Call for Papers: Sharia and the Secular

The SoCal Islamic Studies Graduate Student Consortium invites papers exploring the theme of “Sharia and the Secular.” Does Sharia rule Muslims’ lives? Is there a non-shar’ia side of life that could be conceived of as ‘secular’? How do non-shar’i aspects of state policy relate to Sharia? We are interested in papers that interrogate how Sharia and the realm of the non-shar’i has been constructed historically and how the practical application of Sharia reflects the non-shar’i domain. Papers that address shar’i and non-shar’i themes pertaining to the economy, medicine, society, public policy, and family life are especially welcome. In honor of Saba Mahmood, the conference also invites proposals that focus on her approach to the secular and secularism and how these relate to Sharia.This call is not limited to any specific geographic location, theoretical approach, or methodology. Anthropologists, sociologists, comparative literature scholars, historians, religious studies scholars as well as scholars of Islamic law whose work includes a focus on Muslims are invited to submit an abstract. Please submit a 300-word abstract indicating the topic, main argument, and methodology of your paper. Proposals should be sent to isgsc@cmes.ucsb.edu and must be received by Jul 30.