Islam in fiction
This semester, Topics in Islamic Studies focuses on Islam in fiction. We explore how a selection of recent Norwegian and French novels deal with the issue of Islam in a European context. How is religion and Islam represented and framed? In what narrative contexts does religion occur?
We also deal with the issue of reception. How did professional critics portray the novels? Did the narratives stir public debate? What does the reception of these fictional works tell us about the place of Islam in European public spaces?
Case studies of the novels open up broader theoretical and methodological questions about interdisciplinary approaches: How may fiction constitute a primary source in the study of religion? What is the difference between using fiction as source material in comparison to field work, interviews, religious texts, or historical data, which represent the usual source material in the field? What meta-theoretical questions do a literary approach to the study of Islam in Europe stir? How does it question disciplinary boundaries between the study of religion, anthropology, and comparative literature? To what extent may theoretical insights from comparative literature inform the study of religion (and vice versa)?
At the core of our investigation are the concepts of text and mediation (of “reality”).
The seminar is exploratory and relates to the ongoing research of the instructor. It requires active and critical participation from the students with regard to 1: discussions of the source material, relevant theoretical and methodological approaches, in addition to secondary literature; and 2: the syllabus itself. We start out with some basic texts (see preliminary reading list) but throughout the course, students are demanded to suggest titles and works to be included in the list. Each student formulates a research question for his or her term paper which is related to the overall theme of the course. Drafts of the term papers will be circulated among all the participants for feedback and commentaries. One important aim of the course is to teach students the craft of research through active participation in an ongoing research process.