Oberlin College was the first institution in the U.S. to establish an undergraduate program dedicated to the academic study of religion. Yet, it has now made the troubling decision to eliminate the visiting assistant professor of Islam position and, consequently, Islamic Studies in its entirety for the upcoming academic year.
While the College has claimed it is cutting the Islamic Studies position due to budget constraints, it simultaneously plans to fund a new tenure-track position in the study of Applied Religious Ethics, as well as hire a visiting professor of East Asian Religions. The termination of this position not only derails the academic progression of those in the Religion department whose scholastic and intellectual focuses are on Islamic traditions, but also reveals the College’s implicit judgment about which traditions, cultures, religions, and identities are deemed important enough to be taught. Students who intended to pursue coursework in Qur’anic interpretation, Islamic theology, and Muslim intellectual history will now have no pathway to do so within the department. For Muslim students, and for any student seeking to understand Islam beyond stereotypes, this loss is not abstract — it is immediate and personal.
One cannot deny that a religion department that lacks scholarly expertise in the second-most- followed religion in the world is one with a significant defect. Oberlin remains one of the most prestigious liberal arts institutions in the country; it is also one of the wealthiest. Though it is possible that Oberlin could choose to hire for the Islamic Studies position in the future, we know they won’t have anyone for next year at least. The choice to discontinue Islamic Studies, even if only for an academic year, undoubtedly weakens its position as both a progressive and rigorous institution. Oberlin argues that it is an inclusive space, but if that inclusivity does not extend to academic exploration, it becomes insincere. It also sets a dangerous precedent for which groups can be marginalized in the name of “‘inclusivity.” Every individual on this campus, regardless of their background, should be provided with the opportunity to engage academically with the cultural, intellectual, and religious contexts from which they arrive. We exist in diverse circumstances, and both our learning and our access to information must reflect that truth. By taking away Islamic Studies while simultaneously inviting scholars of other religious traditions into the fray, Oberlin sends a clear-cut message: Islamic Studies does not matter. You do not matter.
This event is reminiscent of the fight to keep the Arabic Language department. It is reminiscent of the fight to have more courses about the cultures and identities of African peoples. Just as there is only one professor in the entirety of Africana Studies whose primary focus is on Africa, there is only one professor in the Religion department whose sole focus is on the religious and theological facets of Islamic tradition. In contrast, there are numerous academics at Oberlin whose work centers on other Abrahamic faiths like Christianity and Judaism.
It often feels like representation is a perpetual fight at this college, particularly when that representation does not relate to the dominant culture, nor does it correlate with the study of international politics. While the Arabic Language department was recently expanded by a generous alumni donation, it is arguable that this expansion was rooted in a hunger for ostensibly “marketable” skills related to diplomacy, rather than an opportunity for fields of study that are equally valid intellectual pursuits — like exploration of Arabic culture and Qur’anic studies.
As a leader in liberal arts education, Oberlin College is sending a strong message about what it envisions as the future of academia. It has now plainly stated who is included in this future and who will be dismissed. If Oberlin cannot commit to ensuring equitable representation across academic departments, how can it guarantee equitable treatment and access for its marginalized students?
