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.