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Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (390-0-22)

Topic

Beyond the 'Helpless Muslims' Trope: Islam, Gender

Instructors

Febi Rizki Ramadhan

Meeting Info

University Hall 312: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Do Muslim women, queer Muslims, and transgender Muslims need savings? How does the "West" portray Muslim women and queer and transgender Muslims? Is the headscarf oppressive or emancipatory? Can a Muslim be religiously devout and embrace queerness at the same time? This undergraduate seminar introduces students to the relationships between Islam, gender, and sexuality in the contemporary world. Given the nature of the discussion, this course is interdisciplinary at heart—at the very least, we will engage with scholarships in gender and sexuality studies, Islamic studies, Islamic feminism, queer Islamic studies, and the anthropology of Islam. Throughout different cross-cutting themes, we will discuss: (1) how Islamic texts portray gender and sexual diversity; (2) how the "West" and liberal traditions imagine gender and sexual minority within the Muslim population—including, but not limited to, women, queer, and transgender individuals; and (3) how Muslim women, queer Muslims, and transgender Muslims have lived through the constructed incompatibility between Islam and gender and sexual diversity. This course aims to deterritorialize discussions on Islam, gender, and sexuality by not only looking at Middle Eastern and North African contexts but also reading through the various renditions and expressions of Islam, gender, and sexuality in Southeast Asia, Europe, South Asia, and the Americas. Given that this is an advanced undergraduate seminar, a basic understanding of Islam is expected.