Teaching Islam in the Liberal Arts Curriculum

Since 9/11, interest in including courses on Islam in the curriculum of Liberal Arts Colleges has been increasing. But this increased interest ironically comes at a time when the very coherence of the term "religion" itself is being challenged in the academy. What is this thing we call religion and what are the consequences of presenting Islam under this organizing logic? How does the relative paucity of scholarly resources (i.e. a core faculty of Islamic studies as you might find at a research institute) balance against the interdisciplinary benefits of the liberal arts environment? The FaCE collaboration "Teaching Islam in the Liberal Arts Curriculum" centered on a discussion of these questions.

Collaborators

• Peter Matthews Wright (Assistant Professor of Religion, Colorado College)
• Robert F. Shedinger (Associate Professor of Religion, Luther College)
• Brett Wilson (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Macalester College)
• Noah Salomon (Religion Dept., Carleton College)