Advanced Topics in Middle East & North African Studies (390-3-20)
Topic
Sexing the Middle East
Instructors
Emrah Yildiz
1819 Hinman Ave, #103
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1-3pm
Meeting Info
Parkes Hall 213: Wed 4:00PM - 6:50PM
Overview of class
Are gender and sexuality useful categories of analysis in contemporary Middle East? What sexual assumptions underpin studies of the Middle East? And what kind of a Middle East grounds gender and sexuality studies in the region? This course engages with queer studies and critical race and feminist scholarship in anthropology, history and sociology to probe these questions. In this course, we will attend to the formation of "gender" and "sexuality" as categories of sociocultural analysis, surveying the major shifts within the intellectual history of studies in gender and sexuality, while interrogating the ways in which race, class, and nationality complicate studies of gender and sexuality and of mobility alike. In other words, if one major question that animates the course is what intersectional studies of mobility have to contribute to historical and anthropological studies of gender and sexuality in the Middle East, the other is what kind of new analytical ground studies of gender and sexuality could open up in sociocultural analysis of mobility, migration and transnationalism across the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
Registration Requirements
Combined course split between third- and fourth-year undergraduates and first- and second-year graduate students. Open only to students in Anthropology, Gender and Sexuality Studies and MENA Studies.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, student will be able to
• recognize prevalent interpretations of gender and sexuality in the Middle East.
• evaluate core concepts related to transformation of the region through the analytical lens of gender and sexuality
• generate different theories of borders by analyzing ethnographic evidence drawn from three Middle Eastern countries
Teaching Method
Seminar
Evaluation Method
Students will be evaluated on the basis of two 7-to-9-page papers (50%) and class participation (50%). Attendance and active participation are mandatory: unexcused absences will affect your grade, as will non-participation in discussion.
Class participation includes:
(1) Regular attendance in zoom meetings and contribution to discussions (10%).
(2) Discussion posts (25%)
(3) Leading discussion/Presentation (15%)
Class Materials (Required)
All required text with the exception of book-length manuscripts can be found under files on the course website. The books are available at the NU bookstore for purchase, or at the library on reserve.
Sima Shakhsari. 2020. Politics of Rightful Killing: Civil Society, Gender and Sexuality in Weblogistan. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN-13: 978-1478006657
Maya Mikdashi, 2022. Sextarianism: Sovereignty, Secularism, and the State in Lebanon. Palo, Alto, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN-13: 978-1503631557
Evren Savci, 2021. Queer in Translation: Sexual Politics under Neoliberal Islam. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN-13: 978-1478011361
Class Attributes
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area
Juniors/Seniors Only