Introducing a New Course for the 2025 Spring Quarter
We are pleased to announce the new course, Gender and Politics in the Middle East (19th and 20th Centuries), which will be taught by Dr. Gizem Sivri, Marie Curie fellow and visiting postdoctoral scholar at Abbasi, in the spring quarter.
Seminar: 3/31/25 - 6/4/25
Scheduled Meetings: Tuesdays, 1:30 to 4:20pm
Classroom: 200-015
Class ID: GLOBAL 132, FEMGEN 132A, HISTORY 282G
Units: 3
Course Summary
This course focuses on the complex politics of gender, centering the experiences, lives, and histories of women as key subjects of the course. We will examine the roles of women in shifting dynamics of marriage, divorce, reproduction, motherhood, prostitution, education and labor force participation, urban life, and female criminality through a historical analysis. We will further investigate socio-political transformations from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, emphasizing patterns of continuity and change. Finally, we will explore how gender both intersected with and influenced broader legal, political, and social dynamics during this pivotal period.
Course Description
The Middle East is home to rich and diverse cultures and religions that have profoundly shaped the lives of its inhabitants. But in different parts of the Middle East, traditions, politics, and power struggles have converged to create other life conditions for women and led to complex women’s history writing.
This course focuses on the intricate politics of gender, placing the lives, experiences, and histories of women at the forefront of analysis. We will explore the evolving dynamics of marriage, divorce, reproduction, motherhood, prostitution, participation in the labor force, and female criminality through a multidisciplinary lens. Anchored in the socio-political transformations from the nineteenth century through the first half of the twentieth century, the course traces patterns of continuity and change to uncover how gender intersected with broader political, legal, and social shifts.
By examining primary sources and visual and audio materials, the course offers a great opportunity to study the diverse experiences of women across communities in different regions in the Middle East. Particular attention will be paid to regional, communal, and religious differences, as well as the interplay between legal systems, and social and moral norms.
Through comparative perspectives, students will critically assess how gender politics were shaped by—and, in turn, shaped—major socio-political developments in the Middle East region. By the end of the course, students will have developed critical thinking skills and a different understanding of the complexities surrounding gender, legality, and power.
Learning Objectives
- Analyze the history of the Middle East, with a focus on women's experiences and roles in society.
- Evaluate the impact of legal reforms and societal norms on women's lives, agency, and participation in public and private spheres.
- Examine the intersections of gender with regional, communal, and class differences, as well as the limits and applications of legality in shaping social relations.
- Engage critically with primary sources to understand different perspectives on gender identity and women in social, economic, and legal contexts.
- Develop critical thinking and analytical skills through the exploration of case studies on marriage, divorce, reproduction, labor, criminality, and other facets of women's lives.
- Articulate informed arguments about the relationship between gender politics and larger socio-political transformations in the Middle East.
