Contributor long abstract:

A main topic of my presentation is teaching an online course: “Research Methodology of Islam in Central Asia and the Caucasus” which I conducted for a group of MA students from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia. The course was designed to teach the theories of qualitative research and practice in fieldwork. Within the class, I planned visiting a mosque, drawing “a map of Muslim Tbilisi” (together with the students), and organising meetings with various people such as religious professionals, representatives of Muslim community, social activists and so forth. However, the course was almost entirely conducted online. It was a first time when I conducted the online course via the Zoom platform teaching people who I did not meet before in a real life. I will talk how I modified my plans due to the changing circumstances. In which way I interacted with my students, and how online teaching changed my approach to education and research methods.