Religions, Body, and Gender in the Public Domain (2025/2026: Semester 1 – Fall)

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Cursusdoel

After completing this course students are able to:
  • Demonstrate basic knowledge about history and theology of Judaism and Islam, in particular related to their religious and cultural practices;
  • Identify why and how Judaism and Islam cope with pressures to manifest their religious identities either in a public or a private sphere;
  • Critically discuss texts, material culture and practices of Jews and Muslims and relate these to their historical contexts;
  • Operate with contemporary theories about religion and the body in the public domain in Western societies and to assess their heuristic value for studying historical contexts;
  • Analyze examples of body-practices in Judaism and Islam using adequate methods and theories
  • Relate contemporary examples of expressions of religious bodily presence in the public sphere with the surrounding culture;
  • Carry out a small scale research based on a critical analysis of secondary and primary sources.

Vakinhoudelijk

The course focuses on the idea of the religious body in the “public domain” as a key concept in social science to the formation, transmission, reception and shifting nature of Jewish and Muslim traditions past and present. It assesses meaning and function of the body and its presence in holy sites such as the synagogue and the mosque, to articulate and present religious identity in the (pre)modern, secularized public sphere. It also tries to tackle the question as to why it is so important for specific Jewish or Muslim groups to be visibly present in the public sphere; and why religion is not primarily structured as a privatized practice or set of convictions. In that sense, it will particularly take into account the question how Jewish and Muslim scholars have understood their physical presence in the non-Jewish/Muslim, European societies. Since various religious practices are expressed in forms of presentation and use of the body, specific issues will be dealt with in particular, such as circumcision, clothing, including hairdressing, purity, and bodily practices in synagogues and mosques.

In the part of Judaism, discussion of these issues is preceded by a general introduction in Judaism, each class discussing Jewish identity in its systematic, historical, or hermeneutic aspects. Following this, some in depth discussions of body-related religious practices introduce the main topics.

As for Islam, the course offers, in the form of readings and guest lectures, an overview of we the foundational texts which shape the Muslim world view, especially religious performative practices as defined in Islamic law and manifested in the public sphere. By discussing various issues related to the human body and Islamic “revivalism,” we shall see how Muslims try to legitimate their action in public life. Are Muslim allowed to live in a non-Muslim domain? How far can they actively engage themselves in a non-Muslim majority society? Is apostasy in Islam public or private? How can we understand the issues of dress, veiling and male-female segregation in Islam between theory and practice? What are the limitations imposed on the autonomy of the human body?

Format
The course is divided into two sections, one about Judaism, one about Islam. The class meets twice a week for two hours. Students are expected to come to each session well prepared to discuss the readings and to make thoughtful contributions to the learning process. This includes executing tasks in advance set for the ‘Workshops’. Detailed information on the program, including deadlines and also taking into account the COVID situation, will be provided in due time in a syllabus on Blackboard.

In each section each individual student make weekly assignments (summaries, essays, site observations and queries) that also assess his/her knowledge of central terminology, basic historical facts and essential concepts of each religion, based on the theory presented in class and the literature studied during each section of the course. Following this, each student will prepare a short presentation, and, finally, execute a (comparative) research of a specific topic of Jewish and/or Islamic Bodily Presence as location of (religious) identity.

Werkvormen

UCU HUM 2 course

Toetsing

Smaller assignments

Verplicht | Weging 20% | ECTS 1,5

Paper

Verplicht | Weging 40% | ECTS 3

Presentation

Verplicht | Weging 40% | ECTS 3

*midterm FEEDBACK*

Niet verplicht

Ingangseisen en voorkennis

Voertalen

  • Engels

Competenties

  • Academisch schrijven
  • Internationale en interculturele oriëntatie
  • Onderzoeksvaardigheden

Cursusmomenten

Gerelateerde studies

Tentamens

Er is geen tentamenrooster beschikbaar voor deze cursus

Verplicht materiaal

  • BOEK
    Eliezer Segal, Introducing Judaism (Abingdon Ca./New York: Routledge, 2009) ISBN 13:978 0 415 44009 7 or hardcover 978 415 44008 0. (also digitally accessible in UBU Library) William Shepard, Islam, the ebook : an online introduction (Providence: Journal of Buddhist Ethics Online Books. 2009) (digitally accessible in UU Library).
  • DIVERSE
    Selected book chapters, and articles are accessible through UBU library facilities, or will be made available as a Reader; Source-texts will be provided on Blackboard.

Aanbevolen materiaal

Er is geen informatie over de aanbevolen literatuur bekend

Coördinator

dr. M. Sajid PhD M.Sajid@uu.nl

Docenten

dr. H.L.M. Ottenheijm H.L.M.Ottenheijm@uu.nl
dr. M. Sajid PhD M.Sajid@uu.nl

Inschrijving

Let op: deze cursus is niet toegankelijk voor studenten van andere faculteiten, bijvakkers mogen zich dus niet inschrijven.

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