Muslim and Christian Arab Identity in the U.S. MW 2:40-3:55 Theo (Spring 2010)

Transcription

1 Muslim and Christian Arab Identity in the U.S. MW 2:40-3:55 Theo (Spring 2010) Professor: Melanie E. Trexler Office: New North 134 Office Hours: Course Description This course examines the religious identities of Muslims (Arab and non- Arab) and Christian Arabs in the United States, both contemporary and historical. We will pay special attention to the particular religious, historical, sociological, and political challenges to maintaining Muslim and Christian Arab identity within the U.S. In the first part of the semester, we will trace the history of Muslim and Christian Arab arrival in America. Drawing on historical and demographic sources, we will survey a number of Muslim and Christian Arab communities across the U.S. and the struggles that members of these communities faced in finding a place in America s melting pot. The second part of the semester is focused on the sociological and political challenges Muslims and Christian Arabs encounter. Specifically, we will explore issues of race, education, gender, political involvement, citizenship, and discrimination to investigate the various trials encountered by both groups in regard to their religious identity. Required Texts: Bailey, Betty Jane and J. Martin Bailey. Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? 2 nd edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, (ISBN X) Smith, Jane I. Islam in America. New York, New York: Columbia University Press, (ISBN ) Haddad, Yvonne Y. Not Quite American?: The Shaping of Arab and Muslim Identity in the United States. Texas: Baylor University Press, (ISBN: ) Readings on Blackboard (BB) Objectives The objective of this course is to give students an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the challenges that Muslims (both Arab and non- Arab) and Christian Arabs encounter in the United States. This subject matter requires students to think about issues that are not necessarily

2 within their fields of special knowledge. It also requires a willingness to discuss matters of deeply held personal belief and identity. Students are expected to discuss these issues both critically and respectfully. By the end of the course, students will be able to: Identify and discuss major challenges faced by Muslims and Christian Arabs in maintaining their religious identity in the United States Recognize the implications that these challenges raise for both groups Be familiar with a Christian Arab or Islamic service Articulate your ideas (both orally and in writing) with clarity and precision. Classroom Procedures and Expectations Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class. Punctuality is expected. Come to class prepared to discuss the readings. Bring copies of the readings to class. The use of laptops and recording devices is not permitted. Please turn off all cell phones before class begins. All of your work in the course will conform to the standards of the Georgetown University Honor Code. Course Requirements Attendance and Participation (20%) o Students are expected to attend and participate in each class session. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every course. o Full credit for participation is given to students who have read and reflected on course materials. The professor will assess participation based on student s ability to make intelligent contributions and raise important questions in class discussions. o Absences are only excused if they are due to mandatory university-sponsored events such as required travel for athletic events, to religious observance, or for illness. o If you are unable to attend class, please alert the professor as early as possible. Students are responsible for material missed due to absences. o If a student has more than three unexcused absences, the course grade will be lowered (e.g. from an A- to a B+).

3 Observation Paper (20%) Due February 23 o Students will attend a mosque or Christian Arab Church during the course of the semester and write a 5-page observation paper on their experience. In addition to describing their experience, students will be required to relate their experience to course texts. Documentation (bulletins, literature, etc.) is needed to verify attendance. Short Paper (20%) Due March 21 o This paper (4-5 pages, double spaced) is on a subject of the student s choosing. The paper can be based on a topic discussed in class or on another theme relevant to the course. The short paper should include footnotes and a bibliography. All students are required to meet with the professor to have their topic approved. Research Paper and Presentation (40%) Due date of final o The research paper (10-12 pages, double spaced) is an expansion of the student s shorter paper. Footnotes and a bibliography are required. o On the final day of class, students will be required to do a 3-5 minute presentation on their paper and its relevance to the course. Grading Scale A percent A B B B C C C D D 55-51

4 *NB: Late submissions of work will not receive full credit. The highest grade a late submission can receive is a B. Late work will only be accepted up to 24 hours after the original deadline. Print early and often to avoid technological problems. Introduction Class Readings Jan 12 Class Introduction Syllabus Distribution Myer s Brigg s Personality Types Jan 17 MLK Holiday Jan 19 Identity Theory Nancy T. Ammerman, Religious Identities and Religious Institutions, in Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, ed. Michele Dillon (New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), (BB) Helen Rose Ebaugh, Religion and the New Immigrants, in Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, ed. Michele Dillon (New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), (BB) Religion Islam Jan 24 Beliefs and Practices Jane I. Smith, Muslim Faith and Practice, in Islam in America (New York, New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), Jan 26 History and Important Figures Smith, Contributors to the Development of Islam, in Islam in America, Christian Arabs

5 Jan 31 Betty Jane Bailey and J. Martin Bailey, Eastern Orthodox Family, in Who Are the Christians in the Middle East (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), Bailey, The Oriental Family, Bailey, The Catholic Family, Feb 2 Bailey, Protestant Family, Bailey, Assyrian Church of the East, History: Coming to America Feb 7 -- First Wave ( ) Samir Khalaf, The Background and Causes of Lebanese/Syrian Immigration to the United States before World War I in Crossing the Waters, ed. Eric Hoogland (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987), (BB) Alixa Naff, The Early Arab Immigrant Experience, in The Development of Arab-American Identity, ed. Ernest McCarus (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1997), (BB) Phillip M. Kayal, Arab Christians in the United States in Arabs in the New World, eds. Sameer Y. Abraham and Nabeel Abraham (Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1983), (BB) Feb 9 Second/Third Wave (Post-1965) Smith, Islam Comes to America, Yvonne Haddad, Arab Muslims and Islamic Institutions in America: Adaptation and Reform in Arabs in the New World, (BB) Demography: Muslims and Arab Christians Living in the U.S. Feb 14 Arab Christians Communities Nancy Faires Conklin and Nora Faires, Colored and Catholic: The Lebanese in Birmingham, Alabama, in Crossing the Waters, (BB) Richard R. Jones, Egyptian Copts in Detroit: Ethnic Community and Long-Distance Nationalism, in Arab Detroit: From Margins to Mainstream, eds. Nabeel Abraham and Andrew Shryock (Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 2000), (BB) Mary C. Sengstock, Detroit s Iraqi-Chaldeans: A Conflicting Conception of Identity, in Arabs in the New World (Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1983), (BB)

6 Feb 16 Muslim Communities in the U.S. Jerrilynn Dodds, NY-Masjid: The Mosques of New York in A Community of Many Worlds, eds. Kathleen Benson and Philip M. Kayal (New York, New York: Syracuse University Press, 2002), (BB) Nabeel Abraham, Arab Detroit s American Mosque, in Arab Detroit: Margins to Mainstream, (BB) Garbi Schmidt, History of the Muslims in Chicago, in American Medina (Lund, Sweden: University of Lund, 1998), Feb. 21 President s Day Challenges to Identity Feb 23 Religious Challenges Yvonne Haddad, Maintaining the Faith of Our Fathers: Dilemmas of Religious Identity in the Christian and Muslim Arab-American Communities in The Development of Arab-American Identity, (BB) Philip M. Kayal, So, Who Are We? Who Am I? in A Community of Many Worlds: Arab Americans in New York City, (BB) ** Observation Paper Due ** Feb 28 Assimilation or Separation? Raouf J. Halaby, Dr. Michael Shadid and the Debate Over Identity in The Syrian World in Crossing the Waters, (BB) Michael A. Shadid, Syria for Syrians, in Syrian World 1.8 (1927): 21-4; and Syria for the Syrians Again, Syrian World 3.4 (1928): (BB) Ameen Rihani, Americanism and Native Culture, Syrian World (April 1929): (BB) Gibran Khalil Gibran, To Young Americans of Syrian Origin, Syrian World 1.1 (1926): 4-5. (BB) March 2 Education Yasmin Moll, Screening Faith, Making Muslims: Islamic Media for Muslim American Children and the Politics of Identity Construction, in Educating the Muslims of America, eds. Yvonne Y. Haddad, Farid Senzai, and Jane I. Smith (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), (BB)

7 March Spring Break Sociological Race Relations March 14 Being White in America Helen Hatab Samhan, Not Quite White: Race Classification and the Arab-American Experience, in Arabs in America, (BB) Alan Dehmer, The Politics of Survival, in Taking Root and Bearing Fruit: The Arab-American Experience, ed. James Zogby (Washington, DC: ADC, 1984): (BB) March 16 Racialization in the Media Suad Joseph and Benjamin D Harlingue, with Alvin Ka Hin Wong, Arab Americans and Muslim Americans in the New York Times, Before and After 9/11, Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11, eds. Amaney Jamal and Nadine Naber (New York, New York: Syracuse University Press, 2008), (BB) Nation of Islam: Black Muslims March 21 Islam Among Black Americans Smith, Islam in the African American Community, ** Short Paper Due ** March 23 Muslim Hip Hop Jordan Morreall, Tamara Sonn, Laura Thomas, Underground Muslim Music Emerges: Metal, Hip Hop, and the Politics of a New Generation in Oxford Islamic Studies Online (Available through GEORGE) H. Samy Alim, A New Research Agenda: Exploring the Transglobal Hip Hop Umma, in Muslim Networks: From Hajj to Hip Hop, eds. Miriam Cooke and Bruce B. Lawrence (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2005), (BB) Articles on Native Deen: pages.php?id=in_the_press Family and Gender Issues March 28 Family Jane Smith, Women and the Muslim American Family, Islam in America,

8 Kristine Ajrouch, Family and Ethnic Identity in an Arab-American Community, in Arabs in America: Building a New Future, ed. Michael Suleiman (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press, 1999), (BB) Jen nan Read, Family, Religion, and Work Among Arab American Women, Journal of Marriage and Family 66 (November 2004): (BB) March 30 Gender Read, Jen nan. Sources of Gender Role Attitudes Among Christian and Muslim Arab-American Women, Sociology of Religion 64.2 (2003): (BB) Diana Abu-Jaber, In the First Generation, The Seattle Review 13.1 (1990): (BB) Politics Citizenship and Political Participation April 4 Citizenship and Political Organizations Andrew Shryock and Ann Chih Lin. Arab American Identities in Question, Citizenship in Crisis: Arab Detroit After 9/11, ed. Detroit Arab American Study Team (New York, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2009), (BB) Michael Suleiman, American Arabs and Political Participation, ed. Philippa Strum (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2006), (BB) Arabs in the Media April 6 Arabs in Movies and Political Cartoons Jack G. Shaheen, Hollywood s Muslim Arabs, in A Community of Many Worlds, (BB) Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Stereotyping Muslims and Establishing the American Norm, in Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2008), (BB) Americanization April 11 Becoming American?

9 Yvonne Haddad, Not Quite American?: The Shaping of Arab and Muslim Identity in the United States (Texas: Baylor University Press, 2004). April 13 Legal Rights Kathleen M. Moore, A Closer Look at Anti-Terrorism Law: American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee v. Reno and the Construction of Aliens Rights, in Arabs in America: Building a New Future, (BB) Kathleen M. Moore, The Hijab and Religious Liberty: Anti- Discrimination Law and Muslim Women in the United States, in Muslims on the Path to Americanization, eds. Yvonne Y. Haddad and John L. Esposito (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), (BB) 9/11 and Discrimination April 18 Backlash 9/11 Anne Bakalian and Mehdi Bozorgmehr, Muslim American Mobilization, Diaspora 14.1 (2005): (BB) Louise Cainkar, No Longer Invisible: Arab and Muslim Exclusion After 9/11, Middle East Report 224 (Fall 2003): Available: April 20 Discrimination and Identity Jen an Read, Discrimination and Identity Formation in a Post-9/11 Era: A Comparison of Muslim and Christian Arab Americans, in Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11, (BB) Sally Howell and Amaney Jamal, Belief and Belonging, in Citizenship in Crisis: Arab Detroit After 9/11, April Easter Break April 27 Current Political Issues (**subject to change with current events**) Ground 51 Threat of Shariah in American Legal System May 2 Last Class Paper Presentations

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