Critical Social Inquiry 0292 - Gender in the Middle East

From popular media to policy discussions, academic analyses to activist calls to action, we are continually presented with gendered images of victimized Muslim women and violent Muslim men in the Middle East. Anthropological accounts of the lived experiences and subjective narratives of Muslims in this region complicate and confound such Orientalist stereotypes. In this course, we will critically analyze and compare ethnographies that examine Muslim lives in various Middle Eastern contexts. Through these readings, as well as lectures, films, and class discussion, we will explore how these lives are informed by gender, but also by local and global economies and politics, class, Islam, generation, sectarianism, nation, and migration. We also will take time to track the politics of gender since the "Arab Spring." Students will be expected to engage actively in class discussions, write weekly short commentaries, and complete an independent research paper.

Power, Community and Social Justice Multiple Cultural Perspectives Independent Work Writing and Research Some background in Middle East Studies, Anthropology/Social Science, and/or Gender Studies helpful, but not required.