History 383: Women, Gender and the History of Modern Egypt and Iraq
Lisa Pollard Spring Semester, 2011
Office: 228 Morton MWF 11-12 pm
Office Hours: MW 12-1 and TR 12-12:30 and by appointment
phone: 962-3309
e-mail: pollardl@uncwil.edu
This course takes up the subject of women, gender and the production of a body of gendered history about Egypt and Iraq in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From both theoretical and topical points of view, we will consider some of the most recent literature about women and gender. Our focus of inquiry will be topics that involve and implicate women, both directly and indirectly. Such topics as the State, nationalism, war, economic reform and change, the workplace, and Islamic reform movements, will allow us to examine both the role that women play in Egyptian and Iraqi society, as well as how those societies are gendered. Since this is a history course, we will want to examine how women's roles, as well as gendered systems and institutions, have changed over time. We will examine how the use of women and images of women have been used, historically, to shape larger discussions of political, social and economic issues.
The format of the course will consist of lectures, discussions and the viewing of films. Because discussions will be integral to the course and its content, active participation is essential. Students should come prepared to discuss each week's reading and films. Class participation will count for 10% of your final grade.
Required Texts:
Ghada, Abdel Aal, I Want to Get Married
Margot Badran, Harem Years
Betool Khedairi, Absent
Riverbend, Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog From Iraq
Nawal el-Sa'adawi, Memoirs From the Women's Prison
Nadje Sadig al-Ali, Iraqi Women
Recommended Text:
William Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East
There will also be several additional readings on Blackboard. Those readings will be marked with an asterisk.
I will communicate any changes to the syllabus by email.
Course Requirements:
--Attendance of all lectures. More than six unexcused absences constitute an automatic “F.” You are allowed two excused absences for religious observation—communicate any need for such to me via email. If you are sick or have an emergency, you must contact me in a timely fashion. Failure to do so leaves your absence unexcused.
--Completion of all course-reading on time.
--Active participation in discussion sections (10%)
--One three-page essay based on an exercise that we will engage in twice, once at the beginning of the course and once at the end (10%)
--One book review (10%). You may choose which of the course books you wish to write a review of. The review should be four to five pages in length, and be submitted prior to the last day of class.
--Two five- to seven-page take-home exams, in which you will integrate the readings with the course lectures (30% each; 60% total).
--Participation in one end-of-the-semester in-class “summit” on women’s issues, based on the course content (10%)
Grading scale: A=96-100; A- = 90-95; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B-= 80-82; C+ = 77-79; C= 73-76; C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62.
Week One: Women, Gender and the history of modern Egypt
Wednesday January 12: Introduction to the Course
Gender and Women's History: What are the differences? Why study both?
Reading:
Shaarawi, Harem Years, preface and introduction.
*Joan Wallach Scott, “Women’s History,” from Gender and the Politics of History, 1-27.
Begin reading the novel Absent by Betool Khedairi. We will discuss the book on April 14. It will be your responsibility to have read it ahead of time.
Week Two: Orientalism and its (Dis)Contents: Problems associated with studying Middle Eastern women’s history
Wednesday, Jan 19: Lecture
Friday: Film exercise. Attendance on this day is crucial. Failure to be in class will cost you 10% of your grade, as you will not be able to complete the first writing assignment.
Reading:
Shaarawi, parts one and two.
*Rana Kabbani, “The Text as Pretext,” from Europe’s Myths of Orient, pp. 37-65.
Week Three: Egypt and Iraq in the Nineteenth Century
Monday, January 24: The Ottoman Empire
January 26: Egypt and Iraq
Friday: Film and Discussion
Reading:
Cleveland, chapter 5
Shaarawi, parts one and two.
*Nikki R. Keddie, “Change in the Long Nineteenth Century, 1798-1914,” in Women in the Middle East, Past and Present, pp. 60-74.
Week Four: Egypt Under the British
Monday, January 31: The Egyptians in the European Gaze
Wednesday, February 2: Women’s Activities Under the British: Education, Journalism, Philanthropy.
Friday, February 4: Discussion
Reading:
Cleveland, chapter 6, 102-113.
Shaarawi, parts three and four.
*Mona Russell, “Competing, Overlapping and Contradictory Agendas: Education Under British Occupation, 1882-1922.”
*Pollard, Nurturing the Nation, chapter 4.
*Hoda El-Sadda, “Imagining the New Man.”
Week Five: World War I and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East
Monday, February 7: The Egyptian Revolution of 1919: Women’s Roles, Women’s Legacies
Wednesday, February 9: The Birth of Mandate Iraq
Friday, February 11: Discussion
Reading:
Cleveland, chapter 9.
*Pollard, “The Family Politics of Colonizing and Liberating Egypt, 1882-1919.”
*Efrati, “The Other Awakening in Iraq”
Week Six: Egypt’s Limited Independence, Iraq’s Monarchy
Monday, February 14: Egypt’s democratic experiment; Women’s activities: Feminism, education, philanthropy and the struggle for suffrage.
Wednesday, February 16: Iraq’s monarchy; women’s activities (same as in Egypt!)
Friday, February 18: Discussion
Reading:
Cleveland, chapter 11, pp. 190-209
*Pollard, “From Housewives and Husbands to Suckers and Whores.”
*Margot Badran, “Suffrage and Citizenship,” from Feminists, Islam and Nation.
*Maryanne Kamp, “Organizing Ideologies of Gender, Class and Ethnicity: The Prerevolutionary Women’s Movement in Iraq.”
Your first take-home essay will be due on Monday, February 21.
Week Six: Pan-Arabism and Revolution: Nasserism and the Iraqi Arabism
Monday, February 21: Nasser
Wednesday, February 23: The Iraqi Revolution
Friday, February 25: Film, Nasser 56 and discussion
Reading:
Cleveland, chapter 15 and chapter 16, pp. 317-321.
*M. Farouk-Sluglett, “Liberation or Repression? Pan-Arab Nationalism and the Women’s Movement in Iraq,” in D. Hopwood, et al, eds, Iraq: Power and Society.
*Amal Rassam, “Revolution within the Revolution: Women and the State in Iraq,” from Tim Niblock, Iraq: The Contemporary State
Week Seven: The “Arab Years”
Monday 28 February: New State, New Agendas: Nasser the Arab, the Revolutionary, the Socialist
Wednesday, March 2: Iraq’s Revolutionary Agendas
Discussion: Film, Days of Democracy
Reading:
Al-Ali, chapter 2 “Living with the Revolution.”
*Amal al-Sharqi, “The Emancipation of Iraqi Women.”
*Cynthia Nelson, “A False Dream” and “Divergent Paths,” From Doria Shafik, Egyptian Feminist A Woman Apart, pp. 178-211
Week Eight: Sadat and Saddam: The 1970s
Monday March 7: Sadat’s New Agendas
Wednesday March 9: Saddam Hussein’s Iraq
Friday, March 11: Film and discussion “A Veiled Revolution”
Reading:
Cleveland, chapter 17, 363-372; chapter 18, 395-403.
Nawal as-Saadawi, Memoirs From the Women’s Prison.
Al-Ali, chapter 3, “Living with the Ba`ath”
*Hazim Saghieh, ‘That’s How I am, World: Saddam, Manhood and the Monolithic Image.”
Week Nine: Spring Break
Week Ten: Sadat and Saddam’s Agendas for Women
Monday March 21: Sadat
Wednesday March 23: Saddam
Friday March 25: Film:“ Women of Egypt”
Reading:
Nawal as-Saadawi, Memoirs From the Women’s Prison
Week Eleven: Mubarak’s Egypt
Your writing assignment on the film we saw at the beginning of the course will be due on Monday, March 28 at the beginning of class.
Monday March 28: From Sadat to Mubarak
Wednesday, March 30: Film: “The Price of Change.” Discussion of marriage and veiling
Friday, April 1: Discussion: Al-Saadawi
Cleveland, pp. 513-517
Abdel Aal, I Want to Get Married
*Arlene Elowe Macleod, “The New Veiling as Accommodating Protest,” from Accommodating Protest, pp. 125-141.
Week Twelve: Saddam Hussein and Iran
Monday, April 4: The Iran-Iraq War
Wednesday, April 6: Women and the War
Friday: Discussion Al-Ali plus abdel al
Reading:
Cleveland, pp. 403-407
Al-Ali, chapter 5, “Wars on Many Fronts.”
Week Thirteen: Saddam Hussein and America (Round One)
Monday, April 11: 1991, The First Gulf War
Wednesday, April 13: Women and the War; Sanctions and the War
Friday, April 14: Discussion: Absent
Reading:
Cleveland, ch 22, pp 463-480
Al-Ali, chapter 4, “Living With War and Sanctions”
Begin reading Riverbend, Baghdad Burning
Week Fourteen: Saddam Hussein and America (Round Two)
Monday, April 18: 2003: Shock and Awe
Wednesday, April 20: Women and the Occupation
Reading:
Cleveland, pp. 500-504
Riverbend, Baghdad Burning
Al-Ali, chapter 6, “Living with the Occupation.”
Week Fifteen: Women and the Occupation
Monday, April 25: Film and discussion
Wednesday, April 27: Film and discussion
Friday, April 29: Discussion: Baghdad Burning
Reading, Baghdad Burning
Week Sixteen: Final thoughts
Monday, May 2: Review and prepare for “summit”
Today will also be the last day to turn in your four-page book review.
We will hold our summit on “women’s issues” in Egypt and Iraq on Wednesday, May 4 from 11:30 to 2: 30 p.m., in our regular classroom. Your second take-home essay, based on questions you will prepare for the summit, will be due this day, at the beginning of class.