March 14, 2019

SVSU welcomes Yale professor for talk on American Muslim communities

Zareena A. Grewal, associate professor of American studies, religious studies and anthropology at Yale University, will give a public lecture at Saginaw Valley State University Thursday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall.

Grewal is an author and documentary filmmaker whose research focuses on race, gender, religion, nationalism and transnationalism across a wide spectrum of American Muslim communities. She has received awards for her writing and research grants from the Fulbright, Wenner-Gren and Luce Foundations.

Her first book, “Islam is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority,” is an ethnography of transnational Muslim networks that link U.S. mosques to Islamic movements in the Middle East through debates about the reform of Islam.

Grewal’s first film, “By the Dawn's Early Light: Chris Jackson's Journey to Islam,” examines the racialization of Islam and the scrutiny of American Muslims' patriotism.

At SVSU, Grewal’s lecture will cover the subject of her forthcoming book, titled “Is the Quran a Good Book?” which combines ethnographic and cultural studies analyses with historical research to trace the place of Islamic scripture in American imagination, especially in relation to national debates about intolerance.

Grewal's visit to SVSU is supported through the Dr. Raana Akbar Memorial Lecture Series in partnership with SVSU's Edwards Lecture Series and Dow Visiting Scholars Lecture Series.

The Raana Akbar Memorial Lecture on Islam and Culture was established in 2011 by Dr. Waheed Akbar in memory of his late wife Raana, a former member of the SVSU Board of Control, physician and community leader.

The William and Julia Edwards Lecture in Philosophy and Religion is a forum where recognized scholars in religion and philosophy are invited to share their work with the campus community.

The Dow Visiting Scholars and Artists program was established through an endowment from The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation to enrich our regional cultural and intellectual opportunities.

For more information, visit www.svsu.edu/publiclectures.