110-231 Muslim Women and Islamic Feminism

Usually fifty points of first year from any area of study within the Faculty of Arts.

Globalisation and recent world events have contributed to an increasing focus on Islamic societies. This focus coincides with some important developments in the study of gender in those societies. In this module students will encounter the various ways of examining gender and feminist discourse in Islamic societies. The subject introduces them to the interplay between gender, identity and modernity, focusing particularly, although not exclusively, on the Middle East. The subject will assess the influence of social, economic and legal factors on issues of gender and feminism, and will also examine those issues within the political and religious context of Islamic fundamentalism. It examines how identity is shaped by ethnicity, class, sexuality and religion, with some attention being given to the debates on Islamic and modernist discourses. The subject will be explored through two principal methodological approaches. The first approach is theoretical, dealing broadly with historical sources, gendering, definitions and issues of feminism, gender and patriarchy, tradition and modernity, and legal and political discourses, including human rights. The second approach is experiential, representing women's experience through literature, rituality and spirituality. This subject includes some film and documentary analysis.

• be familiar with research methodology and able to analyse and interpret academic texts critically;

• be able to understand social, political, historical and cultural trends within the context of gender studies;

• be able to communicate and express one's self articulately and coherently;

• be able to participate in team work through small group discussions;

• be able to develop time-management skills through organized reading and submission of assignments.

Written assignment of 750 words 20% (due mid-semester); an essay of 2500 words 50% (due at the end of the semester); tutorial journal of 750 words 20% (due during the examination period); continuous tutorial participation 10%.

Materials supplied by Institute.

• T Saliba (ed), Gender, Politics and Islam. Chicago University Press 2002.