Are we always already determined?
The insight that we are “always already” in something or other leads people to a kind of determinism and a belief in an invisible boundary beyond which exist forces that control us in ways that we cannot ever actually know. We are produced by a structure from which there is no escape, no getting on … Continue reading Are we always already determined?
Muslims are not Racialized
(This is an addendum to my article “Muslims Are Not a Race”. I would recommend reading that first in order to fully understand this post. I discuss “racialization” there, but am expanding on it here.) Every justification for defining Islamophobia as a type of racism depends on the concept of “racialization.” But the defenders of … Continue reading Muslims are not Racialized
The incoherence of “Islam” as a “discursive tradition” (excerpt from a work in progress)
Some people might be interested in this excerpt from a short book I’m working on about the “conceptualization of Islam”. This section is about the logical problems of Talal Asad’s conceptualization of Islam as a “discursive tradition”. Just the text, no footnotes. Very much a draft. Islam as a “discursive tradition” The other major conceptualization … Continue reading The incoherence of “Islam” as a “discursive tradition” (excerpt from a work in progress)
Thread(s) on Academic Islamic Studies
For those who are interested, here are the three relevant threads from me (originally posted on Twitter in late May 2020): FIRST THREAD: Advice to young academics: Too much “Islamic studies” today is 3rd-rate postmodern cultural critique — lazy riffing about Muslims as a variegated bundle of racial/gender/sexual groups with “Islam” as a symbolic cultural … Continue reading Thread(s) on Academic Islamic Studies
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