Course Catalogue

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This course will examine the historical and demographic development of the Muslim presence in the UK placing this in the context of the emergence of a politics of multiculturalism in the past fifty years, along with the processes of settlement and integration of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural minority communities and in their relations with the wider society. A major theme of the course will be the diversity of British and Scottish Muslim identities and communities and the social, cultural and political contexts within which these have developed.

1 x 2hr seminar per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the Honours options in TRS and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Theology and Religious Studies, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation. 

None

Essay 1 (2,500 words) - 45%

Report on seminar presentation (750 words) - 10%

Essay 2 (2,500 words) - 45%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course will provide the opportunity to:

■ understand the social and historical context of the development of Muslim communities within a multicultural British context, including the history of international migration of communities and the development of the politics of and popular debates on multiculturalism within British society in recent decades;

■ explore academic debates about cultural and religious diversity in Britain and elsewhere;

■ critically discuss major issues for British Muslims, such as social, cultural, and religious issues relating to gender, youth, shari'ah/fiqh, inter/intra community/religious relations, employment, poverty, discrimination, Islamophobia, securitisation, marriage, conversions and education.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ evidence awareness and understanding of the history and demographics of British Muslim communities within a European context;

■ relate questions about Muslims in Britain to theories of multiculturalism and religious/cultural diversity;

■ identify and reflect on a range of issues relating to British Muslims, such as education, gender, fiqh, youth, sectarianism, and Islamophobia;

■ explore one or more of these issues in depth within the context of Muslims in Britain;

■ present complex arguments in written and oral form;

■ apply transferable skills involving independent and critical thinking, cultural awareness, presentation skills, information literacy and analysis.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.