/NEW COURSE: Fall 2011
HIST 585
Islam in South Asia: 1000 AD to Present
Instructed by: Professor Sarah Waheed ([log in to unmask])
Wednesday 7:20pm-10:00pm
Robinson A 245
CRN 79582
/

Muslims in South Asia constitute the largest population of Muslims 
worldwide. This is an advanced course on the history of Muslim 
communities and Islamic institutions in South Asia.Its aim is to 
introduce students to the broad historical currents of the expansion of 
Islam in the Indian subcontinent, the nature of Muslim political 
authority, the interaction between religious communities (Hindu, Muslim, 
etc.,), Islamic aesthetics and contributions to material culture, the 
multiple engagements and reactions of Muslims to colonial rule, the 
partition of British India and the creation of Pakistan, and the 
contemporary concerns of South Asia's Muslims.Thiscourse is also an 
introduction to the political, cultural, and social history of this 
diverse group of people. We will begin by examining Muslim encounters 
with South Asian peoples in the pre-modern and early modern periods.

Themes that continue to influence the peoples of South Asia in the 
present include: the codification of Islamic laws under colonialism, 
Muslim social reform, revivalist movements, the rise of anti-colonial 
movements and nationalism, the relevance of regional identities, the 
partition of the subcontinent, and post-colonial politics in India, 
Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Texts and readings will draw upon recent 
secondary research as well as historical and literary primary source 
materials.
-- 
Rana C. FitzGerald Graduate Coordinator Department of History and Art 
History George Mason University Robinson Hall B 354 Tel: 703-993-1248 
Fax: 703-993-1251 http://historyarthistory.gmu.edu/