GenderSexuality inthe MidEast

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

1750 until the present. A great emphasis will be given to the impact of Colonialism and the European expansion as well as discourses of modernity, rights, and citizenship on ideas of femininity, masculinity and sexuality in the Middle East. It will analyze the role of women in political movements, from anti-colonial to revolutionary, and examine the role of ideologies like nationalism, socialism, feminism, and political Islam, on gender. While grounded in history, this course is interdisciplinary in scope, with readings from history, literature, religious studies, anthropology and viewing assignments from documentaries, films, and animations. Finally, this course seeks to dispel myths and stereotypes about women in the region through a more nuanced understanding of major cultural, social, economic and political trends that shaped their lives and the ways in which they reacted to these changes.