Unfortunately this course is cancelled for the autumn semester 2018

Islamism is one of the most important political ideologies and social movements of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Propagated as a “revival” by its proponents, and labeled as “fundamentalist” by its opponents, it is also often described as “political Islam” or “Islamism.” This course has three main objectives: (1) To understand the historical, socio-economic, political and cultural context in which the Islamicate world has gone through a significant change and has produced Islamist contention. (2) To understand why Islamism is a populist movement, its relationship with Western hegemony over the world, globalization and global political economy, especially its relationship with social classes and economic and political struggles. (3) To understand why and how a jihadist version emerged, that is to say, a version of Islamism which employs violence and terror as a political instrument; the role of globalization and technology in jihadism; the relationship between violence and politics in jihadist ideology.

Keep in mind that we will not approach Islamism as an isolated, self-contained object, some sort of evil worldview without any social context, or simply and exclusively rooted in the religion of Islam. On the contrary, we will see Islamism as an opportunity to unfold, analyse and discuss a number of social, economic and political problems we have on a global level, from social and economic inequalities to questions of secularism and religion, or the relationship between violence and politics. The main idea of the course is precisely that this is the healthiest way to understand Islamism.

Weekly Schedule:

10.9.2018 Meeting 1: Introducing the Course

• A short introduction to Islam; some history; secularism and religion.

12.9.2018 Meeting 2: Islam and Colonialism

• S.V.R. Nasr: “European Colonialism and the Emergence of Modern Muslim States”
• F. Fanon: A Dying Colonialism, excerpts.

24.9.2018 Meeting 3: Orientalism and Colonialism

• Edward Said: Orientalism, Introduction.

• Gayatri Spivak: “The Rani of Sirmur” pp. 253-254.

26.9.2018 Meeting 4: Islam, Modernity and Secularism  

• Mahmut Mutman: “Under the Sign of Orientalism”
• Jamal Elias: “Early Reformists”

 Suggested further reading:

Sayyid Qutb: Milestones, excerpts.

1.10.2018 Meeting 5: Islamism as a Political Movement

• Sami Zubaida: “Trajectories of Political Islam: Egypt, Iran and Turkey”

 Suggested further reading:
Deniz Kandiyoti: “The Travails of the Secular: Puzzle and Paradox in Turkey”
Sami Zubaida: “Islam and Nationalism: Continuities and Contradictions”

3.10.2018 Meeting 6: The Political Economy of Islamism

• Joel Beinin: “Political Islam and the New Global Economy”

 Suggested further reading:

Evren Hosgör: “Islamic Capital/Anatolian Tigers”
Evren Hosgör: “The Question of AKP Hegemony”

8.10.2018 Meeting 7: Jihadism, Globalisation and Network Theory

• Faisal Devji: Landscapes of Jihad, excerpts.
• Olivier Roy: “Lure of the Death Cult”

• Faisal Devji: “ISIS: Haunted by Sovereignty”
• Mahmut Mutman: “Islamophobia”

 Suggested further reading:

Antoine Bosquet: “Complexity Theory and the War on Terror”
Nafeez Ahmed: “Follow the Oil, Follow the Money”

10.10.2018 Meeting 8: Jihadism, Media and Technology

• Handout: Religion and Technology
• Film: The Clanging of Swords

• Jihadist Press. Dabıq

15.10.2018 Meeting 9: Jihadism, Politics and Violence  

• Thomas Keenan: “A language that needs no translation”

 Suggested Further Reading:

Nasser Hussain: “The Sound of Terror”

17.10.2018 Week 10: Review and Discussion

Office Hours: Wednesday 2.00-3.00 pm. You are welcome to ask questions about any aspect of the course and discuss the subject further in the office hours. If the office hour is in conflict with your own schedule, please feel free to make an appointment with me.

NettiOpsussa.

The Arctic is becoming the focus of worldwide interest due to climate change and the utilisation of the region’s natural resources. It has seen the emergence of new industries, environmental pressures and geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, academic and public discourse and the media are facing the challenge of finding adequate ways to discuss developments in the region.

The course includes an international event “Media and the Arctic: Master Class in Tampere, Finland, 26–30 November 2018”, organised by the Tampere Research Centre for Russian and Chinese Media (TaRC). Six distinguished and accomplished journalists and media professionals will join teachers from the University of Tampere to share their expertise with students and media professionals in an intensive, one-week Master Class.

The coursework will consist of pre-assignments, five contact teaching days, and a journalistic or other media-related final assignment dealing with the themes of the Master Class. Attendance on all five days and active participation in one of the workgroups is required.

Further information

The course will be taught with a major focus on discussion, critical thinking, and individual and collaborative work. The course will be taught in English; no knowledge of any other language is required.

The course is free for students of the University of Tampere and TaRC’s partner universities. There is a course fee for working media professionals, but such applicants can apply for a grant from Journalistisen kulttuurin edistämissäätiö, JOKES (see https://www.jokes-saatio.fi/).

For more information, please contact the TaRC personnel at the Faculty of Communications, University of Tampere:

Coordinator Mika Perkiömäki mika.perkiomaki@staff.uta.fi

Senior Lecturer in Journalism Ari Heinonen ari.a.heinonen@staff.uta.fi

Researcher Dmitry Yagodin dmitry.yagodin@staff.uta.fi

Professor of Russian Language and Culture Arja Rosenholm arja.rosenholm@staff.uta.fi

Professor of Journalism Heikki Luostarinen heikki.luostarinen@staff.uta.fi

Enrolment begins on Monday 13 August 2018 at 10 am and ends on Friday 14 September 2018 at 4 pm.

Contact teaching will be organised as an intensive Master Class between 26 and 30 November 2018 at the University of Tampere. The venues will be announced at a later date. The schedule for the week:

Day 1: Mon 26 November 2018, 10 am – 5 pm

Day 2: Tue 27 November 2018, 9 am – 9 pm

Day 3: Wed 28 November 2018, 9 am – 5 pm

Day 4: Thu 29 November 2018, 9 am – 5 pm

Day 5: Fri 30 November 2018, 9 am – 3 pm

The Master Class will also include a voluntary evening programme and networking.

The course will be beneficial for students with a background in Russian studies, politics, communication, media (JMMETUS), journalism (JOUJOVTS), intercultural communication, visual studies or Eastern European studies. However, students with backgrounds in other disciplines are also welcome. 

By NettiOpsu.

Kurssi on avoin kaikille yliopiston opiskelijoille.
Lectures are free and open to all university students.

Lecture programme (subject to change):

9.1. Introduction
Elina Paasonen & Ari Heinonen, University of Tampere
Assignment (in-class)
Instructions for out-of-class assignment

16.1. Automation, AI and newsrooms
Discussion of assignment
Antti Merilehto, Finch Finland
Olavi Koistinen, Helsingin Sanomat
Instructions for out-of-class assignment

23.1. Media business models in the digital era
Discussion of assignment
Noora Alanne, Finnmedia
Outi Toivanen-Visti, MustRead
Instructions for out-of-class assignment

30.1. The big players in the digital media landscape
Discussion of assignment
Kari Karppinen, University of Helsinki
Heikki Heikkilä, University of Tampere
Instructions for out-of-class assignment

6.2. Emerging journalistic storytelling formats
Discussion of assignment
Astrid Gynnild, University of Bergen
Esa Sirkkunen, University of Tampere

In recent years, Black, Brown and other racialized people have used different forms of media platforms online and offline (a) to contest racism, (b) to defend racial and ethnic identities and (c) to value social memories and cultural heritages. Directly or indirectly, these actions simultaneously also contest whiteness and push for more plural and decolonized institutions (e.g. universities, media organizations, civil society organizations, development organizations and so on). The “Race, Media and Society” course brings together activists and scholars who theorize and/or act against racism to reflect on the contemporary landscape of anti-racism uses of media in Finland and abroad. The goal of the course is to combine theories and practical experiences that explore the intersections between communication and anti-racism action. 

The course is part of the initiatives of the Anti-Racism Media Activist Alliance (ARMA), a three-year project (2018-2020) funded by Kone Foundation.