This course involves soundings in the intersection of American history and Islam. Substantial time will be spent on the era of slavery and the position of Islam as a religion of the enslaved during that era. It examines some aspects of Muslim presence, thought, art and social action in North America. It also looks at the ways in which American philosophical and literary traditions have engaged with Islamic themes. It is underlined that Islam has a long indigenous tradition in North America that predates Puritanism, but we do look at waves of immigration (1880-1924 and 1965-), and the place of Muslims in them. The main ethnic groups of American Islam-- African-Americans, whites and Latinos/as, Arab-Americans and South Asian Americans, will all be considered. Some attention will be given to denominations of American Islam--Nation of Islam, Sunnism, Shi`ism and Sufism. The course comes back at the end to consider the impact of Islam on youth and popular culture in the fraught era after 9/11.