Government 231 - COLQ:WOMEN'S SOCL MOVE/ MID E.

This course explores how women’s movements emerge and sustain themselves in different global contexts with a special focus on women’s movements in the Middle East. Beginning with a brief overview of the status of women globally, the class then shifts to an investigation of how the women’s movement evolved in the U.S. and ends with a comparison of the political strategies of secular and Islamic feminists in modern-day Egypt. The course covers issues affecting women’s lives that range from securing the vote, gaining recognition as full persons and gaining reproductive rights. It looks at issues of religious freedom to inquire into how women, especially in the Middle East, negotiate a world of both contemporary and traditional religious and secular values. Students leave this course with a fuller appreciation of the variety of issues around which women mobilize as well as an understanding of the diverse strategies they adopt to meet their chosen goals.