Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity

by Shabana Mir

Shabana Mir's powerful ethnographic study of women on Washington, D.C., college campuses reveals that being a young female Muslim in post-9/11 America means experiencing double scrutiny—scrutiny from the Muslim community as well as from the dominant non-Muslim community. Muslim American Women on Campus illuminates the processes by which a group of ethnically diverse American college women, all identifying as Muslim and all raised in the United States, construct their identities during one of the most formative times in their lives.
Mir, an anthropologist of education, focuses on key leisure practices--drinking, dating, and fashion--to probe how Muslim American students adapt to campus life and build social networks that are seamlessly American, Muslim, and youthful. In this lively and highly accessible book, we hear the women's own often poignant voices as they articulate how they find spaces within campus culture as well as their Muslim student communities to grow and assert themselves as individuals, women, and Americans. Mir concludes, however, that institutions of higher learning continue to have much to learn about fostering religious diversity on campus.

Genres: Nonfiction, Islam, Anthropology, Religion

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2014

About the author

Shabana Mir is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and General Education Coordinator at American Islamic College, Chicago where she teaches Islamic Studies, Gender Studies, and Research Methods.

Reviews

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shabana Mir contributes to the empty shelf of studies about Muslim women on campus. It should be required reading for everyone in the field of Student Affairs.

[Daniel Pschaida · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores how 26 Muslim American women in 2003 attending Georgetown and George Mason Universities deal with issues of alcohol, sex and dating, and dress/fashion that are quite prominent campus youth cultures. Mir draws on theories of Goffman, Foucault, Judith Butler, and various others to analyze how many of these women set up "third" spaces between Muslim Student Association's frequent conservatism and youth party activities, working with these three issues to appropriate, resist, modify, and re-define stereotypes about Muslim women.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity written by Shabana Mir is an ethnographic study of Muslim American women undergraduates who study at Georgetown and George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Intensive and long-term involvement with the participants, the researcher untangles the complicated life of Muslim American women on campus. When it comes to identity, they struggle to be on the side of religious Muslim as well as undergraduates in hedonic campus culture. Under the fearful gazes of American communities after 9.11 attacks, women who put on hijabs which is visibly showing religious beliefs is challenging on campus. Throughout the rich data and description of the interviews, the book helps readers to comprehend their struggles and beliefs as religious as well as ordinary youth who study in America as American.
However, the 26 participants’ interviews and their stories cause confusions for me to focus on the intention of the researcher. Subheadings of the micro topics introduce readers what the researcher learn from the data, but at the same time, when each characters are introduced I had to take a note to figure out the backgrounds of the character although some readers might not pay much attention to the details.

[Zahra]

Interesting book but a content note: chapter 3 of this book contains SANIST language
I didn't read past that because I find it difficult to read SANIST language. I definitely don't think it's intentional or anything but I still found a triggering

[sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I FORGOT TO RATE THIS.

oh pwis...

[Samar Dahmash Jarrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for University and research not the average reader. Not sure why was it made into an Audio book.

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is not well-written, but it is informative--I learned quite a bit. It's short, which is a plus, and should be expanded and/or updated to reflect more current views of race and religion.