Assignment for Section:
Friday, October 24, 1997

Reading Assignment: Lewis, Islam, 2:236-56; NES 257 web site

Write a short essay (300-400 words) on one of the following:

1. Make a list of the stereotypes about slaves that you encounter in the reading assignment, especially on pp. 243 ff. Are the attitudes that you encounter "racist" or are they symptoms of another kind of unexamined prejudice? If you conclude that these attitudes are racist, how are they similar to or different from racist attitudes in American society?

2. Compare the social, economic, and legal status of slaves in the Muslim world with that of slaves in antibellum America.

3. We will post on the course web site several pictures of slaves that are found in Islamic illuminated manuscripts. What do these pictures tell us about the status of slaves and blacks in Muslim society?

   Here are the pictures.