Teaching about Islam in the Social Sciences: Request for Case Studies
Our first set of case studies from 2009-10 are soon to be published on the C-SAP website and we are pleased to announce a call for additional case studies in 2010-11. The case studies will be showcased at a C-SAP symposium to be held in June/July 2011 (more details to follow in October 2010).
The Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics http://www.c-sap.bham.ac.uk/ invite you to consider submitting a case study describing teaching you currently do which is related to the study of Islam. A fee of £250.00 will be paid to those whose proposal for a case study is successful in being commissioned and accepted for inclusion in the final portfolio of case studies. The case studies will form part of a resource bank being developed by a national Islamic network for learning and teaching.
We are interested in all the ways in which issues relating to Islam might appear in sociology, anthropology, Criminology or politics courses. In sociology, for instance, you might be teaching on racism or multiculturalism and the question of Islamophobia might be examined. In anthropology you might be discussing the meanings attached to different forms of religious observance. In politics the government's drive to 'prevent violent extremism' might be under the spotlight. In other words, we are not expecting whole modules in social science courses to be titled Islamic Studies - our interest is in how issues broadly related to Islam are being addressed in your teaching.
Background
Web link: www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/universitiesandcolleges/islamicstudies<http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/universitiesandcolleges/islamicstudies>
Following recommendations from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) a team from across the HEA subject network is working to build a national Islamic Studies network in order to:
* Support academics working in different disciplines or institutions, including those who are currently working in isolation;
* Provide opportunities to share good practice;
* Develop an enhanced picture of the provision of Islamic Studies in UK HE;
* Build on work carried out since the designation of Islamic Studies as a strategically important subject;
* Establish UK higher education as an exemplar for Islamic Studies in Europe.
As a part of this wider project, C-SAP is developing a resource base for academic staff who are considering teaching about Islam within their social science curriculum. As part of this project we are keen to capture existing good learning and teaching practices related to Islam in sociology, anthropology, politics and criminology. We would like to share existing practice with other colleagues in all three discipline areas. This may take the form of a module that you have devised and teach upon or it may be one element within a module or course design. This could be at undergraduate or post graduate level.
We are seeking 10 examples. A report, and, with your permission, these pro-forma, will appear on the C-SAP and HEA web-sites in June 2011. The report will provide staff teaching in the social sciences with a series of case studies and ideas for incorporating the teaching of Islam within the curriculum.
What to do next
If you are interested in submitting a case study, please contact Dr Malcolm Todd to discuss your ideas. You contact Malcolm by email at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
When proposals are accepted, the deadline for submitting case studies is January 21st 2011
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