Islamic Cultural Studies

Core Teacher Training Initiative - Seminar Syllabus, August 2004

Introduction to Islam and Muslim Societies: A Cultural Studies Approach

The Islamic Cultural Studies project is an Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) initiative through the International Academic Partnership (IAP). The overall goals of the project are to develop curriculum and teacher training resources for teaching about Islam and Muslim civilizations at the secondary level that will 1) inform/educate students and faculty about the Muslim world from a pluralist, nonsectarian perspective; and 2) promote a student centered,enquiry based model of education.

The project was originally conceived as a curriculum development initiative with a focus on gathering resources for teachers to incorporate into their own classrooms. Educators, however, articulated that they needed to be better trained about Islam and Muslim societies themselves before they could effectively integrate materials into their own curricula. The Core Teacher Training initiative is designed to respond to that need.

Core Teacher Training Initiative

The Core Teacher Training consists of the following three components: a thirty-two session, graduate level seminar entitled Understanding Islam and Muslim Societies: A Cultural Studies Approach; two workshops that are embedded in the seminar; and a five day curriculum development institute. The entire training is designed as a peer learning opportunity for professional educators across disciplines that are currently teaching in the secondary classroom. The peer focus is intended to 1) recognize professional educators as capable public intellectuals; and 2) model the enquiry based approach to education that is foundational to good teaching and learning.

For this pilot program, individual master teachers from Kenya, Pakistan and the United States have been invited from specific schools or districts to form teams who have committed to meeting together for the full duration of the training. For each team, one person has been designated as the peer facilitator for the group. The peer facilitator will have ongoing contact with a designated resource scholar, but s/he will be primarily responsible for facilitating each session. The seminar consists of thirty 60-90 minute peer led sessions. Once teachers have established a strong foundation of their own knowledge through the seminar and workshops, the currriculum development institute will provide them with the opportunity to develop curricula that integrates Islamic Cultural Studies resources and methods into their own classes. Resource scholars will be present during the institute to clarify content questions, suggest resources for use in the classroom and to consult with teachers and peer facilitators regarding method and pedagogy. Teachers will implement the curricula they develop at the institute into their classes during the following academic session. Educators receive release time and/or extra compensation for their participation, and the entire CTT is subject to ongoing internal and external evaluation during this pilot phase.

The Seminar

Understanding Islam and Muslim Societies: A Cultural Studies Approach

Understanding Islam and Muslim Societies: A Cultural Studies Approach is a peer facilitated, graduate level seminar designed for teachers to gain a foundational understanding of Islam and Muslim societies through a cultural studies perspective. The course will foster a more informed understanding of the situation of contemporary and historic Muslim societies by providing participants with the intellectual tools to analyze the factors that impact the lives of individual Muslims and the various communities in which they live. For example, participants will learn that Muslim societies are influenced by a web of complex interactions between religious, social, artistic, political, and economic factors that are further complicated by the dynamics of competing political and cultural hegemonies. They will also be exposed to the range of political and cultural diversities of Muslim societies by studying material from a variety of contexts, including Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, the Arab world, Europe and the United States. Following completion of this seminar, teachers will have a strong intellectual foundation from which to develop curricula for their own classes that will better educate their students about Islam and the Muslim world.

Why Islam? Why Cultural Studies?

With increasing globalization has come deeper and more frequent contact among varying cultures and traditions. In order to become informed, effective and responsible global citizens, students in our schools today must appreciate cultural difference and seek to understand the histories and values and traditions of all major faith groups. Islam is only one; however, it is an increasingly important one.

Islam is the most rapidly growing religion in the world. Whereas the expansion of Islam in the first 250 years after the death of the prophet Muhammad occurred primarily in North Africa, southern Spain and Persia, Islam now truly encompasses the globe. Muslims are contributing citizens of every major country in the world, and provide an increasingly important voice in the political and economic discourses North America and Europe. Developing an appreciation of the richness of Islamic literature and arts, the increasing importance of Islamic banking and redistribution of resources through the zakat, the role of Islamic law in the shar'iah, and the complexity of the range of Islamic religious traditions is critical for all students of the world.

Another important reason for focusing on Islam is that it has traditionally been marginalized and/or misrepresented in curricula developed from both Eurocentric and highly sectarian perspectives. As a result, though it is the world's fastest growing faith it is also one of the most misunderstood. This "illiteracy" hinders students from fully understanding critical historic and contemporary cultural phenomena.

Though a variety of interpretations exist regarding Cultural Studies, through this project we define it as a method of enquiry into the dynamic relationship among history, art, economics, literature, politics, architecture and religion. These components of human experience comprise "culture" and a cultural studies approach challenges the assumption that these components can be understood discretely. In this way, it represents a method of teaching and learning that 1) focuses on enquiry versus delivery and 2) emphasizes an integrated approach to content. Students are asked to analyze and problem-solve more than memorize and categorize. Along with content, students learn skills in critical thinking, analyzing and evaluating texts and perspectives, formulating and defending interpretations, and respecting diversity and complexity.

Course Objectives:

A) to promote a social, political and cultural approach to the study of Muslim communities around the world;
B) to encourage a critical understanding of the historical development and lived experience of Islam in diverse societies;
C) to foster an appreciation of the pluralist ethos that is foundational to Islam and that is manifested through a variety of doctrinal and cultural expressions;
D) to understand different responses of Muslim communities to the political, social and ethical challenges posed by modernity, including issues related to gender, colonialism, development and globalization;
E) to recognize the historical and contemporary interaction between Muslim societies and other world civilizations and religious traditions;
F) to discover the connections among religion, literature and the arts in Muslim cultures.

Themes to be Addressed:

A) Religious Life and Ethics
B) Political and Legal Structures
C) Economic Structures
D) Gender and Social Structures
E) Literature and the Arts
F) Architecture
G) Intellectual Traditions
H) Technology and the Environment

Skill Objectives (adapted from The College Board Advanced Placement World History Habits of Mind)

A) to develop critical thinking skills;
B) to use documents and other primary data: developing the skills necessary to analyze point of view, context, and bias, and to understand and interpret information;
C) to develop the ability to assess issues of change and continuity over time;
D) to enhance the capacity to handle a diversity of interpretations through analysis of context, bias, and frame of reference;
E) to see global patterns over time and space while also acquiring the ability to connect local developments to global ones and to move through levels of generalizations from the global to the particular;
F) to develop the ability to compare within and among societies, including comparing societies' reactions to global processes;
G) to develop the ability to assess claims of universality and essentialism, yet remain aware of human commonalities and differences;
H) to put culturally diverse ideas and values in historical context without suspending judgment but with an eye toward developing understanding.

Below is a draft outline of assignments for most sessions of the seminar. The completed syllabus will include suggested discussion questions, activities and exercises designed to help participants engage the material in a meaningful and interesting fashion. There will also be additional learning tools provided, including abstracts and/or outlines of selected articles, glossaries, pronunciation guides and suggestions for further reading or research.