Course Description
Female reformers and revolutionaries were at the forefront of many of the 20th and early 21st centuries’ historic socio-political and religious movements across the Global South. In the MENA region, as members of diverse classes, families, and ethnic communities, many worked within the tenets of Islam in multiple ways to construct religious identity and work towards achieving and demanding civil and political rights. Yet the myriad theoretical and popular discourses underpinning emergent and longstanding women’s movements within revolutionary contexts are frequently overlooked. Moreover, representations of Muslim women too often rely on essentialist, ahistorical, static, victim-centered, and Orientalist descriptions and analyses. As a result, shades of difference in interpretation, ideology, practice, and culture are minimized. This course situates MENA women as complex, multidimensional actors engaged in knowledge production and political and feminist struggles. In this seminar, we will read key texts and analyses from scholars and activists writing on religion, gender, sexuality, family planning, and women’s status in the MENA region and Global South. The following questions will emerge in our discussions: “When is a hejab just a hejab?,” “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?,” and “What is an ‘Islamic Feminist’ and Should We Care?” Readings include memoirs, editorials, ethnographies, and political treatises, as well as historical scholarship from North Africa, the Gulf, the Levant, and Southeast Asia.
Learning outcome
- Have been introduced to a variety of empirical realities and conditions of women’s lives across MENA region
- Develop an interdisciplinary and comparative understanding of gender and sexuality in MENA region
- Deepen historical and geographical knowledge of MENA region
- Develop stronger analytical and reading skills when studying diverse sources and discourses
- Develop stronger critical analysis skills for understanding current social and political debates concerning gender and sexuality across MENA region
- Familiarize yourself with major texts and debates circulating in postcolonial, gender and women’s studies
- Honing reading, writing, and oral communication skills through essay writing and class presentations
Teaching
This 90-minute seminar will typically meet once per week except for those specific dates when we meet twice (see Course Schedule). This class is reading- and discussion-intensive, though I may give short lectures to place assignments in an intellectual or historical context. Students are expected to participate actively and to prepare in-class presentations on selected readings. Class attendance and participation are strongly emphasized. In case of illness, contact your student advisor.
Compulsory activities:
- Three Review Essays for each student. Reviewed and assessed by instructor; scored with approved or not approved.
Due Class 4, 7 & 10 -
At least 80 percent attendance in class
- Two in-class presentations for each student (depending on class size). Groups to be determined first day of class.
In-class Presentations
Each session will include student presentations by one to three students (depending on class size) who act as discussion leaders and will thus lead that particular week’s class. The goal of any presentation is to encourage more discovery and dialogue. As a general rule of thumb, prepare the following for your presentations:
a) First, in a 20 minute oral summary to be presented in class, addressing the weekly theme and the readings through a critical and reflective engagement. Perhaps you can include the following: the theme’s importance; the author’s point-of-view; strengths or weaknesses in his/her argument; their connection to other themes discussed in class; the historical and political context of the readings.
b) Second, prepare three critical questions to distribute to the class, which highlight some of the main issues and implications operating in the texts. By critical questions, I mean ones that express or involve an analysis of the merits and faults of a work. Moreover, they should help generate class discussion and debate. One of the aims of this exercise is to engage with both the readings and your peers in a public forum.
c) The use of Powerpoint is accepted.
d) You are strongly encouraged to meet with me the week before your presentation to go over some of your plans, questions, and thoughts about the presentation.
Presentation schedule and group members will be decided in Class 1 & 2. Presentations will commence in Class 2.
Three Review Essays
Each student will write three review essays throughout the course. These written assignments are concise essays of a minimum of 750 words to 850 words maximum that will engage critical themes discussed in both the class and from the readings. Each essay should offer a focused analysis. They should be critical engagements with the texts, not summaries, reviews, or reports on what you liked or did not like about the readings.
I will distribute the essay questions via Canvas one week before each essay is due.
These essays are due via Canvas at the start of class for Class 4, Class 7 and Class 10.
All written assignments must be grammatically correct, typed, 1.5 spaced, written in Times or New Times Roman 12 pt. font, have 1 inch margins, conform to standard Chicago Style structure and source citation, and observe the niceties of style, grammar, etc. Chicago Style Quick guide found here: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
Assignment Feedback
I will review these assignments and offer comments and suggestions to improve them within one to two weeks after they are submitted. Additionally, I will score them according to the following system: check, check minus, or check plus.
Examination
Towards the term’s end, students will submit a compilation of their three edited review essay assignments on which they have worked throughout the course of the semester. Feedback on these assignments should be used to revise the component parts of the portfolio before final submission in Canvas within a given deadline.
Length of portfolio submissions: The total length of the submission should be 8-10 pages, 1.5-spaced, excluding bibliography and appendices. Approved drafts are only valid for one semester.
The portfolio have a cover page. It must be grammatically correct, typed, 1.5 spaced, written in Times or New Times Roman 12 pt. font, have 1 inch margins, conform to standard Chicago system structure and source citation, and observe the niceties of style, grammar, etc. The language of the Word document should be set to “English” (either UK or US).