Providing an overview of core concepts, debates and developments in the field of women and gender studies, this course underscores shifting paradigms (e.g. from ‘women’ to ‘gender’ studies) in our theoretical understanding of the subject. Themes, such as intersectionality, the social construction of gender, transnationalism, solidarity, patriarchy, discrimination, empowerment, embodiment, performativity etc., are highlighted through an interdisciplinary framework that positions gender within various power structures institutionalized in the media, political sphere, labor market and/or field of cultural production.

This course evaluates economic development theories from a gender perspective focused on the role of women in the MENA region. Providing a critical overview of women in the workforce, the course questions the institutional context in which gender is articulated in the household sphere and in the labor market. The persistent gender gaps in labor force participation rates (against rising educational outcomes for women) is also considered from a perspective which contrasts the modern discourse with its regional, historical antecedents.

This course will familiarize and equip students with research methods and skills relevant to women and gender studies. It focuses on qualitative methods, and draws from feminist approaches to science, epistemology and knowledge production. Students will receive training in re-search design, concepts, methods (interviews, participant observation, etc.), ethical requirements, critical writing skills. The course will enable students to evaluate different methods and assess their relevance to their own research projects. The course aims at developing a well-designed research proposal.

Students are expected to analyze core themes characterizing the field, such as the honor and shame complex, Islamic feminism, relational selves, patriarchal bargains, kinship, etc. While focused on gender and women’s issues in the Middle East, the subject will also be linked to the core developments in the field of anthropology, such as the shift from neo-positivist to interpretive and reflex Feminist Perspective stances.

Designed to study the connection between society, culture, and law, this course examines citizenship, women, gender and family law. It asks whether laws pertaining to women and gender can be universalized. It also questions whether gendered law is a product of cultural, economic or political forces. What are the differences between positive, natural and customary laws? What is “full legal equality” and what role does context play in determining legal priorities? Do theories of liberation, equality and citizenship meet practice?

This course investigates innovative gender theory perspectives pertaining to the digital realm. Studying social media, digital activism, digital human relationship platforms and sexuality, we consider the impact of the latter on gender narratives, representation and embodiment in real-life urban and rural social environments. Students will learn how digital technologies challenge current understandings of gender theories, provoke new forms of knowledge in the digital realm and work to transform systems of gender oppression.

Exploring the interrelations between women, the state and modernity, this course critically appraises the tensions surrounding the transformation in the status of Arab women. Modernity and nationhood are given special consideration as the driving ideologies framing gender relations in the region today. Engaging with the issues requires zooming in on the gendered legacies of colonialism, nation-state building; state feminism; the debate on ‘authenticity’; religious and secular movements; patriarchal bargains; and gendered violence and war.

This course traces the history of the family in the Middle East, from pre-modern to modern times. A comparative lens is cast on dominant forms of kinship (tribes and clans) in their urban, rural and Bedouin settings. The impact of modernization, globalization and modern economies on kinship institutions is also examined in terms of the rise of the individual and the nuclear family. The concomitant discourse provoked on gendered identities, reproduction and sexuality is the focus of research and discussion.

This course explores the intersection of media and feminist theory by investigating the portrayal of Arab women in both Middle Eastern and global media. Coverage of such topics as sex trafficking, rape, domestic violence, religion, and local/regional politics is analyzed alongside claims of the marginalization of feminine voices and narratives. Lastly, students will consider the role of women in producing media and the barriers they continue to face when entering media.

Introducing students to timely, innovative and cutting-edge topics, methods and theories in the field of Arab Women’s Studies, this course is research-led. As such, its precise content will depend on the expertise of faculty and the research interests of students. The scope of research is thus wide, ranging from topical subjects, such as women’s participation in the Arab revolutions, to pioneering feminist research methods, such as auto-ethnography, to state-of-the-art theoretical developments in the field of women and gender studies.

The Women, Society and Development program requires students to either undertake an internship or an independent research project. This course allows students to explore their specific research interests within a relative field through a research agenda. The student will work closely with academic advisor and supervisor to implement this project within a given time period. The project may be capitalized on for the purposes of the thesis

Providing an introduction to the academic and comparative study of the world’s religious traditions through gendered analysis, this course engages in a thematic examination of the beliefs, practices, institutions, and cultural expressions of the World’ major Religions. It will address how sacred power, sacred story, ritual, sacred space and time, religious experience, religious ethics and morality shape women’s lives. What is the relationship between gender, religion, politics, and social conflict across and between religious traditions?

This course provides an overarching survey of world history, from the ancient to the early-modern eras, exploring several key themes in the fields of gender and identity studies. The goal of the course is to assist students in understanding the critical significance of gender, sexuality, and identity to historical world events and to the ways in which they continue to impinge on the contemporary world.

This course explores various strands of feminist conceptual frameworks with a focus on Women’s Studies and Feminist Studies in the MENA region. The aim is to integrate feminist theory with a selection of literary and cinematic works produced mainly by women writers and filmmakers in this region (including a few films made by male filmmakers), in order to investigate the cultural, social and political significance of their creative expressions, and the extent to which these works address issues at stake in their societies.

This course introduces feminist movements in the Arabian Gulf, by providing an overview of feminist movements in the MENA region, then focusing on the specificities of women in the Gulf. It will introduce main authors, themes, and debates about women’s rights in the Arabian Gulf, with an in-depth focus on the intersections between Feminism and postcolonial theory.

The Women, Society and Development program requires students to either undertake an internship of do an independent research project. This internship course is the opportunity to skills within a workplace setting, and also to gain experience in an organization, which is focused on issues relating to the degree program’s scope.

Designed like an Independent Research Project, this course supports students in their endeavor to conduct research in the field of Arab women studies. Students can produce a research-based thesis or a project-based thesis of up to 15,000 words. The thesis should showcase the student's ability to collect/assess data, build an argument; and critically apply the main theories in their area of study. The thesis is an opportunity for students to gain the requisite skills necessary for writing a publishable article.