ENG 260 CC: MUSLIM AMERICAN LITERATURE

The Trump presidency marked a more visible and codified uptick of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism in the United States, but as Mustafa Bayoumi puts it, “this Muslim American life” has always been fraught with destructive forms of misunderstanding, from neo-Orientalism to stereotypical associations between Islam and terrorism. This course challenges that misunderstanding by examining the history and diversity of Muslim American life expressed in literature and language, with a contemporary focus from the Nation of Islam to Trump’s Muslim ban. Literary works may include Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced, Laila Lalami's The Other Americans, and poetry by Amiri Baraka, Agha Shahid Ali, Sonia Sanchez, Safia Elhillo, and Solmaz Sharif. Critics on the syllabus may include Malcolm X, Ella Shohat, Jack Shaheen, Lila Abu-Lughod, and Neda Maghbouleh. Readings may also include excerpts from Omar Ibn Said's memoir A Muslim American Slave as well as popular media from the comic/TV series Ms. Marvel to Ibtihaj Muhammad's children's books The Proudest Blue and The Kindest Red.