Paris, France: Muslims in the West: Immigration, Refugees and Islamophobia

Summary

*** Info Session: Monday, February 3, 12-1 p.m. Register here ***
 

This study abroad course examines the modern Muslim presence in France and Western Europe, including immigration, refugee history, and the unfolding political, social, intellectual, economic, architectural, currents in the country. In Paris, students will interact with local academics, community leaders and members and visit the critical collections in museums that formed and continue to shape the imaginary of the Muslim “other.”  Students will visit the locations associated with current Muslim presence in Paris, meet with recent immigrants/refugees, explore the type of assistance and restrictions prevalent in the country, and explore the emergence of replacement theories and the racial categorization emerging from this particular period. The course will introduce the students to Islam and the ideas that shaped its early development in the European and British contexts and continuing with a systematic presentation of unfolding political, social, intellectual, economic, architectural, and cultural events, which continue to cast a profound shadow on the present.

Highlights include:

• Engage with high profile guest speakers located in France.
• Meet with recent immigrants, refugees, and community workers to understand the contemporary issues faced by Muslim communities in France 
• Visit significant locations associated with current Muslim communities in Paris.
• Visits to deconstruct critical collections in museums that formed and continue to shape the imaginary of the Muslim “other.”

Dates:

• June 15, 2025 - July 19, 2025

Course:

On this program you will take one six unit course.

Course:

• Ethnic Studies N180: Muslims in the West (6 units)

Language of Instruction: English

Units: 6

Requirements Satisfied By This Program:

• L&S International Studies Breadth
• Consult with your college/major advisor to see which degree requirements this course may fulfill.

Note: Requirements above must be satisfied through full participation (all courses must be completed with C-/P or better)

Eligibility:

• At least one year of college coursework completed by the start of the program
• 2.0 GPA or higher
• May not be on academic probation or under censure for student misconduct at any point from application review to the end of your program.
• Must be 18+ years old at the time of application

Housing:

• Students will live in a hotel in central Paris.
• Please note that gender inclusive housing options are available.

Food:

• Please note that while some meals occur on special programmed occasions, on the day to day of the program students will be responsible for their own meals. On the first week of the program, program staff will provide students with a tour of affordable meal and grocery options in the neighborhood.

Application:

Application opens February 5, 2025

Space is limited and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis

Deadline to apply is March 12, 2025

Courses

During the program, you will take one course for a total of six UC Berkeley units.

Course: Ethnic Studies N180

Title: Muslims in the West: Immigration, Refugees and Islamophobia

Instructor: Dr. Hatem Bazian

Units: 6 units

The subject of Muslims in the West has been at the center of contestation and debate for a long period but intensifying since the end of the Cold War. Debates have centered on immigration, refugees and the place of Muslims in the West, a catch-all framing that led to racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia.  France’s relationship with Islam and Muslims is important to the understanding of current debates focusing on immigration, refugees and ideas of European-Western culture in general and how Muslims are posited as a challenge to norms. It is accurate to state that what we think of as typically the history of Muslim arrival to Europe is totally wrong, an assumption of late 19th and early 20th century, rather Muslims have been in the region as early as the seventh century and lasting to the present. Europe’s construction of Muslim otherness can be traced to the early rise of Islam with emphasis on differences in belief, cultural, social, and ethical norms, as well as the emergence of racial theory. Tracing the early developments from the early 8th century to the 15th century (emphasis on the Crusades), then moving to examine a variety of sources from the colonial era as well as hands-on exploration of elements from the 19th early 20th period and all the way to the present. Europe’s debating immigration, refugees and the tropes of the Muslim-Black-African-Asian racial other makes it possible to redirect internal European political, economic, social and cultural fragmentation and project a fictitious and cohesive national unity. France plays animportant historical and contemporary role in constructing the imaginary about the Muslim immigrant, and refugee other, which is reflected in the many laws and policies directed at the Muslim French citizens. The course will introduce the students to Islam and the ideas that shaped its early development in the European and French contexts and continuing with a systematic presentation of unfolding political, social, intellectual, economic, architectural, and cultural events, which continue to cast a profound shadow on the present. The students will examine the sources, introduced to the colonial artistic production focused on the Muslim subject, visit the locations associated with current Muslim presence in France, meet with recent immigrants/refugees, explore the type of assistance and restrictions prevalent in the country, and explore the emergence of replacement theories and the racial categorization emerging from this particular period.

Requirements Satisfied through this Program:

• L&S International Studies Breadth
• Additional Breadths TBA
• Consult with your college/major advisor to see which degree requirements this course may fulfill.

Note: Requirements above must be satisfied through full participation (all courses must be completed with C-/P or better)

Course Enrollment:

Summer Abroad staff will enroll you in courses after your acceptance to the program. Please make sure there are no active blocks on your student account that may impact your course enrollment.

Costs

The fees to participate in this program are broken down into 1) tuition and 2) program fees, which are applied to your student billing account as follows:

Fees are subject to change. All non-Berkeley students must pay an additional Document Management Fee of $68.

Estimated Out-Of-Pocket Expenses

In addition to the fees outlined above, Berkeley Study Abroad has estimated amounts for out-of-pocket expenses. These amounts are used to calculate financial aid packages for eligible students. Actual expenses will vary depending on your lifestyle and spending habits.

It is your responsibility to obtain any necessary travel documentation for your program destination (i.e. passport, visa, etc). This may require you to pay fees of up to a few hundred dollars depending on the type of paperwork required.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available for Berkeley students who are enrolled in at least 6 units during the summer.  Students can request a financial aid package estimate to understand what their individual financial aid package will look like. We recommend all financial aid eligible students request a financial aid estimate.

​​Requesting a financial aid package estimate: If you wish to receive a financial aid package estimate, please fill out this form (CalNet Authentication required). You will receive an email with your financial aid estimate (please allow a minimum of one week for response).

If you have a specific question about a study abroad financial aid issue you are encountering, please email TravelAid@berkeley.edu. Please do not email to request a financial aid estimate, these requests should be made using the form above. 

All other students should contact the financial aid office at their home institution for more information.

Explanation of Fees

Tuition is based on a per unit cost:

• The UC undergraduate student rate is $419 per unit
• The visiting student rate for all non-UC participants is $615 per unit

The program fee includes the following items:

• Student housing in Paris (see summary tab for more details)
• Excursions including entry fees to local museums, historic sites, etc.
• On-site orientation activities, excursions, guest speakers, etc.
• Travel insurance, including accident/sickness medical coverage, emergency medical evacuation, security extraction, and other travel assistance services
• Other program-related costs
• The $300 deposit. If accepted to the program, the $300 deposit will be applied towards your program fee. If you are waitlisted or denied admission to the program, your deposit will be refunded. If you request to withdraw your application prior to an admission decision being issued, or cancel your participation after being accepted to the program, the deposit remains charged to your account. 

*Please note that the list of items included in the program fee is not all-inclusive and is subject to change.

The following items are excluded from the program fee and included in the Out of Pocket expenses estimate:

• International airfare
• Personal expenses (souvenirs, routine medical expenses, toiletries, etc.)
• Course materials (textbooks and readers) if applicable. You can contact the instructor of the course to clarify.
• Other travel expenses (passport, visa, etc.)
• Additional meals

Timeline

* The pre-departure orientation is mandatory and takes place on the UC Berkeley campus. If you are not on campus during this time, we will schedule a meeting via phone or Zoom.

† Students should plan to fly to Paris and check into program housing on June 15, 2025. Students are expected to check out of program housing in Paris on July 19, 2025. Students who arrive early or depart after the last day may do so, but they are responsible for arranging their accommodations outside of the program end date. 

All dates are subject to change.

Instructors

Program Director: Dr. Hatem Bazian

Email: hatemb@berkeley.edu

Hatem Bazian is a lecturer in the Departments of Middle Eastern Cultures and Languages; and Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, Professor Bazian is a co-founder and Professor of Islamic Law and Theology at Zaytuna College, the 1st Accredited Muslim Liberal Arts College in the United States. Professor Bazian is the recipient of the 2019, Ronald T. Takaki UC Berkeley’s Teaching Award, in recognition for the tireless work to bring academic and scholarly attention to Muslims and Islamophobia in the field of Ethnic Studies.  Between 2002-2007, Dr. Bazian also served as an adjunct professor of law at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, a visiting Professor in Religious Studies at Saint Mary's College of California 2001-2007 and adviser to the Religion, Politics and Globalization Center at UC Berkeley.  Dr.  Bazian is author of five books, numerous chapters in edited volumes, hundreds of articles and media appearances. Bazian’s most recent book Erasing the Human: the Collapse of the Post-Colonial World and Refugee-Immigration Crisis.

In Spring 2009, Bazian founded at Berkeley the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the Center for Race and Gender, a research unit dedicated to the systematic study of Othering Islam and Muslims; and in Spring 2012 launched the Islamophobia Studies Journal, the only peer-reviewed academic journal on the subject and published bi-annually through Pluto Press.  Dr. Bazian is the founder and President of the International Islamophobia Studies Association, an academic association dedicated to the development of the Islamophobia Studies field.

Program Assistant: AJ Kurdi

Email: kurdi_aj@berkeley.edu

AJ is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ethnic Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Gender, Women and Sexuality at the University of California, Berkeley. His work focuses broadly on transnational social movements, immigration and diaspora studies, policy diffusion, and queer of color critique. For his dissertation research, he studies the circulation of ethnicity and race in the agenda setting, strategies and tactics of intersectional queer organizing, and how it influences mainstream movements and public policies across Europe and North America. The course's central themes of immigration policies, imperialism and islamophobia from a relational framework in the West are highly relevant for his work, and gives him the opportunity to learn a great deal all while sharing his knowledge and expertise in the region.