MI week 8
Tuesday (8a)
Language performance and Shia Islam
Due today
All read:
- Schimmel, Islam: An Introduction; pp. 91-100 (on Shia and related sects)
- Encyclopedia Iranica entry for “Ashura”: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asura
Browse: the Niamatullahi sufi order website: http://nimatullahi.org/ This Shia Sufi order was widespread among Iranian elites before the revolution in 1979. Today centers exist outside Iran throughout the world.
Watch these film segments (each one is only about 1-5 minutes long):
- Iran Emerges: The Shia Revival and Conflicts within Islam (01:08)
- The Martyrdom of Hussein and Nuclear Weapons Rhetoric (02:48)
- Islam and Nuclear Weapons Rhetoric (02:04)
- Pilgrimage Day 2: An Ancient Iranian House of Strength (02:25)
- Iran's Martyrs: The Battle of Karbala (04:09)
- Iran's Martyrs: Overthrowing the Shah (05:48)
- Shia Muslim Pilgrims Reach Karbala (02:00)
- Shia Muslim Pilgrims Remember Imam Hussein (02:46)
- Shia Muslim Pilgrims Celebrate (04:12)
(if you have time watch the entire film - http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=8750&xtid=37298 )
Locate one youtube (or other online) video relevant to Islamic or Sufi language performance among the Shia.
Locate one contemporary news item about Sufism or Ashura among Shia groups, to share with the class, such as the following:
Write: One page, discussing the following in brief: Who are the Shia? what are the differences between Sunni and Shia branches of Islam? How does Sufism differ? What are the various Shia branches and how do they differ from each other? In what countries are they found? Why do you think certain Shia and Sunni groups are in conflict today? What are some of the genres of language performance — connected with Sufi groups or particular festivals — that are distinctive to Shia Islam? How does ritual take on political meanings? What roles might ritual play in sustaining or ameliorating conflict? What sort of language performance did you locate on youtube? What contemporary news? (Include links to the youtube video and popular news item you found). Submit under 8a.
Class
- Islamicate and Sufi musics, continued.
- Shia practices. Film, "Mystic Iran".
Thursday (7b)
Ashura'
Due today
- Research paper outline and initial bibliography (submit using associated link. Note that this time you'll upload your document.)
- Reading and Discussions: Everyone pick one of the following to present on Thursday; write a one-page summary and critique of the article. Try to locate online media (youtube, etc.) relevant to your reading and include the URLs in your submission. Submit for 8b.
Be ready to present, discuss, and critique your article in class!
1) Embodiment and Ambivalence: Emotion in South Asian Muharram Drumming Author(s): Richard K. Wolf. Source: Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 32 (2000), pp. 81-116. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3185244 .
2) Islamic Music in an Indian Environment: The Shi'a Majlis. Regula Burckhardt Qureshi Ethnomusicology Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1981), pp. 41-71 Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/850974
3) Performative elements of Shi'ite ritual and mass mobilization: The case of Iran Heidar G. Azodanloo http://www.tandfonline.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/toc/ccri19/2/3#aHR0cDovL3d3dy50YW5kZm9ubGluZS5jb20ubG9naW4uZXpwcm94eS5saWJyYXJ5LnVhbGJlcnRhLmNhL2RvaS9wZGYvMTAuMTA4MC8xMDY2OTkyOTMwODcyMDAzOUBAQDI=
4) Shia Lamentation Rituals and Reinterpretations of the Doctrine of Intercession: Two Cases from Modern India Author(s): David Pinault Source: History of Religions, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Feb., 1999), pp. 285-305 Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3176355