Peoples of the Middle East

Spring 2000

Instructor—Kathy Kamp

Goodnow 208; ext 3140

Sign-up on door or contact me by e-mail for appointments

Books

Fernea, Elizabeth Guests of the Sheik

Hoodfar, Homa 1997.  Between Marriage and Market: Intimate Politics and Survival in Cairo.  Berkeley: University of California Press.

Ahmed, Leila 1992. Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate.  New Haven: Yale University Press.

Acad, Evelyne 1997 Wounding Words: A Woman=s Journal in Tunesia.  Cynthia T. Hahn (Translator) .  

Fernea, Elizabeth 1998.  In Search of Islamic Feminism.  New York: Anchor Books

Course reader available in the bookstore. 

NOTE: The focus of the class this semester will be on gender roles and modernization.  We will be dealing primarily with the Arab world, although there will be a bit of discussion of Iran and Turkey. 

Assignments

1.  Class attendance and participation is mandatory.  This will include several small assignments suggested to prepare for class discussion. 30%

2.  Reading journal—This will be handed in at several points in the semester for comment, but no final grade will be given until the end of the semester. It is expected that a successful journal will be both complete and thoughtful.  It should be typed and double-spaced.  DO THIS AS THE SEMESTER PROGRESSES.  Do not try to put it off or you will find yourself in deep trouble. –50%

3.  In-class final exam.  You will be allowed to use your journal (but not books) as a reference.—20%

Class Schedule

1/25  IntroductionBImages of the Middle East—Film: Our Honor and His Glory

1/27  An Introduction to the Ethnography of the Region--Fernea, Elizabeth Guests of the ShiekBFilm Veiled Revolution.

2/1  The Historic Background B Fernea and Fernea pp. 470-528 (Baghdad and Al-Nahra, 1996) and pp, 88B95 (Colonialism East and West) 

2/3  Marriage and Family among the Urban Poor--Hoodfar, Homa 1997. Between Marriage and Market.  Berkeley: University of California Press.  Intro. and Chs. 1 (The research) and 2 (Marriage, family, and household). Film: Some Women of Marrakech.

Turn in your journal entries on 2/3 for some initial feedback.

2/8 Marital Relations--Dorsky, Ch. 7 (Marriage: Relations and conflict).  MernissiBChs 6 (Husband and wife) and Ch. 7 (The mother-in-law).

2/10  Marriage ContractsBDahl, Ch. 4 (Preparation for Marriage), Haeri, Law of Desire.

2/15  Household Economics--Hoodfar, Chs 3 (In search of cash: Men in the labor market), 4 (Women and employment), 5 (Money management and patterns of household budgeting) and 6 (Nonmonetary contributions to the household pool). Watch segment in The Price of Change

2/17 Work--Moors, Ch. 7 (Poverty, labour and property), Shukri, Chs 6 (Women and household economy) and 7 (Women=s work: agricultural and domestic).

2/22  Consumption Strategies--Hoodfar, Ch. 7 (Expenditure and consumption patterns) and Ch. 8 (Social networks and informal associations), and Ch. 10 (Conclusion)

2/24 Children--Wikan, Ch. 17 (The child in the family) and Ch. 18 (The everyday world of children); Brink  (Changing child-rearing patterns in an Egyptian village) 

Special Film-Showing Session TBA--Film: Leila

2/29  ElitesB Altorki, Ch. 3 (Roles and role conflicts), Longva (Kuwaiti women at a crossroads: Privileged development and the constraints of ethnic stratification) 

3/2  Middle Eastern Values--Eickelman, Ch. 4 (Sociability), Abu-Lughod Ch. 3 (Honor and the virtues of autonomy), Wikan (Self-realization in a poor environment)

3/7  Sexuality--Nieuwkerk (Honor and shame); Wikan (The xanith)

3/9 Film:On Boys, Girls, and the Veil.  (72 min.)  Saad (Shame, reputation and Egypt=s lovers: A controversy over the nation=s image).

3/14  Female Circumcision--Hoodfar, Ch. 9 (Fertility and sexual politics), Kassamali (When modernity confronts traditional practices),  Saadawi, pp. 7-11, 25-31, 33-43.  Walley (Searching for Avoices@: feminism, anthropology, and the global debate over genital operations)  Film: Hidden Faces

3/16  Fertility and population--Fargues (From demographic explosion to social rupture), Ibrahim, Nawar, and Lloyd (Women=s autonomy and the limits of population policy). Obermeyer (Reproductive rights in the West and in the Middle East) Film segment from The Price of Change. (6 min.) RETHINK THESE READINGS

Journals due again on 3/16.

SPRING BREAK

4/4  Islam and the Position of Women--Ahmed, Leila.  1992, Women and Gender in Islam.  New Haven: Yale University Press. Chs. 1-6,

4/6  Film: Algeria: Women at War. (52 min.) (This is very slightly out of sequence, but I will be gone to the SAA meetings this Thursday.)

4/11  Ahmed, Chs 7-Conclusion.

4/13  Accad,  Wounding Words

4/18  Women and RevolutionBGiacaman (The women=s movement on the West Bank), Reeves (Allah=s female warriors)  Film: Women Under Seige (26 min.)

4/20 Globalization and New Perspectives on the World --Starrett (The political economy of religious commodities in Cairo), Jennings (Culture change and the village)  Film:  Children of Shatila

4/25  Global Interconnections: The Media  Armbrust (Veiled cinema: A conversation with Yousry Nasrallah), Armbrust (When the lights go down in Cairo: Cinema as secular ritual).

4/27  Politics--Doumato (The ambiguity of shari=a and the politics of >rights= in Saudi Arabia), Nakanishi (Power, ideology, and women=s consciousness in postrevolutionary Iran), Mernissi (Introduction:Women=s Morocco).  Film: Egypt: To Live with Differences (25 min)

5/2  Human Rights and Democracy--Gallagher (Women=s human rights on trial in Jordan: The triumph of Toujan al-Faisal), Shaaban (Persisting contradictions: Muslim women in Syria). Film: Jordan: Democracy for our Children (25 min)

5/4  Feminism--Sedghi (Third World Feminist Perspectives on World Politics, Antonious (Human rights and cultural specificity: Some reflections)

5/9  Overview: Religion, Politics, and Gender Roles--Fernea, In Search of Islamic Feminism.  Selected Chapters.

5/11  Overview and Final Thoughts--Fernea, In Search of Islamic Feminism. Selected chapters plus final chapter.

Final Exam—As Scheduled