This seminar explores the representation of Islam and Islamic cultures in early modern English literature, from the 1580s to the 1650s with a primary but not exclusive focus on drama. What enduring fantasies about the Islamic world does early modern English literature express? How do religion, race, gender, and sexuality intersect in the formation of those fantasies? How do specific English social, political, and cultural issues inform literary representations of Islam? Ultimately, what do texts about Islam tell us about early modern England? (Drama, Pre-1650 This is a research and criticism seminar intended for third- and fourth-year English majors.