3 credit hours
This course offers an overview and in-depth consideration of the relationship between gender and religion in Islamic cultures around the world. The course introduces students to cultural practices of Islamic society and the ways that women’s lives are shaped by religious forces. Readings and course materials emphasize the cultural contexts of the women’s lived experiences and daily practices, including the regulatory discourses of veiling and seclusion, kinship structures, violence, health, feminist activism, literary expressions, etc. Students will also look critically at the emergence of Islamic feminist thought, in dialogue with the human rights discourse present in western feminism, to draw out issues related to gender, ethics, and cultural relativism in a global world.