Rabab Abdulhadi
Department of Sociology
Yale University
Sociology 334a
Fall 1998
Phone: 432-3344
Email:rabab.abdulhadi@yale.edu

Gender, Identity, and Society in the Middle East
Sociology 334a/Women's and Gender Studies 413a
Course Description:
What are the conditions of Middle Eastern women today? How have they fared historically? How did colonialism, decolonization, and other political developments shape their lives? In what ways have the political economies, religious movements and cultural norms define, restrict, or expand women's roles and rights? Conversely, how do women express themselves, struggle for their lives, and negotiate their identities?

Gender, Identity, and Society in the Middle East is an advanced level seminar that explores these questions. By reading and discussing the words of Middle Eastern women, as well as writings about them by outside observers, we will be challenging ourselves and questioning our understanding, not only of the conditions of Middle Eastern women, but, more importantly, of the ways in which knowledge about them is produced and reproduced and of the ways in which they construct their identities. Collectively, we will attempt to carefully define every term we use: gender and power, subordination and resistance; feminism and patriarchy; honor and shame; Islam and Arab culture; and religious movements and nationalism, to name a few. Each of these issues will be interrogated and placed in parenthesis, including what we mean by the "Middle East" and whether the region can be defined as a single sociological, political, or cultural homogeneous unit.

Because one semester is insufficient to thoroughly study every single country in this region --let alone every socio-cultural group-- we will explore specific themes in a historically comparative fashion, attempting to examine case studies from different regions. The case studies, however, do favor certain areas over others. This is partly due to the availability of writings in English, and partly because of the themes chosen for this seminar. While some of the readings manifest obvious opposition and tensions, others are utilized because they, or their authors, are viewed as a "must read" by Middle East area studies.

Required Readings:
All books and readings packets are on reserve at the library under my name. You can purchase the books at the Yale Bookstore and the packets (required reading and supplementary readings) at Minitprint. Articles in the course readers are indicated with an asterisk on the syllabus.

You are only responsible for the required readings. I have included the supplementary readings to facilitate your research and to provide you with a basis to pursue further knowledge of subjects not covered this semester. In addition to the packet of articles, the required readings are made up of books and a list of novels/biographical accounts from which you need to choose only two.

REQUIRED BOOKS:
Augustin, E., ed. 1993. Palestinian Women: Identity and Experience. London: Zed Books. Kandiyoti, D., ed. 1991. Women, Islam and the State. London: Macmillan. Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. 1991 Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. 1991. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Tucker, J. ed. 1993. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Yuval- Davis, N., and Anthias, F., eds. 1989. Woman-Nation-State. London: macmillan Press.

NOVELS/BIOGRAPHIES: (Choose two)
Abouzeid, L. 1989. Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey Toward Independence. Austin: Center for Middle Eastern Studies/University of Texas. Adnan, E. 1989. Sitt Marie Rose. Sausalito: Post-Apollo Press. Al-Shaykh, H. 1991. The Story of Zahra. London: Quartet Books. Al-Shaykh, H. 1993. Women of Sand and Myrrh. London: Quartet Books. Amrouche, F. 1968. My Life Story. Trans. By Dorothy Blair. London: The Women's Press. Atiya, N. 1982. Khul-Khaal: Five Egyptian Women Tell Their Stories. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. Badr, L. 1989. A Compass for the Sunflower. London: The Women's Press. Ben Jelloun, T. 1989. The Sacred Night. London: Quartet Books. -------------------, 1988. The Sand Child. London: Quartet Books. Booth, M. Ed. 1991. My Grandmother's Cactus: Stories by Egyptian Women. London: Quartet Books. De Beauvoir, S., & Halimi, G. 1962. Djamila Boupacha. London: Cox and Wyman Ltd. Djebar, A. 1987. A Sister to Schehrazade. London: Quartet Books. -----------, 1985. Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade. London: Quartet Books. El-Saadawi, N. 1975. Woman at Point Zero. London: Zed Books Ltd. Freedman, M. 1990. Exile in the Promised Land. Ithaca and New York: Firebrand Books. Ghalem, A. 1988. A Wife for My Son. New York: Banner Press. Khalifeh, S. 1985. Wild Thorns. London: Al Saqi Books. Lemsine, A. 1990. Beneath A Sky of Porphyry. London: Quartet Books. Meir, G. 1975. My Life. New York: Dell Publishing Co. Refaat, A. 1985. Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories. London: Quartet Books. Tawil, R.H. 1983. My Home, My Prison. London: Zed Books. Tuqan, F. 1990. A Mountainous Journey: A Poet's Autobiography. Saint Paul: Graywolf Press.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
Accad, E. 1990. Sexuality and War: Literary Masks of the Middle East. New York: New York University Press. Ahmad, L. 1992. Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press. Al-Hibri, A., ed. 1982. Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Al-Torki, S., 1986. Women in Saudi Arabia: Ideology and Behavior Among the Elite. New York: Columbia University Press. --------------, and El-Solh, C., eds. 1988. Arab Women in the Field. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. Badran, M., and Cooke, M., eds. 1990. Opening the Gates: A Century of Arab Feminist Writing. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Beck, L., and Keddie, N., eds. 1978. Women in the Muslim World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. El-Darer, A., 1982. Woman, Why Do You Weep? London: Zed Books Ltd. El-Saadawi, N. 1980. The Hidden Faces of Eve. Boston: Beacon Press. Fanon, F. 1965. A Dying Colonialism. New York: Grove Press, Inc. Fernea, E., and Bezirgan, B., eds. 1977 Middle East Muslim Women Speak. Austin: University of Texas Press. Jayawardena, K. 1986. Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World. London: Zed Books. Jayyusi, S.K. 1988. The Literature of Modern Arabia. London: Kegan Paul International. Mernissi, F. 1991. The Veil and the Male Elite. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Said, E. 1978. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books.

Course Requirements:
This is an advanced level seminar. It is intended to help you strengthen your theoretical arguments, sharpen your writing skills, and generally prepare you for graduate-school-level work. Because of the emphasis on the "training grounds," I expect each student to fully participate and contribute to class discussions. The grading system below reflects this logic:
1. Seminar attendance and participation: 20% of grade.
2. Preparation and leading 3 sessions (including 3 one-page memos): 45% of grade.
3. Final project: 35% of grade. A 10-15 (double-spaced) page paper on any topic relevant to gender dynamics and identifications in the Middle East. If you choose literary work/biographical account as your final project, your class presentation will be during week 11. Regardless of the choice you make, your class presentation will account for 15% of your grade and your paper for 20%. See "Final Project -- Guidelines and Options" for details. All projects must be discussed with me before being finalized. Accordingly, you should make an appointment to meet with me during the third and fourth week of classes. Regardless of your choice, the following deadlines are sacred:
a) a one-paragraph abstract is due Week 5.
b) a bibliography is due Week 7.
c) an outline is due Week 9.
d) a rough draft is due Week 10 to be exchanged with another student.
e) class presentation of final projects Weeks 11 (for literary works), 13, and 14.
f) final projects are due on December 17, 1998.

Week 1. Introduction and Organization: [9/3] required:
Altorki, S., and El-Solh, C., eds. 1988. Arab Women in the Field. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. "Introduction."* Hajibashi, Z. 1991. "Feminism or Ventriloquism: Western Presentations of Middle Eastern Women." In Middle East Report, 21, No. 172: 43-5.*

Week 2. Theoretical Concerns: Producing Knowledge on Gender in the Middle East: [9/10] required:
Said, E., 1978. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books. "Introduction"* Lazreg, M. 1990. "Feminism and Difference: The Peril of Writing As a Woman on Women in Algeria." In Hirsch, M., and Fox Keller, E., eds. Conflicts in Feminism. New York: Routledge.* Mohanty, C. 1990. "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.," In Mohanty, C., Russo, A., and Torres, L. Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.*

supplementary:
Fischer, M. 1992. "Orientalizing America: Beginnings and Middle Passages." In Middle East Report. 22, No.178: 32-37.* al-'Azm, S. J. 1984. "Orientalism and Orientalism in Reverse." In Rothschild, J., ed. Forbidden Agendas: Intolerance and Defiance in the Middle East. London: Al Saqi Books.* Week 3. Women in Middle East History: [9/17] required:
Tucker, J. 1993. "The Arab Family in History: 'Otherness' and the Study of the Family." In Tucker, J., ed. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Ze'evi, D. 1995. "Women in 17th-Century Jerusalem: Western and Indigenous Perspectives." In International Journal of Middle East Studies, 27, No.2: 157-173.* Keddie, N. 1991. "Deciphering Middle Eastern Women's History." In Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. Al-Sayyid Marsot, A. L. 1978. "The Revolutionary Gentlewomen in Egypt." In Beck, L., and Keddie, N., eds. Women in the Muslim World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.* Fernea, E., and Bezirgan, B., eds. 1977. "Walladah bint al-Mustakfi." In Middle East Muslim Women Speak. Austin: University of Texas.*

supplementary:
Nelson, C. 1991. "Biography and Women's History: On Interpreting Doria Shafik." In Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. Spellberg, D. 1991. "Political Action and Public Example: 'Aisha and the Battle of the Camel." In Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. Hegland, M. 1991. "Political Roles of Aliabad Women: The Public-Private Dichotomy Transcended." In Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. El-Saadawi, N. 1980. "Part II: Women in History." In The Hidden Faces of Eve. Boston: Beacon Press.*

Student Appointments to discuss Final Project
Week 4. Body Politics I--Reproduction: [9/24] required:
Musallam, B. 1983. Sex and Society in Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2.* Yuval-Davis, N. 1989. "National Reproduction and the 'Demographic Race' in Israel," in Yuval- Davis, N., and Anthias, F., eds. Woman-Nation-State. London: Macmillan Press. Afshar, H.1989. "Women and Reproduction in Iran," in Yuval-Davis, N., and Anthias, F., eds. Woman-Nation-State. London: Macmillan Press. Farah, N. 1991. "Our Bodies, Ourselves: The Egyptian Women's Health Book Collective." In Middle East Report, 21, No.173: 16-7; 25.*

supplementary:
El-Saadawi, N. 1980. "Abortion and Fertility." In The Hidden Faces of Eve. Boston: Beacon Press.* Musallam, B. 1983. Sex and Society in Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Solomon, A. 1991. "Anything for a Baby: Reproductive Technology in Israel," in Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Haj, S. 1992. "Palestinian Women and Patriarchal Relations." In Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 17, No.4: 761-78.*

Student Appointments to discuss Final Project

Week 5. Body Politics II--The Gendered Body: [10/1] required:
El-Saadawi, N. 1980. "Circumcision of Girls." In The Hidden Faces of Eve. Boston: Beacon Press.* Zein Ed-din, N. 1982. "Removing the Veil and Veiling." In Al-Hibri, A., ed. Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press.* Mernissi, F. 1982. "Virginity and Patriarchy," in Al-Hibri, A., ed. Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press.* Sanders, P. 1991. "Gendering the Ungendered Body: Hermaphrodites in Medieval Islamic Law." In Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. Lemish, P. 1993. "Masculinity and Military Service." In Challenge, 4, No. 17: 31-3.*

supplementary:
El-Darer, A. 1982. Woman, Why Do You Weep? London: Zed Books Ltd. Minority Rights Group. 1980. Female Circumcision's Various Forms. London: Minority Rights Group. Hassan, M. 1991. "Growing Up Female and Palestinian in Israel." In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Morsy, S. 1978. "Sex Differences and Folk Illness in an Egyptian Village." In Beck, L., and Keddie, N., eds. Women in the Muslim World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.*

Abstracts of Final Projects Due

Week 6. Body Politics III--Sexuality, Sexual Politics, and Sexual Violence: [10/8] required:
Oppenheimer, J. 1991. "The Pressure to Be Heterosexual," in Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Wockner, R. 1992. "Homosexuality in the Arab and Moslem World." In Likosky, S., ed. Coming Out: An Anthology of International Gay and Lesbian Writings. New York: Pantheon Books.* Norton, A. 1991. "Gender, Sexuality and the Iraq of Our Imagination." In Middle East Report, 21, No.173: 26-8.* Shalhoub Kevorkian, N. 1993. "Fear of Sexual Harassment: Palestinian Adolescent Girls in the Intifada." In Augustin, E. ed. Palestinian Women: Identity and Experience. London: Zed Books. Eilam Esther. 1991. "Rape and Rape Survivors in Israel." In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press.

supplementary:
Swirski, B. 1991. "Jews Don't Batter their Wives: Another Myth Bites the Dust." In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Accad, E. 1990. Sexuality and War: Literary Masks of the Middle East. New York: New York University Press. Hazleton, L. 1977. "Sex and Security." In Hazleton, L. Israeli Women: The Reality Behind the Myths. New York: Simon and Schuster.*

Week 7. The Political Economy of Sex and Gender: [10/15] required:
Aleene Early, E. 1993. "Getting It Together: Baladi Egyptian Businesswomen," In Tucker, J., ed. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Longva, A. N. 1993. "Kuwaiti Women at a Crossroads: Privileged Development and the Constraints of Ethnic Stratification." In International Journal of Middle East Studies, 25, No.3: 443-56.* Hijab, N. 1988. "Jordanian Women's Liberating Forces: Inflation and Labour Migration." In Womanpower: The Arab Debate on Women at Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.* Hindiyeh Mani, S., and Ghazawneh, A. 1993. "The Socio-Economic Conditions of Female Wage Labour in the West Bank." In Augustin, E., ed. Palestinian Women: Identity and Experience. London: Zed Books. Yuval-Davis, N. 1987. "Front and Rear: The Sexual Division of Labour in the Israeli Army." In Afshar, H. ed. Women, State, and Ideology: Studies from Africa and Asia. Albany: State University of New York Press.* el-Gawhary, K. 1995. "Sex Tourism in Cairo." In Middle East Report, 25, No.196: 26-7.*

supplementary:
Hijab, N. 1988. "The Arab Gulf State: Demands but No Supply," In Womanpower: The Arab Debate on Women at Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.* Lazreg, M. 1990. "Women, Work and Social Change in Algeria." In Stichter & Parpart, eds. Women, Employment and the Family in the International Division of Labor. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.* Dajani, S. 1993. "Palestinian Women Under Israeli Occupation: Implications for Development." In Tucker, J., ed. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Safir, M. 1991. "Was the Kibbutz an Experiment in Social and Sex Equality?" In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Joseph, S. 1977. "Zaynab, an Urban Working-Class Lebanese Woman." In Fernea, E., and Bezirgan, B., eds. Middle East Muslim Women Speak. Austin: University of Texas Press.*

Final Project's Bibliography Due

Week 8. Gender, Power and Religion: [10/22] required:
Ahmed, L. 1991. "Early Islam and the Position of Women: The Problem of Interpretation." In Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. Lazreg, M. 1990. "Gender and Politics in Algeria: Unraveling the Religious Paradigm," In Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 15, No.4: 755-80.* Cheriet, B. 1992. "The Resilience of Algerian Populism." In Middle East Report, 22, No.174: 9-14.* Hammami, R. 1990. "Women, the Hijab and the Intifada." In Middle East Report, 20, No.164-165: 24-28.* Tohidi, N. 1991. "Gender and Islamic Fundamentalism: Feminist Politics in Iran," In Mohanty, C., et al., eds. Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.* Goodman-Thau, E. 1991. "Challenging the Roots of Religious Patriarchy and Shaping Identity and Community." In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press.

supplementary:
Al-Hibri, A. ed. 1982. Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Ahmad, L. 1992. Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press. Kandioyti, D. 1991. "End of Empire: Islam, Nationalism and Women in Turkey," In Kandiyoti, D., ed. Women, Islam and the State. London: Macmillan. Mernissi, F. 1991. The Veil and the Male Elite. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. "An Agunah Testifies on the Floor of the Knesset." 1991. In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press.

Week 9. Gender, Nationalism, and Politics: [10/29] required:
Shahidian, H. 1994. "The Iranian Left and the 'Women Question' in the Revolution of 1978-79." In International Journal of Middle East Studies, 26, No.2: 223-47.* Abdo, N. 1991. "Women in the Intifada: Gender, Class and National Liberation." In Race and Class, 32, No.4: 19-34.* Lazreg, M. 1994. "Nationalism, Decolonization and Gender." In The Eloquence of Silence: Algerian Women in Question. New York: Routledge.* Sharoni, S. 1995. "Nationalism, Gender, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." In Gender and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Politics of Women's Resistance. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.* Shalinsky, A. 1993. "Women's Roles in the Afghanistan Jihad." In International Journal of Middle East Studies, 25, No.4: 661-75.*

supplementary:
Enloe, C., 1989. "Nationalism and Masculinity." In Bananas, Beaches, & Bases. Berkeley: University of California Press.* Peteet, J. 1991. "Action, Ideology, and Gender in the National Movement." In Gender in Crisis: Women and the Palestinian Resistance Movement. New York: Columbia University Press.* Fanon, F. 1965. A Dying Colonialism. New York: Grove Press, Inc. Helie-Lucas, M. A. 1990. "Women, Nationalism and Religion in Algerian Liberation Struggle." In Cooke, M., and Badran, M., eds. Opening the Gates: A Century of Arab Feminist Writing. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.* 'Awad, W. 1977. "Jamilah Buhrayd: Legendary Algerian Hero." In Fernea, E., and Bezirgan. B., eds. Middle East Muslim Women Speak. Austin: University of Texas Press.*

Outline of Final Project Due

Week 10. Gender, State, Law and Society: [11/5] required:
Joseph, S. 1993. "Gender and Civil Society." In Middle East Report, 23, No.183: 22-6.* Molyneux, M. 1991. "The Law, the State and Socialist Policies with Regard to Women: The Case of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen 1967-1990." In Kandiyoti, D., ed. Women, Islam and the State. London: Macmillan Press. Kandioyti, D.1989. "Women and the Turkish State: Political Actors or Symbolic Pawns?" In Yuval- Davis, N., and Anthias, F., eds. Woman-Nation-State. London: Macmillan Press. Najmabadi, A. 1991. "Hazarads of Modernity and Morality: Women, State and Ideology in Contemporary Iran," in Kandioyti, D., ed. Women, Islam and the State. London: Macmillan. Raday, F. 1991. "The Concept of Gender Equality in a Jewish State." In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press.

supplementary:
Al-Torki, S., 1986. Women in Saudi Arabia: Ideology and Behavior Among the Elite. New York: Columbia University Press. Joseph, S. 1991. "Elite Strategies for State Building: Women, Family, Religion and the State in Iraq and Lebanon," in Kandioyti, D., ed. Women, Islam and the State. London: Macmillan Press. Jan Dorph, K. 1982. "Islamic Law in Contemporary North Africa: A Study of the Laws of Divorce in the Maghreb." In Al-Hibri, A., ed. Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press.* Afshar, H. 1987. "Women, Marriage and the State in Iran." In Afshar, H. ed. Women, State, and Ideology: Studies from Africa and Asia. Albany: State University of New York Press.*

Rough Draft of Final Project Due (to be exchanged with another student)

Week 11. Women in M.E. Cultures: Discourses, Location, Representation & Production: [11/12] required:
Peteet, J. 1993. "Authenticity and Gender: The Presentation of Culture." In Tucker, J., ed. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Abu-Lughod, L. 1993. "Islam and the Gendered Discourses of Death." In International Journal of Middle East Studies, 25, No.2:187-205.* Shohat, E. 1991. "Making the Silences Speak in the Israeli Cinema," in Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Danielson, V. 1991. "Artists and Entrepreneurs: Female Singers in Cairo during the 1920s." In Keddie, N., and Baron, B., eds. Women in Middle Eastern History. New Haven: Yale University Press. Accad, E. 1978. "The Theme of Sexual Oppression in the North African Novel." In Beck, L., and Keddie, N., eds. Women in the Muslim World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.*

supplementary:
Badran, M., and Cooke, M., eds. 1990. Opening the Gates: A Century of Arab Feminist Writing. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 'Awad, M. 1977. "The Umm Kulthum Nobody Knows as told by Umm Kulthum, Famed Egyptian Singer." In Fernea, E., and Bezirgan, B., eds. Middle East Muslim Women Speak. Austin: University of Texas Press.* Mala'ikah, N. 1977. "The Beginning of the Free Verse Movement." In Fernea, E., and Bezirgan, B., eds. Middle East Muslim Women Speak. Austin: University of Texas Press.* Mukarker, F. 1991. "Life Between Palestine and Germany: Two Cultures, Two Lives." In Augustin, E. ed. Palestinian Women: Identity and Experience. London: Zed Books.

Choice of Literary Work/Presentations of Final Projects

Week 12. "Sisterhood" and Difference: Middle Eastern Women's Movements: [11/19] required:
Slyomovics, S. 1995. "'Hassiba Ben Bouali, If You Could See Our Algeria': Women and Public Space in Algeria." In Middle East Report, 25, No.192: 8-13.* Shiran, V. 1991. "Feminist Identity vs. Oriental Identity," in Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Ezzat, Heba Ra'uf. 1994. "An Islamic Women's Liberation Movement?" In Middle East Report, 24, No. 191: 26-7.* Hale, S. 1993. "Transforming Culture or Fostering Second-Hand Consciousness?" Women's Front Organizations and Revolutionary Parties--The Sudan Case." In Tucker, J., ed. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. al-Samman, G. 1977. "The Sexual Revolution and the Total Revolution." In Fernea, E., and Bezirgan, B., eds. Middle East Muslim Women Speak. Austin: University of Texas Press.*

supplementary:
Ahmed, L. 1982. "Feminism and Feminist Movements in the Middle East, a Preliminary Exploration: Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen," in Al-Hibri, A., ed. Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press.* Cagatay, N., Grown, C., and Santiago, A. 1989. "The Nairobi Women's Conference: Toward a Global Feminism?" pp. 467-72 in Feminist Frontiers II, edited by Richardson and Taylor. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.* Augustin, E. 1991. "Development in the Palestinian Women's Movement during the Intifada." In Augustin, E. ed. Palestinian Women: Identity and Experience. London: Zed Books. Accad, E. 1991. "Sexuality and Sexual Politics: Conflicts and Contradictions for Contemporary Women in the Middle East." In Mohanty, C., et al, eds. Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.*

Class Presentation of Students' Final Projects

Week 13. Activism, Solidarity, and Social Change: [12/3] required:
Peteet, J., and Harlow, B. 1991. "Gender and Political Change." In Middle East Report, 21, No.173: 4-9.* Abdulhadi, R. 1998. "The Palestinian Women's Autonomous Movement: Emergence, Dynamics, and Challenges." Gender & Society, 12, No. 6, December.* Hatem, M. 1993. "Towards the Development of Post-Islamist and Post-Nationalist Feminist Discourses in the Middle East." In Tucker, J. ed. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Sharoni, S. 1995. "Israeli-Jewish Women's Struggles: History, Context, and Strategies." In Gender and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Politics of Women's Resistance. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.*

supplementary:
Baffoun, A. 1982. "Women and Social Change in the Muslim Arab World," in Al-Hibri, A., ed. Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press.* Chazan, N. 1991. "Israeli Women and Peace Activism." In Swirski, B., and Safir, M., eds. Calling the Equality's Bluff: Women in Israel. New York: Pergamon Press. Giacaman, R., and Johnson, P. 1989. "Palestinian Women: Building Barricades and Breaking Barriers." In Lockman, Z., and Beinin, J., eds. Intifada: The Palestinian Uprising Against Israeli Occupation. Boston: South End Press.*

Class Presentation of Students' Final Projects

Week 14. Conclusion: [12/10]
Evaluation of Seminar & Suggestions for the Future Closure Class Presentations of Students' Final Projects


Rabab Abdulhadi
Department of Sociology
Yale University
Sociology 334a
Fall 1998
Phone: 432-3344
Email:rabab.abdulhadi@yale.edu

Gender, Identity, and Society in the Middle East
Sociology 334a/Women's and Gender Studies 413a
Course Description:
What are the conditions of Middle Eastern women today? How have they fared historically? How did colonialism, decolonization, and other political developments shape their lives? In what ways have the political economies, religious movements and cultural norms define, restrict, or expand women's roles and rights? Conversely, how do women express themselves, struggle for their lives, and negotiate their identities?

Gender, Identity, and Society in the Middle East is an advanced level seminar that explores these questions. By reading and discussing the words of Middle Eastern women, as well as writings about them by outside observers, we will be challenging ourselves and questioning our understanding, not only of the conditions of Middle Eastern women, but, more importantly, of the ways in which knowledge about them is produced and reproduced and of the ways in which they construct their identities. Collectively, we will attempt to carefully define every term we use: gender and power, subordination and resistance; feminism and patriarchy; honor and shame; Islam and Arab culture; and religious movements and nationalism, to name a few. Each of these issues will be interrogated and placed in parenthesis, including what we mean by the "Middle East" and whether the region can be defined as a single sociological, political, or cultural homogeneous unit.

Because one semester is insufficient to thoroughly study every single country in this region --let alone every socio-cultural group-- we will explore specific themes in a historically comparative fashion, attempting to examine case studies from different regions. The case studies, however, do favor certain areas over others. This is partly due to the availability of writing