Representations of Islam in the West from the earliest times until the present with emphasis on enduring themes in the Western perception of Islam.
What comes to mind when you hear the word "Islam", or the word "Muslim"? Why? What
do you know about how you came to associate some ideas (and not others) with those
words? Many of the most prominent contemporary stereotypes about Islam and Muslims
have long histories in the way Europeans and Christians have responded to what they
knew of Islamic religion and Muslim peoples. This paper focuses on the ways in which
Islam has been represented in the West, locating them within this longer historical
tradition with the goal of understanding the implications of these discourses for
contemporary relationships between Muslims and others.
We begin with an examination
of the earliest encounters between Islam and the West, followed by a consideration
of enduring themes that have been carried through to the contemporary period. Drawing
on influential scholars such as Edward Said, Michel Foucault and Stuart Hall, we examine
how Islam has been constructed as the West's "Other", whether as a site of sexual
decadence to be civilised or as a military threat to be overcome. We will also contextualise
contemporary representations of Islam - from newspaper reports to science fiction
- within the legacies of colonialism, which helped produce these discourses.
| Paper title | Representing Islam |
|---|---|
| Paper code | RELS220 |
| Subject | Religious Studies |
| EFTS | 0.1500 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2020 |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $904.05 |
| International Tuition Fees (NZD) | $3,954.75 |
- Prerequisite
- 36 Points
- Restriction
- RELS 320
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Theology
- Contact
- Associate Professor Will Sweetman: will.sweetman@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
View more information on the Religion website: www.otago.ac.nz/religion
- Teaching staff
Lecturer: Will Sweetman
- Paper Structure
- The paper is divided into five main modules to reflect the five teaching weeks. The
modules weave together the historical overview of the major themes of representations
of Islam in the West with some of the important theoretical issues arising from these
representations, including the works of Michel Foucault, Edward Said and Stuart Hall.
Throughout we will focus on enduring themes carried through from these early images
into contemporary depictions in film and novels and their influence on - and reflection
of - global politics.
Assessment:- Take-home tests (2) 5% each
- Critical commentary essay 10%
- Critical response to news article 10%
- Essay 20%
- Final exam (two hours) 50%
- Teaching Arrangements
- Five 1-hour lectures per week (for distance students, lectures will be recorded using Otago Capture).
- Textbooks
- There is no textbook. A course outline will be available in print and PDF form. All readings for the paper will be made available on eReserve, which may be accessed via Blackboard.
- Course outline
- View the course outline for RELS 220
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship,
Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy,
Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- Students who successfully complete the paper will be able to
- Demonstrate a sound knowledge of the historical contexts in which Islam has been represented in the West
- Identify the persistent themes in Western representations of Islam
- Discuss the recent scholarly critique of those representations
- Contextualise contemporary use of images of Islam in Europe within the longer history of Western representations of Islam
