The course will begin with discussion of current trends in gender studies, and later move on to review recent work on gender and women history in the Middle East. The first meetings of the seminar will be devoted to the history of women in the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century, after which we shall explore the history of women in the successor national states that emerged in the wake of Ottoman demise. The course will cover issues and areas that shaped women’s experience in the region, such as poverty, enslavement (legal and modern), sexual violence and crime, the labor market, political movements and struggles for national independence, education, and social stratification and mobility.

Enrollment is open to MA students and to third-year undergraduates (the latter with the professor’s acceptance only). Active participation in class and submission of a term paper are required for credit. Papers can only be submitted as a Word file attachment, not as printed hard copy.