Module ARA2118 for 2016/7
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ARA2118: Gender-Identity and Modernity in the Middle East
This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.
Module Aims
The module explores interrelationships between gender, identity and modernity in the contemporary Middle East. It provides a critical analysis of the various debates, tensions and transformations that are linked to changing gender relations in the region. These debates are framed within the parameters of modernisation, nationalism, feminism and Islamism. A critique of modernity in the context of the Middle East involves a close examination of the traditional vs. modern and authentic vs. western dichotomies, which are not only prevalent in academic writings, but also constitute forceful oppositions in the cultural, historical and political discourses within the region.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate an ability to identify and assess the changing social, cultural, economic and political contexts that shape gender roles and relations. 2. critically evaluate different theoretical and methodological approaches employed in the study of gender in the Middle East |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. demonstrate ability to analyse and assess academic texts and prevailing cultural notions critically 4. demonstrate ability to distinguish between a range of methodological approaches as well as variety of genres, i.e. anthropological and sociological texts, (auto)biographical writings and fiction |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. demonstrate ability to engage in independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion 6. demonstrate an ability to digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment 7. demonstrate a capacity to critically examine and review existing literature. 8. demonstrate an awareness and be sensitised to the various processes by which gender, i.e. femaleness and maleness, are socially and culturally constructed |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Studying Women and Gender in the Middle East
Representation: The Legacy of Orientalism
Islam, Tradition and Patriarchy
The 'Woman Question' and Gender Relations in Nation-State Building
The Political Economy of Honour Crimes
Gender and Citizenship in the Middle East
Women's Struggles to Reform the Personal Status Laws in the Middle East
Women, War and Violence
Women's and Feminist Anti-War Activism
Women's Movements between Secular and Religious Agendas
Revision
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity | 22 | The course consists of lectures, class discussions and student presentations. Each two-hourly seminar will commence with a class discussion on the topic and reading for the week, and conclude with a lecture on the topic and readings for the following week. |
| Guided Independent study | 128 | A variety of independent study tasks directed by module leader |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
l material will be posted on the Online Learning System and discussion lists will be created.
ELE – http://ele.exeter.ac.uk/
Other Learning Resources
Videos, TV programmes, pictures, memoirs.
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class presentation | 20 Minutes | 1-8 | Verbal feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 30 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 35 | 1,500 words | 1-8 | Written feedback Verbal feedback (if required) |
| Written examination | 30 | 1 hours | 1-8 | Written feedback Verbal feedback (if required) |
| 5 best reaction papers | 35 | Brief weekly 'reaction papers' based on readings and marked | 1-8 | Written feedback Verbal feedback (if required) |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 1-8 | 1st September |
| Written examination | Written examination | 1-8 | August/September assessment period |
| 5 best reaction papers | 5 best reaction papers | 1-8 | 1st September |
Re-assessment notes
All three assessments are required for this module. Where you have been referred/ deferred for the essay, exam, and/or reaction papers, you will have the opportunity to complete these parts of the assessment by the above indicated date.
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Abu-Lughod, Lila (ed.), Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East, 1998
Al-Ali, Nadje, Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East: The Egyptian Women's Movement, 2000.
Chatty, Dawn and Rabo, Annika (eds.), Organizing Women: formal and informal groups in the middle east, 1997.
Ghoussoub, May & Emma Sinclair-Webb, Imagined Masculinities: Male Identity and Culture in the Modern Middle East, 2000.
Gcek, Fatma and Shiva Balaghi (eds.) Reconstructing Gender in the Middle East: Tradition, Identity, Power, 1994.
Haddad, Yvonne and John Esposito (eds.) Islam, Gender and Social Change, 1998.
Jayawardena, Kumari, Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World, 1986.
Joseph, Suad (ed.) Intimate Selving in Arab Families: Gender, Self and Identity, 1999.
Kandiyoti, Deniz (ed.), Women, Islam and the State, 1991.
Kandiyoti, Deniz (ed.) Gendering the Middle East: Emerging Perspectives, 1996
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba, Islam and Gender: The Religious Debate in Contemporary Iran, 1999
Moghadam, Valentine, Modernizing Women: Gender & Social Change in the Middle East, 1993.
Moghissi, Haideh, Feminism and Islamic Fundamentalism: The Limits of postmodern analysis, 1999.
Tucker, Judith (ed.) Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers, 1993
