Universität Wien
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010094 SE Islam and Yoga (2022W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 1 - Katholische Theologie
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 03.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 10.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 24.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 31.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 07.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 14.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 21.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 28.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 05.12. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 12.12. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 09.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 16.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 23.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG
  • Monday 30.01. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 2 (Kath) Schenkenstraße EG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

For many, the title of this seminar will likely evoke associations with modern yoga studios where Muslim people around the world practice posture-focused forms of yoga. However, the historical interconnections between Islam and yoga are much more complex and go back a long way historically. For centuries, yoga in South Asia formed an important nexus for fruitful and creative exchange between Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic (especially Sufi) currents. We will pay special attention to Bengal, where Islamic elements formed and still form an integral part of one of the most fascinating and flourishing cultural areas of South Asia. We will engage with yogis, Sufis, as well as diverse people from the fields of orientalism, esotericism, and (anti-colonial) nationalism in order to understand the relationship between Islam and yoga.
Upon completion of the seminar, you will be familiar with the basics of the rich historical relationship between Hinduism and Islam in South Asia. You will be able to do so critically on issues of cultural essentialism, cultural appropriation, Orientalism, postcolonialism, and politico-religious identity formation. This also applies to current debates on the relationship between Hinduism and Islam in India and Bangladesh, the complexity of which you will be able to classify from the perspective of religious studies.

Assessment and permitted materials

Participation/attendance (20%), presentation (30%), seminar paper (50%). Presentations must last 20 minutes and include a presentation (PowerPoint et alia). Seminar papers have to be handed in within the given deadline and have to be 3,000 words long (margin 10%) including bibliography and list of sources.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

A good knowledge of English is required, as relevant literature and sources are mostly available in English. Attendance and participation are unconditional requirements, with a maximum of 2x excused absences allowed. The weighting of the performance assessment is as follows: Participation/attendance (20%), presentation (30%), seminar paper (50%). In order to pass the seminar, at least a "sufficient" average must be achieved.
Term papers must be submitted no later than March 1, 2023. Term papers submitted after that date will still be accepted with grade deduction until March 8, after which the course must be graded as unsatisfactory if no term paper is submitted. Exceptions can be arranged in advance for urgent reasons.

Examination topics

Presentation topics can be selected from a given range. Great importance is attached to the development of individual interests, which is why students are welcome to discuss their own focal points with the course instructor. The topics of the seminar papers can be chosen freely within the framework of the seminar in consultation with the course instructor.

Reading list

Bouillier, Véronique. 2015. "Nāth Yogī’s Encounters with Islam." South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal: https://doi.org/10.4000/samaj.3878
Cantú, Keith. 2019. "Islamic Esotericism in the Bengali Bāul Songs of Lālan Fakir." Correspondences 7:109–165.
Ernst, Carl W. 2016. Refractions of Islam in India: Situating Sufism and Yoga. New Delhi: SAGE/YodaPress.
Hatley, Shaman. 2007. "Mapping the Esoteric Body in the Islamic Yoga of Bengal." History of Religions 46 (4):351–68.
Irani, Ayesha. 2021. The Muhammad Avatāra: Salvation History, Translation, and the Making of Bengali Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.

Association in the course directory

066 800: M2.3; M9, M15; M18; 033 195: BRP 14rwb b; BRP 17rwb, MATS 2b

Last modified: Th 03.11.2022 11:28