Women in Islam

(REL 370)

S-course

Jeff Kenney                                                                                                              Spring 2003

Office:  205 Harrison Hall                                                                                         TR 2:00-3:50

Phone: 6277/E-mail: jkenney@depauw.edu                                                              HH 106

Office hours: TR 9:00-10:00, or by appointment

Description

In this course, we will explore the role and place of women in the Islamic tradition and Muslim societies.  Our concern here is to understand 1.) the history of women in Islam, 2.) the impact of the tradition on women, and 3.) the efforts of modern Muslim women to create a useable past.  We begin by looking at women on the eve of Islam in Arabia and then trace out the way in which Islam transformed their social status.  Islam, of course, is a generic term that encompasses both foundational teachings (located in the Qur’an, sunna and other textual sources) and a way of life.  Thus our task is to examine how the classical tradition portrayed women and how women actually lived and interacted in medieval Muslim society.  In the modern period, Muslim societies have undergone dramatic social, political and economic changes; and women have both contributed to and been affected by these changes.  Drawing on several case studies, we will examine the issues that have shaped modern Muslim societies in general and Muslim women in particular, such as development, the western impact, colonialism, nationalism, modern education, the struggle for women’s rights, Islamism and democratization.  We will focus, then, on the challenges that have confronted modern Muslim women and the ways in which they have drawn on and reinterpreted their tradition to face these challenges.

Class Expectations

As a 300-level S-seminar, this course will approach its subject material primarily through discussion.  This means that each student is responsible for the upkeep and the success of the class.  Thus preparation and participation are essential.  For each class meetings, there will be a moderator (discussed below).  Everyone will serve in this role numerous times during the semester.  For most of the sessions, I will be a discussant, though one with a more informed critical voice.  The tendency in such situations is to defer to the one with knowledge/authority, so we need to establish a comfortable relationship—one in which each of you feels empowered to wrestle with the challenging material presented in the class, while at the same time recognizing your limitations.  My goal is that we will all learn from each other.

Discussant:  This is the role you will have most of the time in class.  As a discussant, you should:

1.      make sure you are prepared by having read the material in an active manner, making connections with the overall topic and direction of the class, and bring the assigned reading material to the session

2.      come to class each session with at least one question and point of interest that you would like to put before the group

3.      provide textual evidence for your comments and opinions

4.      watch for articles in magazines, newspapers or material from other media that pertain to the topic and bring them to class

Moderator:  The moderator’s job is to help with the “flow” of the discussion.  This means that you may want to:

1.      prepare a set of questions for the material.  Make sure that the questions ask for topics that can be discussed rather than questions that only require someone to read from a book

2.      ask specific people to contribute, perhaps the ones who are the quietest

3.      mediate any “heated” exchanges

4.      refer to sections in the readings that might help clarify a point

5.      make sure everyone’s comments are included and respected

6.      take sides in any exchange, even playing devil’s advocate if you think it useful

7.      develop a scenario that can be used as a catalyst for discussion

8.      set-up applied situations from the material for discussion

Absences

Because your participation is so essential for the seminar style of learning, any unexcused absences, especially on the day(s) that you will be moderator and referent, will negatively impact your grade.  I can overlook two “cuts,” only on days when you are a discussant, but after that each absence will potentially deduct two percentage points from your final grade.  Finally, entering class late or leaving early communicates a disregard for the subject, your classmates and me—all things you no doubt want to avoid.  While I hesitate to emphasize such basic etiquette, past experience tells me it’s wise.

S-Certification

Since this is an S-course, you will receive not only a regular grade but also a separate evaluation of your competence in oral communication.  To earn S-certification, you must demonstrate a consistent ability to communicate your ideas and those of others in a clear, concise manner.  Approximately 30% of your grade is based on S-assignments (ongoing participation in class discussion, serving as class moderator, and formal presentation of your research) that require some form of oral communication.  Some of these assignments are ongoing and repetitive; others are one-time opportunities.  All require preparation, but the latter demand it.  I will be glad to meet with you individually or as a group to help you think through these assignments.  You should also take advantage of the tutorial assistance available at the S-Center (2^nd floor Harrison Hall).  I will alert you as early as possible if I believe that you are in danger of not earning your S-certification.

Grading

Midterm exam              20%

Take home essays        30%  (2 x 15%)

Research paper            25% 

Participation                 25%

The midterm exam is essay driven.  You will receive the questions in advance, but the test will be written in class.  Contact me in advance if you know that you are unable to make the scheduled exam time.  A make-up exam will only be given to those with a valid and compelling excuse, which I reserve the right to determine.  The take home essays and research paper will be graded holistically, based on clarity, attention to details and intellectual insight.  The grade for participation is based on your ability and willingness to fulfill the descriptions of discussant and moderator provided above under class expectations.  You will also receive a grade for an oral presentation of your research paper.  All components of the course must be completed in order to receive a calculated course grade; failure to fulfill any of the class expectations or graded components will result in a course grade of “F.”

Academic Integrity Policy

I will observe DePauw’s policy on academic integrity (i.e., cheating and plagiarism), as outlined in the Student Handbook.  We will review this issue at the beginning of the class, but I encourage you to read the policy for yourself.

Required texts

Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam  (Yale)

Barbara Callaway and Lucy Creevey, The Heritage of Islam: Women, Religion, and Politics in         West Africa (Rienner)

John L. Esposito, with Natana J. DeLong-Bas, Women in Muslim Family Law, 2^nd ed. (Syracuse)

Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village (Anchor)

Arlene Elowe Macleod, Accommodating Protest: Working Women, the New Veiling, and Change in Cairo (Columbia)

Barbara Freyer Stowasser, Women in the Qur’an, Traditions, and Interpretation (Oxford)

Course Packet: Woman in the Muslim Unconscious by Fatna A. Sabbah (available in the campus       bookstore on the course packet shelf, not in the Religious Studies section)

Schedule of Classes and Assignments

1/28     Introduction

            Framework of study and methodological considerations

1/30     Women in early Islam

            Ahmed, 1-63

2/4       Founding Discourse

            Ahmed, 64-123

2/6       Video

2/11     Qur’an, Tradition and Interpretation

            Stowasser, 3-66

2/13     Qur’an, Tradition and Interpretation

            Stowasser, 67-118

2/18     Women in the Classical Legal Tradition

            Esposito, 1-46

2/20     Women in the Muslim Unconscious

            Sabbah, 3-59

2/25     Women in the Muslim Unconscious

            Sabbah, 63-118

2/27     Midterm

**

3/4       The Challenge of Modernity

            Ahmed, 127-207

3/6       The Challenge of Modernity

            Ahmed, 208-248

            Video

3/11     Modern Legal Reform

            Esposito, 47-105

3/13     Modern Legal Reform

            Esposito, 105-163

3/18     An Iraqi Village

            Fernea, 3-102

**        1^st Take Home Essay Due

3/20     An Iraqi Village

            Fernea, 105-215

3/25,    Spring Recess

   27

4/1       An Iraqi Village

            Fernea, 216-333         

4/3       West Africa

            Callaway, 1-53

4/8       West Africa

            Callaway, 55-140        

4/10     Independent Study

4/15     West Africa

            Callaway, 141-196

4/17     Veiling in Egypt

            Macleod, xiii-xxi, 1-73

**        2^nd Take Home Essay Due

4/22     Veiling in Egypt

            Macleod, 74-124

4/24     Veiling in Egypt

            Macleod, 125-163

4/29     Student Presentations

5/1       Student Presentations   

5/6       Student Presentations

5/8       Wrap-up and review

5/14     Final exam (6:00-9:00pm)

**        Research Paper Due