Description
Cultivating piety or aiming at excellence in religious activities is a central concern of many Muslim women today. Their religiosity is often understood in terms of fundamentalism, backwardness, women’s subordination to patriarchal norms, and the incompatibility of Islam and modernity. This course offers an in-depth analysis of the relationship between piety, modernity and gender through the study of two path-breaking ethnographies, Saba Mahmood’s study of women’s piety movement in Cairo, Egypt, and Lara Deeb’s study of a Shici Muslim community in Beirut, Lebanon. We will explore alternative conceptions of piety and modernity, question key assumptions in feminist and liberal thought about freedom and autonomy, and analyze the forms and role of religious arguments, bodily practices, and community commitment in the cultivation of the pious self.
Teaching method
Tutorial
Admission requirements:
No specific requirements.
Course objectives
After successfully completing the course, the student is able to:
convey in his or her own words the content of two ethnographical studies of Islamic piety movements and to critically discuss these two studies.
discuss the notions of autonomy, agency, authentication, ethical formation, and community commitment in relation to the theme of piety, modernity, and gender in Islam.
apply the two ethnographical studies to his or her own field of interest and to report about it in writing.
Course load
Tutorial:
weekly meetings, 12 × 2 hrs (24 hrs)
weekly reading assignments, 11 × 8 hrs (88 hrs)
8 essays of 400 words for a lay readership on reading material, 8 × 2 hrs (16 hrs)
preparation for presentation (12 hrs)
Total 140 hrs = 5 EC
Paper
- paper of 5000 words consisting of substantiated answers to three questions of the lecturer (140 hrs)
Total 140 hrs = 5 EC
Required reading
Saba Mahmood. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. Princeton University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-691-08695-8 (paperback).
Lara Deeb. An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shici Lebanon. Princeton University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-691-12421-3 (paperback).
Test method
Participation in class
Essays
Presentation
For 5 extra EC:
- Paper
Time table
A detailed programme of the course announcing the themes of the meetings, reading assignments, and further requirements will be presented in the first meeting of the course. See also time table Master Religious Studies
Information
“Dr. Nathal Dessing::mailto:n.m.dessing@religion.leidenuniv.nl
Registration
Please send an e-mail to “dr. Nathal Dessing::mailto:n.m.dessing@religion.leidenuniv.nl and register via blackboard.
Blackboard
Students are required to download their essays via blackboard one day before class (i.e. on Mondays) by 12 noon at the latest.
Remarks
Each student must have a copy of the required readings at the beginning of the course.
The course is designed for a class of five to eleven students. If fewer than five or more than eleven students register, the course design will be adapted.