This history of Islamic Africa from the seventh to the twentieth century will focus especially on the Saharan and Sudanic belts stretching across the continent from west to east and on the Swahili coast of East Africa. We will study how Islam inspired religious, legal, and political reform (including state-formation) in the precolonial era and shaped responses (including armed resistance) to the establishment of European colonial rule. Other themes include: how Islam influenced African understandings of gender and race; the agency of women and enslaved people in shaping everyday “lived” Islam; and African Muslim men and women’s contributions to a long tradition of knowledge production as well as their diverse, often passionate and artistically accomplished, expressions of faith.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

Prerequisites: None.

Instructor: Kapteijns

Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring

Notes: