Head On History

CurrentlyNerdy.com
  • 4.9 (208)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
Head On History Podcast

The ultimate history podcast with Ali A. Olomi. Each season consists of ten episodes covering a wide range of subjects from the Middle East, Islam, the Mediterranean, Religious history of Christianity and Judaism, South Asia, Afghanistan, Africa, Rome, Ancient Persia and much more.

  1. 07/05/2023

    Gender Bending in Islamic History

    Building upon our exploration of gender in Islamic history we dive into the topic of gender bending and how it can help us see gender as socially constructed, historically contingent, and contextual. We explore multiple figures through Islamic history from the ghulamiyya to the the bacha posh, from the khawal and the köçek to finally the mustarjil. Each of these figures troubles the imagined gender binary and instead presents us with an understanding of gender that is flexible and fluid. We also explore the possibility of transmen in Islamic history. The emerging image is that of an Islamic world which has much more nuanced understanding of gender than modern people give it credit for.

    42 min

  2. 07/13/2021

    Transgender and Non Binary in Islamic History

    Continuing our exploration of gender and sexuality in Islamic history we turn to the figure of the mukhannathun, a third gender category in early Islam. We trace ideas of gender as a fluid spectrum through the lives of these individuals examining their existence in the life of Muhammad and the nascent Muslim community, the Umayyads, and their eventual status in Abbasid society. We analyze the way in which they intersect with ideas of sexuality and theories of sex which fuse Islamic and Hellenistic models. Finally, we explore the legal discourse around intersex bodies and how these then make room for local expressions of gender in Indonesia and South Asia.

    33 min

  3. 06/30/2021

    Homosexuality and Gay Love in Islamic History

    In this episode we dive into the history of homosexuality, same-sex desire, and gay love in Islamic societies. We examine the realm of religion, scripture, literature, and medicine and what they tell us about same-sex desire. We recount the lives of famous gay and lesbian figures from the early Muslim community through the Abbasid Caliphate, Al Andalus, and the Indo-Persian world. We discuss the formulation of the concept of "liwat" while pushing back on the reductive attempt to project modern definitions on to it. We analyze the nuances in religious discourse arguing liwat is more accurately understood as sodomy and sexual violation. To the contrary we examine the way in which homoerotic poetry was praised in Islamic societies.

    31 min

  4. 06/27/2021

    Sex and Pleasure in Islamic Society

    How did early Muslims define sex? In this episode we examine the role of pleasure and specifically mutual pleasure as a key definition of sex in Islamic society. We trace the role of pleasure from the Qur'anic ethos to the subsequent development of Islamic law, literature, and medicine. We argue Muslims did not define sex as predominantly procreative, but treated pleasure as good in its own right. We examine erotic manuals on mutual orgasm, advice literature on sexual satisfaction of partners, and religious guidance on sex partners. From this we can see a society which viewed sex in mostly positive terms and what this means for broader understandings of relationships, sexuality, and gender.

    33 min

  5. 07/18/2019

    Gender and Sexuality in Islam

    The theme for season 5 is gender and sexuality in Islam. In our first episode we provide the framework for understanding gender, sex, and sexuality in the Islamic world. We discuss three influences on the framework: cultural beliefs, the Qur'an, and the philosophical tradition of the high Abbasid period. We discuss how Muhammad strove to reform Arabian tribal society and the ways in which the Qu'ran reflects this mission as well as codifies certain social differences and structures. We talk about the vast cultural variations and how the process of Islamizing a region included adopting some cultural norms. We then discuss the Hellenic concept of the humors and their adoption into Islam and relation to understanding gender and sexuality. Finally we bring it all together to help us understand the way in which Islam views gender, sex, and sexuality on a fluid spectrum that allows for variation. This episode sets up the framework for our future conversations.

    23 min

  6. 03/22/2019

    Special: Islamophobia

    In this special we cover the history of Islamophobia and the way it intersects with other forms of bigotry like antisemitism and its connection with Orientalism. We try to put the tragedy of the Christchuch, New Zealand shooting into a broader context by examining the discourse on Muslims. We start by examining Orientalism and its imagining of the Middle East and the racialization of Europeans and Semites. We explore how this forms the backdrop of the imagined community of the nation state as well as the civilizing mission of colonialism. We then discuss how some of this was deployed in the rise of contemporary Islamophobia which we link to the Cold War. We talk about the framework of "good Muslims, bad Muslims" and the massive industry that produces and profits from Islamophobia.

    21 min

  7. 03/08/2019

    Byzantines, Sassanians, and Holy Emperors

    In our final episode of the season, we wrap up our theme of Empires of Faith. We start out with some shout outs and then present a brief timeline of the Roman and Byzantine Empire. We discuss the Romanization of Christianity and the Christianization of the Roman Empire. We talk about Constantine with the imperial intervention into theology through the Council of Nicea. We examine how the intersection of empire and religion produces an orthodoxy enforced by force. We link this to the transformation of the "martyr" from one who faces violence to soldiers to carry out violence. We explore the relationship between orthodoxy, heresy, and violence in the creation of an imperial religious identity. When then discuss the emergence of the Sassanian Empire and the establishment of Zoroastrianism as the official religion of the empire. We mention Mani and Manichaeism briefly before focusing on the relationship between the monarchy and the Zoroastrian clergy in producing legitimacy. Finally we explore how the imperial orthodoxy at the heart of both the Byzantine Empire and Sassanian Empire is deployed in the territorial Byzantine-Sassanid War.

    53 min

  8. 03/01/2019

    Judaism, Christianity, and Messianic Kings

    In this episode we explore the history of Israelite religion under Hellenism and the Roman empire. We examine the ways in which Judeans responded to, absorbed, and resisted Hellenic culture resulting in messianic movements, the Sadducee sect, Pharisee sect, and Essene sect. We investigate the cosmopolitan culture of Judea under the Seleucid Empire and later the Roman Empire. We examine the changing relationship of various Israelite groups to the Temple and with their imperial overlords. We discuss the cultural milieu from which the Jesus movement emerges. Then we link the early followers of Christ to the broader debates and movements in Jerusalem. This leads us to examine the competing ideas of messianism in Judaism and the intervention of Paul. Finally we discuss the partition and separation of the Jesus movement and the Roman influence on conceptions of Late Antique religion. From this we see the use of heresy and orthodoxy in the division of Christianity from Rabbinic Judaism.

    47 min
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4.9
out of 5
208 Ratings

About

The ultimate history podcast with Ali A. Olomi. Each season consists of ten episodes covering a wide range of subjects from the Middle East, Islam, the Mediterranean, Religious history of Christianity and Judaism, South Asia, Afghanistan, Africa, Rome, Ancient Persia and much more.

Information

  • Creator
    CurrentlyNerdy.com
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2023
  • Episodes
    57
  • Show Website
    Head On History

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