Seminar in Middle East and North African Studies (301-3-20)
Topic
Traveling while Muslim: Islam, Mobility, and Secur
Instructors
Emrah Yildiz
1819 Hinman Ave, #103
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1-3pm
Meeting Info
University Hall 418: Tues, Thurs 5:00PM - 6:20PM
Overview of class
Particularly after the 9/11 attacks and during the war on terror that has ensued shortly thereafter, Muslim on the move—ranging from international students, pilgrims as well as scientists and artists—have continued to face increasingly scrutiny and surveillance in both global travel economies and national immigration regimes. These regimes gained even more important under the rule of authoritarian leaders in power across the globe from the US to India. What often unites Modi's India and Trump's United States is Islamophobia—albeit in different guises—as racialization of Islam and Muslims continues to punctuate our current era. What are the stakes of traveling while Muslim in that post 9/11 era of racing Islam? How do we come to understand such mobility? What assumptions underpin the attendant construction of Islam in such understandings, as various state and non-state actors enlist themselves to manage the movements of Muslims, specifically and exceptionally? In probing these questions, amongst others, in this seminar we aim to examine the interlocked relationship between Islam, mobility and security. We have three aims in front us: (1) becoming well-versed in studies of Islam and Islamophobia in the US and across the globe, (2) gaining a better understanding of Islam as a center tenet in a deeply uneven and racialized regime of ‘global' mobility, and lastly, (3) critically analyzing global and local designs of security that underpin and manage those differential regimes of mobility.
Evaluation Method
Students will be evaluated on the basis of two 6-to-8-page papers (50%) and class participation (50%). Attendance and active participation are mandatory: unexcused absences will affect your grade, as will non-participation in discussion.
Class Materials (Required)
All required text with the exception of book-length manuscripts can be found under files on the course website.
Lale Can, 2020. Spiritual Subjects: Central Asian Pilgrims and the Ottoman Hajj at the End of Empire. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN-13 : 978-1503611160.
Darryl Li, 2019. The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire and the Challenge of Solidarity. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN-13 : 978-1503610873.
Junaid Rana, 2011. Terrifying Muslims: Race and Labor in the South Asian Diaspora. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0822349112.
Class Notes
Undergrad only