Join Amanda and Cat as they begin to unpack Europe, the idea of it, and the origins of the word in different meanings. Europe as a monolith has meant different things, from a continent, a peninsula of Asia, a civilization, or a group of different civilizations. By examining Muhammad As-Saffar's account of Paris in 1845-1846, the audience is able to gain an outside perspective of Paris, a great French and European city at the height of its imperial power.

The works referenced in the episode include J.G.A. Pocock's “What do We Mean by Europe?” in The Wilson Quarterly (Winter, 1997) and Susan Gilson Miller's translation of “The City of Paris,” in Disorienting Encounters: Travels of a Moroccan Scholar in France in 1845-1846, The Voyage of Muhammad As-Saffar (Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press, 1992).

Join Nico and Isaac as they discuss what it means when regions, religions, and peoples are referenced as absolute categories. Nico and Isaac also consider what it means to refer to a historical period and region as a “civilization.” The episode builds upon what Sierra and Matt began considering in Part One of Episode 4.

The works referenced in the episode include Samuel P. Huntington’s "The Clash of Civilizations?" in Foreign Affairs (Summer 1993) and Marshall Hodgson’s The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, vol. 1 The Classical Age of Islam (University of Chicago Press, 1961).

Join Sierra and Matt as they think about what it means when regions, religions, and peoples are referenced as absolute categories. Sierra and Matt also consider what it means to refer to a historical period and region as a “civilization.”

The works referenced in the episode include Samuel P. Huntington’s "The Clash of Civilizations?" in Foreign Affairs (Summer 1993), and Marshall Hodgson’s The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, vol. 1 The Classical Age of Islam (University of Chicago Press, 1961).

Join Isabella and Raisya in Part Two as they discuss the documentary Islam: Empire of Faith, which was produced by PBS in 2000.

The works referenced in the episode include Shahab Ahmed’s What is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic (Princeton University Press, 2016); Andrew Rippin’s Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (Routledge, 2002); and the documentary Islam: Empire of Faith.

Join Raisya and Isabella as they explore the idea of lexical conundrums and liken how we come to consider words to a game of telephone. The main question is whether there is a significance to distinguishing terms.

Join Kerry and Jayda as they discuss the assumptions attached to the region of the "Middle East" including what countries make up the region.

The works referenced in the episode include Abbas Amanat's “Introduction: Is There a Middle East? Problematizing a Virtual Space” in Is There a Middle East? The Evolution of a Geopolitical Concept, Bonine, Amanat, and Gasper, eds. (Stanford UP, 2012) and Michael E. Bonine, “Of Maps and Regions: Where is the Geographer’s Middle East?” in Is There a Middle East? The Evolution of a Geopolitical Concept, Bonine, Amanat, and Gasper, eds. (Stanford UP, 2012).

Join us in an icebreaker episode where Amanda introduces the podcast project and the five production teams. The podcast mirrors the thematic content in the Islam and the West syllabus as designed by Dr. Carole Woodall. The podcast teams are: Matt Reese and Sierra Banks, Jayda Wayman and Kerry Corbett, Amanda Espinel and Cat Bauder, Isabella Arsenault and Raisya Pratama, and Nico Essary and Isaac Sawyer.