Islam and Politics

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

This is an intensive subject taught in July.

170 hours total

Admission into the fourth-year honours program, or any graduate program in the Arts Faculty.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject will explore the origins of ‘political Islam’ or ‘Islamism’- a backlash against the economic, political and cultural dominance of the ‘West’. It will survey the gamut of Islamist organisations in the Middle East, South and South East Asia against the backdrop of an increasingly shrinking world. This subject begins with the study of Islamic responses to European imperialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It then focuses on the growth of Islamic movements and their response to contending ideologies, including secular nationalism and socialism. This subject will conclude by considering the impact of the Arab Uprisings and the rise of the Islamic State.

Students who successfully complete this subject should:

• have gained a critical understanding of Islamic radicalism, in its different manifestations globally, and the political and conceptual forces that extend or hamper its scope
• be able to place political Islam within the context of a shrinking world and offer students a nuanced appreciation of relations between the West and the Muslim world
• have a deeper understanding of the basic ideological tenets and historical roots of Islamic radicalism and the global context within which it has emerged
• have an appreciation of the diversity within Islam in relation to the above
• have a deeper appreciation and improved ability to analyse the literature on Islam and politics.

• A 5000 word essay due at the end of the teaching period (80%)
• Continuous seminar participation due throughout the teaching period (20%)

Hurdle requirements: Students are required to attend a minimum of 100% of classes in order to pass this subject.

Gilles Kepel. Jihad, The Trial of Political Islam ( IB Tauris, 2003). Olivier Roy, The Failure of Political Islam ( Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994). Shahram Akbarzadeh &amp.amp.amp.amp.amp.amp. Samina Yasmeen: Islam and the West: Reflections from Australia ( Sydney: UNSWPress, 2005).

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject should

• have a deeper understanding of the basic ideological tenets and historical roots of Islamic radicalism and the global context within which it has emerged
• have an appreciation of the diversity within Islam in relation to the above
• have a deeper appreciation and improved ability to analyse the literature on Islam and politics –.. with reference to ‘..clash of civilisations’..
• have improved oral skills by participating in seminars
• have improved writing skills by producing a well-researched paper

None.