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HU Credits:
2
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Asian Studies
Semester:
1st Semester
Teaching Languages:
English
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Dr. Mirjam Lucking
Coordinator Office Hours:
Mondays 14:00-16:00
Teaching Staff:
Dr. Mirjam Lucking
Course/Module description:
This course explores the question, what it means to be Muslim, from an anthropological perspective. The study of “everyday lived religion” (Buitelaar 2015: 18), considers how religion works within “the social world” (Kreinath 2012: 1). Everyday lifestyle choices, clothing trends, opinions about what is aesthetic and entertaining, gender relations and food preferences are negotiated and interrelated with religious teachings and interpretations.
Course/Module aims:
The course will give a general introduction to the "Anthropology of Islam" and discuss classic and contemporary anthropological studies on Islam in Indonesia. The aim of the course is to understand 1) theoretical and methodological approaches of the “Anthropology of Islam”, 2) reflect about them and 3) gain knowledge about the variety of Muslim cultures in the Malay-Indonesian world.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to differentiate anthropological approaches to the study of religion from other approaches, such as theology, history, and political science. Studying exemplary case studies on Islam in Indonesia allows to identify parallels in the study of other religions in other regions. Furthermore, students will gain understanding of the complexity and diversity of Islam in Indonesia, including peoples’ everyday experiences and contemporary public controversies.
Attendance requirements(%):
90
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Lecture, preparatory readings, one reading summary, quizzes, group work on visual and audio material for examples of Muslim cultures in Indonesia, short presentation, take-home exam.
Course/Module Content:
Part I: Anthropological approaches (4 sessions)
- Overview on the “Anthropology of Islam” and its relation to the “Anthropology of Religion” more generally
- Clifford Geertz’s “The Religion of Java” and reactions on Geertz
- Talal Asad’s theory on “Discursive Traditions” and reactions on Talal Asad
- Contemporary approaches in the anthropological study of Islam: Theories and methodologies
- Quiz: Differences between anthropological approaches and other approaches
Part II: Historical-anthropological perspectives on Islam in Indonesia (3 sessions)
- Overview: The arrival of Islam in Indonesia, localizations and diversifications
- Abaza, Mona. 2007. “More on the Shifting Worlds of Islam. The Middle East and Southeast Asia: A Troubled Relationship?”
- Formichi, Chiara: “Islam and the making of the nation.”
Part III: Contemporary Muslim cultures in Indonesia (7 sessions)
- Contemporary streams of Islam and Muslim organizations in Indonesia
- Anthropological studies on culture and customs, ritual practices, music, art, fashion, entertainment, digital social media, food, consumption
Required Reading:
Geertz, Clifford. 1967: The Religion of Java (excerpts)
Asad, Talal. 1986: The idea of an anthropology of Islam.
Anjum, Ovamir. 2007: Islam as discursive tradition.
Berger, P. (ed.), Buitelaar, M. (ed.) & Knibbe, K. (ed.), 2019: Religion as Relation: Studying Religion in Context. (excerpts)
Abaza, Mona. 2007: “More on the Shifting Worlds of Islam. The Middle East and Southeast Asia: A Troubled Relationship?”
Kloos, David. 2017. Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority and Ethical Improvement in Aceh, Indonesia (excerpts)
Schlehe, Judith, and Eva F. Nisa. 2016: “The Meanings of Moderate Islam in Indonesia: Alignments and Dealignments of Azharites.”
Jones, Carla. 2010. “Materializing Piety: Gendered Anxieties About Faithful Consumption in Contemporary Urban Indonesia.”
Sutton, Anderson R. 2011. “Music, Islam, and the Commercial Media in Contemporary Indonesia.”
Additional Reading Material:
Laffan, Michael 2011: The Makings of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the Narration of a Sufi Past (excerpts)
Formichi, Chiara: Islam and the making of the nation (excerpts)
Alatas, Ismail Fajrie. 2016: “The Poetics of Pilgrimage: Assembling Contemporary Indonesian Pilgrimage to Ḥaḍramawt, Yemen.”
Slama, Martin. 2012: “‘Coming down to the Shop’: Trajectories of Hadhrami Women into Indonesian Public Realms.”
Bowen, John R. 2008. “Intellectual Pilgrimages and Local Norms in Fashioning Indonesian Islam.”
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 50 %
Presentation 10 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 10 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 10 %
Other 20 %
Active participation and group work
Additional information:
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