Course Description:
This course aims to introduce students to the issues, debates and themes in the study of women, gender, and politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).The main theme of the course is theagency of women in the region. We will challenge the notion that women in the region are oppressed and need to be saved by the West.In the first half of the course, we will discuss theoretical and empirical research by gender and politics scholars who focus on the MENA region, many of whom are from the region. In particular, we will focus onthe relationship between women and the state, women’s movements, women in political parties,andthe opportunities and constraints that women face in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. In the second half of the course, we will focus on new areas of research:gender quotas and women’s representation, public policy, LGBTQ+ politics, construction of masculinities, and backlash against feminism.
