Moor,” History.net, August 1997.
Leila Lalami, The Moor’s Account
Sept. 14 African Islam and American Enslavement
Diouf, Servants of Allah, chaps. 1-3
Sept. 21 Film: Roots (2016).
Sept. 28 Rebellion and the Legacy of Enslaved Muslims
Diouf, Servants of Allah, chaps. 4-6“Autobiography of Omar ibn Said, Slave in North Carolina, 1831,” ed. John Franklin Jameson, The American Historical Review, 30, No. 4. (July 1925), 787-795
Oct. 5 American Enlightenment and Islam
Juan Cole, “The US Founding Fathers on Islam.” Juancole.com.Kevin J. Hayes, “How Thomas Jefferson Read the Qur'ān,” Early American Literature, 39, 2 (2004): 247 – 261
Jeffrey Einboden, "‘Minding the Koran’ in Civil War America: Islamic Revelation, US Reflections," Journal of Qur'anic Studies / List of Issues / Volume 16, Issue 3.
Jeffrey Einboden, "The Early American Qur'an: Islamic Scripture and US Canon," Journal of Qur'anic Studies, Volume 11, Issue 2.
Juan Cole, "That Time when Muslim Tunisia advised the Antebellum US to Abolish Slavery." Informed Comment, 11/1/2017.
Washington Irving, Legend of the Arabian Astrologer, Tales of Alhambra (1832)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, ”Persian Poetry, The Atlantic (1858)
Oct.12 Islam and Immigration from 1850
Kemal H. Karpat, “The Ottoman Emigration to America, 1860-1914,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2 (May, 1985), pp. 175-209.Michael W. Suleiman, “The Arab Community in the United States: A Review and an Assessment of the State of Research and Writing on Arab Americans,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Apr 2010), pp. 39-55.
Sarah Gualtieri, “Becoming "White": Race, Religion and the Foundations of Syrian/Lebanese Ethnicity in the United States,” Journal of American Ethnic History, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Summer, 2001), pp. 29-58
Patrick D. Bowen, “U.S. Latina/o Muslims Since 1920: From ‘Moors’ to ‘Latino Muslims’,” Journal of Religious History Vol. 37, No. 2 (June 2013): 165-184.
Oct. 19 Nation of Islam and Malcolm X
Autobiography of Malcolm X, chaps. 1-13
NB. Watch "Malcolm X," directed by Spike Lee sometime before our discussion (streaming on Google Play, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, etc.)
Oct. 26 Malcolm X
Autobiography of Malcolm X, Chaps. 14-19Abdin Chand, “Islam in the African American Community: Negotiating between Black Nationalism and Historical Islam,” Islamic Studies, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Summer 2008), pp. 221-241
Nov. 2 Sufism
Marcia Hermansen, “Hybrid Identity Formations in Muslim America: The Case of American Sufi Movements,” The Muslim World, 90, 1‐2 (Mar. 2000):158-197.William Rory Dickson, “An American Sufism:The Naqshbandi-Haqqani Order as a Public Religion,” Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses 43, 3 (2014):411–424.
Rosemary R. Hicks, “Translating Culture, Transcending Difference - Cosmopolitan Consciousness and Sufi Sensibilities in New York City after 2001,” Journal of Islamic Law and Culture 10, 3 (2008): 281-304.
Amira El-Zein, “Spiritual Consumption in the United States: The Rumi phenomenon,” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 11, 1 (2010): 71-85.
Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, Poems:
Juan Cole, What is Sufism? pt. 1
Nov. 9 Muslim Arab-Americans and South Asian Americans
Sunaina Maira, “Flexible Citizenship/Flexible Empire: South Asian Muslim Youth in Post-9/11 America,” American Quarterly 60, 3 (2008): 697-720.Marcia Hermansen and Mahruq F. Khan, “South Asian Muslim American Girl Power: Structures and Symbols of Control and Self-Expression,” Journal of International Women's Studies, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, (Nov 2009): 86-105.
Casey Primel, Anupama Rao, and Susanna Ferguson, “On Artists and Artisans: The Experimental Worlds of Shahzia Sikander,” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East Volume 35, Number 3, December 2010.
Shahzia Sikander Artwork
Marwa Shoeb, Harvey Weinstein, Jodi M. Halpern, “Living in Religious Time and Space: Iraqi Refugees in Dearborn, Michigan,” Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 20, Issue 3 (9/2007): 441 – 460.
Moulouk Berry, “Divorce in an Islamic American Context: Muslim Lebanese-American Women Navigating Religious and Civil Legal Systems,” Hawwa, Volume 8: Issue 1 (2010):
Nov. 16 September 11 and the Rise of Islamophobia
Sally Howell and Andrew Shryock, “Cracking Down on Diaspora: Arab Detroit and America's ‘War on Terror’," Anthropological Quarterly Vol. 76, Issue 3 (2003):443 – 462Louise Cainkar, “The Social Construction of Difference and the Arab American Experience,” Journal of American Ethnic History Vol. 25, No. 2/3, (Winter - Spring, 2006), pp. 243-278.
Yaser Ali, “Shariah and Citizenship—How Islamophobia Is Creating a Second-Class Citizenry in America,” California Law Review Vol. 100, Issue 4 (2012):1027–1068.
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “The post-9/11 Hijab as icon,” Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review Vol. 68, Issue 3 (2007):253 – 267
Asma Afsaruddin, “How I Explained to My Impressionable Student That Islam Is Not Monolithic,” Huffington Post, Dec 06, 2017
Nov. 23: Weds. Before Thanksgiving: Films and class discussion at Discussion tab on Canvas.
Nov. 30 Muslim Cool
Christopher W. Chase, “Prophetics in the Key of Allah: Towards an Understanding of Islam in Jazz,” Jazz Perspectives Vol. 4, Issue 2 (2010): 157 – 181.Su'ad Abdul Khabeer, “Hip Hop Matters: Race, Space, and Islam in Chicago, City&Society, 27 June 2018.
Freeway, “Think Free.”
G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal, Marvel Comics, October 28, 2014.
Amarnath Amarasingam, “Laughter the Best Medicine: Muslim Comedians and Social Criticism in Post-9/11 America,” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs Vol. 30, Issue 4 (2010): 463 - 477
Changing stereotypes through laughter- Maz Jobrani
Ford Foundation: "Performances by Atheer Yacoub and Dean Obeidallah"
Dec. 7 Final In-Class Discussion
Term Paper Due December 14
Academic Integrity Policy: History 231 follows the academic integrity guidelines set forth by the College of LSA Academic Integrity site. Students should familiarize themselves with this document, which explains the standards of academic integrity and clarifies the prohibited forms of academic misconduct. Students in History 231 should utilize the Chicago Manual of Style Online [or alternative guides] for all issues of source citation, along with any specific guidelines provided in the course assignments. Clarifying the disciplinary standards of research ethics and source citation is part of the educational mission of this course, and students should consult the faculty instructor and/or GSI regarding any questions. The penalties for deliberate cases of plagiarism and/or other forms of academic misconduct are failing the course. Cases that the instructor judges to be particularly serious, or those in which the student contests the charge of academic misconduct, will be handled by the office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education. All cases of deliberate academic misconduct that result in formal sanctions of any kind will be reported to the dean's office, as required by LSA policy, which also ensures due process rights of appeal for students.
This class requires being vaccinated and the wearing of a mask during class, in accordance with LSA guidelines. If any student declines to comply, the person will be reported to LSA for disciplinary procedures and the class will be adjourned for that day. The College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) aims to deliver its mission while seeking to protect the health and safety of our students and minimizing the spread of disease within the community. All students are required to comply with all LSA policies, including any public health guidance related to COVID-19. The very nature of an in-person educational experience in LSA means our faculty, staff and students will be exposed to contagious viruses, including the coronavirus. LSA is committed to public health and similarly expects that all students will act in a manner that demonstrates respect and consideration for the health and safety of all community members. Students are prohibited from creating a health or safety hazard in connection with any LSA programs or activities. Students are also required to comply with public health guidance, including any protocols, guidelines or policies adopted by the University or LSA that relate to COVID-19 or other infectious diseases. This guidance will evolve as the public health crisis unfolds and may include the following: health screening protocols, participation in contact tracing, use of face coverings, COVID-19 diagnostic testing, disinfection protocols, limitations on gatherings, and social distancing. Adherence to health and safety requirements applies to all LSA students and extends to all aspects of the facilities, labs, classrooms, bathrooms and other spaces within the college, on LSA/University property, or at LSA sponsored events/programs.
Return to Juan R.I. Cole Syllabi.
WebMaster: Juan R.I. Cole