Gender in the Middle East (GEN 541)

2021 Fall
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Gender Studies (GEN)
3
10
Ayşecan Terzioğlu aysecan@sabanciuniv.edu,
Click here to view.
English
Doctoral, Master
--
Formal lecture,Interactive lecture
Interactive,Learner centered,Communicative,Discussion based learning,Project based learning
Click here to view.

CONTENT

This course introduces the key issues and debates in the study of gender in the Middle East. It aims to provide a gendered analysis of the prevailing discourses, ideologies and social movements in the region and to equip students with skills and methodologies to analyse the shaping of the gender identities in relation to social, political and cultural processes from the late 19th century to the present. The course also aims to link the historical questions and issues regarding gender to contemporary discussions and discourses on femininities and masculinities in the Middle East. Core topics include the interconnections between feminism and nationalism, the veiling debate, women’s agency, Islamic feminism, masculinities, and politics of sexuality during and after the Arab Spring.

OBJECTIVE

Understanding major social problems related to the gender norms and roles in the Middle East and its diasporas. Exploring how different people of the Middle East tackle with these problems individually and collectively. Writing a paper based on an original research on an issue within this framework.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Explore the core issues regarding the common historical and current gender norms and roles in the Middle East and diasporas.
  • Learn about how different aspects of everyday life in the Middle East is gendered, and how alternative conceptions of gender norms and roles are produced on a daily basis.
  • Learn about individual and collective gender struggles against particular gender norms and roles in the region.
  • Understand how the gender-based activisms in the region interact with the global gender-based activisms.

PROGRAMME OUTCOMES


1. Develop and deepen the current and advanced knowledge in the field with original thought and/or research and come up with innovative definitions based on Master's degree qualifications 5

2. Conceive the interdisciplinary interaction which the field is related with ; come up with original solutions by using knowledge requiring proficiency on analysis, synthesis and assessment of new and complex ideas. 5

3. Evaluate and use new information within the field in a systematic approach. 5

4. Develop an innovative knowledge, method, design and/or practice or adapt an already known knowledge, method, design and/or practice to another field; research, conceive, design, adapt and implement an original subject. 4

5. Critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation of new and complex ideas. 5

6. Gain advanced level skills in the use of research methods in the field of study. 5

7. Contribute the progression in the field by producing an innovative idea, skill, design and/or practice or by adapting an already known idea, skill, design, and/or practice to a different field independently. 5

8. Broaden the borders of the knowledge in the field by producing or interpreting an original work or publishing at least one scientific paper in the field in national and/or international refereed journals. 4

9. Demonstrate leadership in contexts requiring innovative and interdisciplinary problem solving. 3

10. Develop new ideas and methods in the field by using high level mental processes such as creative and critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. 4

11. Investigate and improve social connections and their conducting norms and manage the actions to change them when necessary. 5

12. Defend original views when exchanging ideas in the field with professionals and communicate effectively by showing competence in the field. 5

13. Ability to communicate and discuss orally, in written and visually with peers by using a foreign language at least at a level of European Language Portfolio C1 General Level. 5

14. Contribute to the transition of the community to an information society and its sustainability process by introducing scientific, technological, social or cultural improvements. 5

15. Demonstrate functional interaction by using strategic decision making processes in solving problems encountered in the field. 4

16. Contribute to the solution finding process regarding social, scientific, cultural and ethical problems in the field and support the development of these values. 5


1. Develop the ability to use critical, analytical, and reflective thinking and reasoning 5

2. Reflect on social and ethical responsibilities in his/her professional life. 5

3. Gain experience and confidence in the dissemination of project/research outputs 5

4. Work responsibly and creatively as an individual or as a member or leader of a team and in multidisciplinary environments. 4

5. Communicate effectively by oral, written, graphical and technological means and have competency in English. 5

6. Independently reach and acquire information, and develop appreciation of the need for continuously learning and updating. 5


1. Develop a thorough knowledge of theories, concepts, and research methods in the field and apply them in research design and data analysis. 5

2. Assess the impact of the economic, social, and political environment from a global, national and regional level. 5

3. Know how to access written and visual, primary and secondary sources of information, interpret concepts and data from a variety of sources in developing disciplinary and interdisciplinary analyses. 5


1. Demonstrate an understanding of the different approaches, concepts, and theoretical legacies in the interdisciplinary field of Cultural Studies. 5

2. Identify interconnections of knowledge within and across the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, literature, visual studies, philosophy, and psychology. 4

3. Demonstrate an understanding of the multiple methodologies used in cultural analysis; in particular, ethnographic fieldwork, participant-observation, interviewing, oral history, focus group discussions, textual criticism, and visual analysis 5

4. Cultivate a critical approach to the study of culture, articulating the relations between culture, power, and history; exploring cultural diversity and socio-cultural change at the local, national and global level; and exploring the corresponding demands for rights and social justice. 5

5. Be able to conduct original research and develop sound analysis of phenomena in the realm of cultural production, consumption, and representation; develop and present advanced oral and written evaluations of one's research and arguments. 5


1. Demonstrate an understanding of the different approaches, concepts, and theoretical legacies in the interdisciplinary field of Cultural Studies. 5

2. Identify interconnections of knowledge within and across the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, literature, visual studies, philosophy, and psychology. 4

3. Demonstrate an understanding of the multiple methodologies used in cultural analysis; in particular, ethnographic fieldwork, participant-observation, interviewing, oral history, focus group discussions, textual criticism, and visual analysis 5

4. Cultivate a critical approach to the study of culture, articulating the relations between culture, power, and history; exploring cultural diversity and socio-cultural change at the local, national and global level; and exploring the corresponding demands for rights and social justice. 5

5. Be able to conduct original research and develop sound analysis of phenomena in the realm of cultural production, consumption, and representation; develop and present advanced oral and written evaluations of one's research and arguments. 5

ASSESSMENT METHODS and CRITERIA

  Percentage (%)
Assignment 20
Term-Paper 70
Participation 10

RECOMENDED or REQUIRED READINGS

Readings

October 6-7. Orientalist and Colonial Legacies:
Nikki R. Keddie, Is There a Middle East?, International Journal of Middle East Studies, 1973, 4:3, 255-27
Edward Said, 1978. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books, Introduction (1-30)
October 13-14/October 20-21: Gender in the Middle East-First Glances:
Lila Abu-Lughod, 2002. ?Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others?, American Anthropologist 104(3):783-790.
Nancy Lindisfarne, 2002. ?Starting from Below: Fieldwork, Gender and Imperialism Now?, Critique of Anthropology, 22(4): 403-423.
Paul Amar, 2011. Middle East Masculinity Studies: Discourses of ?Men in Crisis,? Industries of Gender in Revolution, Journal of Middle East Women?s Studies, 7(3), 36-70.
Can Aciksoz, 2019. Sacrificial Limb: Masculinity, Disability and Political Violence in Turkey, Introduction, 1-14, University of California Press.
October 27: Meeting with the CULT 541 students about their final paper topic
October 28: No class due to national holiday
November 4-5: Beyond the Veil
Lara Deeb, 2009. ?Piety Politics and the Role of a Transnational Feminist Analysis?, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 15(1): 112?126
Banu Gokariksel, 2009. Beyond the Officially Sacred: Religion, Secularism and the Body in the Production of Subjectivity, Social&Cultural Geography, 10(6): 657-674
Sirma Bilge, 2010. ?Beyond Subordination vs. Resistance: An Intersectional Approach to the Agency of Veiled Muslim Women?. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 31(1): 9-28.
November 11: Midterm
November 17-18: Desire and Love
Sertaç Sehlikoglu, 2021. Working Out Desire: Women, Sport&Self-Making in Istanbul. Prologue, Introduction, Chapter 1: Self, xv-74. Syracuse University Press.
Johnson, P., Nahleh, L. A., & Moors, A, 2009. Weddings and War Marriage Arrangements and Celebrations in Two Palestinian Intifadas. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, 5(3), 11-35.
Jenny White, 2002. ?Two Weddings?, in Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East, Donna L. Bowen&Evelyn A. Early (eds), Indiana University Press.
November 24-25: Medical Technologies
Elly Teman, 2003. ?The Medicalization of "Nature" in the "Artificial Body": Surrogate Motherhood in Israel?. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 17(1), 78-98.
Marcia C. Inhorn, 2004. ?Middle Eastern Masculinities in the Age of New Reproductive Technologies: Male Infertility and Stigma in Egypt and Lebanon?, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 18(2): 162-182.
Zeynep Gurtin et al., 2015. Islam and Assisted Reproduction in the Middle East: Comparing the Sunni Arab World, Shia Iran and Secular Turkey, in The Changing World Religion Map, Springer.
December 1-2: Challenging Gender Norms
Jalil Roshandel, Fatemeh Sadeghi& Shima Tadrisi, 2019. Gender Equality and Empowerment in Iran: A Comparison between Ahmadinejad's and Rouhani's Governments, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 42 (3), pp. 35-53.
Sherine Hamdy, Coleman Nye, 2017, Lissa: A Story About Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution, University of Toronto Press
December 8-9: Being Queer in the Middle East
Nivi Manchanda, 2015. Queering the Pashtun: Afghan Sexuality in the Homo-Nationalist Imaginary, Third World Quarterly, 36(1), 130-146
Dina Georgis, 2013. ?Thinking Past Pride: Queer Arab Shame in Bareed Mista3jil,? International Journal of Middle East Studies, 45(2): 233-251
Sofian Merabet, 2014. Queer Beirut. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1-42; 227-245
December 15-16: Gender, Militarism and War
Susan Sered, 2000. ?The Militarized Body: Rape and the Woman Soldier? in What Makes Women Sick: Maternity, Modesty and Militarism in Israeli Society, Brandeis UP, 68-103
Zena El-Khalil, 2009. Beirut, I Love You: A Memoir, SAQI, 78-125
Karam Dana &Hannah Walker, 2015. Invisible Disasters: The Role Israeli Occupation on Palestinian Gender Roles, Contemporary Arab Affairs, 8(4), 488-504
December 22-23/December 29-30: Mobility, Diaspora and Gender
Farha Ghannam, 2011. ?Mobility, Liminality, and Embodiment in Urban Egypt?, American Ethnologist, 38 (4), 790-800
Gokce Yurdakul, Anna C. Korteweg, 2013. ?Gender Equality and Immigrant Integration: Honor Killings and Forced Marriage Debates in Netherlands, Germany and Britain?, Women?s Studies International Forum, 41(3), 204-214
Stephanie Parker, 2015. ?Hidden Crisis: Violence Against Syrian Female Refugees?, Lancet, 385 (9985), 2341-2342
Ays?ecan Terziog?lu, 2018. ?The Banality of Evil and the Normalization of Discriminatory Discourses against Syrians in Turkey?, Anthropology of Contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia (ACME), 4(2), Special issue, 34-47