Teaching Islam, Sex, and Gender in a Comparative Abrahamic Religions Classroom: Deidentification, Multimedia, and Pedagogies of Play

Teaching Islam, sex, and gender in courses that examine Judaism, Christianity, and Islam presents distinctive pedagogical challenges, especially when students encounter the academic study of religion for the first time. This presentation introduces a framework for engaging questions of sex, gender, authority, and interpretation across Abrahamic traditions through three strategies: religious deidentification, comparative textual analysis, and pedagogies of play. Students temporarily bracket confessional commitments, analyze sacred texts across traditions, and experiment with interpretive perspectives through structured activities such as Power Bingo, debate simulations, and role-play exercises. Multimedia resources (including video, visual art, and digital texts) provide accessible entry points into contested topics, while an interactive syllabus helps students trace recurring themes across traditions. Together, these approaches cultivate intellectual curiosity, interpretive humility, and collaborative dialogue when teaching Islam, sex, and gender in interreligious classrooms.