HIST 357 - Women, Gender, and Politics in the Muslim world

Credit Hours: 4
Frequency of Offering: Offered in alternate years

Practices like veiling, female circumcision, and honor killings that are central to Western representations of Muslim women are also contested issues throughout the Muslim world. This course examines various debates about Islam and women, and explores the interplay of religious, historical, cultural, political, legal, and economic factors in shaping Muslim women’s lives across the globe. Topics of focus may vary each semester, but often include European colonialism and the politics of studying Muslim women; changing ideological and political trends about women and society; the Islamic legal heritage and problems in reforming Islamic law; gender jihad and activism; women and revolutions; and dilemmas faced by Muslim women in asserting themselves as legitimate voices in the contemporary global world.

Cross-Listed as: RELG 355.
Prerequisite(s): one course in RELG, WGSX, or consent of the instructor.