COURSE OUTLINE
| Instructor: |
Dr.
Ewa Wasilewska |
| Office
hours: |
By
appointment only; please call the Department of Anthropology (581-6251)
and leave your name, phone number, and class number. |
| Time: |
Every
Monday and Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. |
| Location: |
Campus
ST 216 |
| Important
dates: |
May
24, 06 - last day to drop classes
May
30, 06 - last day to add classes
May
30, 06 - last day to elect CR/NC option or to audit classes
June
2, 06 - last day to withdraw from term length classes |
| Required
Texts: |
All
required articles are on RESERVE in the Marriott library. They are listed
in order of topics discussed under specific class meetings. |
| Optional
Texts: |
Ewa
Wasilewska: Love, Sex, and Family in the Middle East. Notes. 2006. (EW)
Notes
can be purchased during the first three class meetings. |
| Course
description: |
This
course focuses on various aspects and attitudes toward love, sex, and family
in the Middle East. It examines them since the earliest available written
records until modern period. Special emphasis is paid to selection of marriage
partners and societal expectations of young people. |
| Requirements: |
All
students are expected to attend lectures and read required material. There
are three, take-home, exams (no more than 5 pages each; typed;double-space)
especially designed for the type of material covered by specific lectures
and by required readings. Each undergraduate student will be required
to write a final research paper (10 pages plus bibliography) on the topic
related to the class material. This paper must be turned in by the end
of the term semester (August 2, 2006).
GRADUATE
STUDENTS
In
addition to the requirements listed above, graduate students are required
to write a research paper of ca. 20 pages (plus bibliography). Each topic
must be discussed with the instructor first. It must be turned in by the
end of the term semester (August 2, 2006). |
..
Meeting
# 1 - May 15, 2006
The
Middle East: geographical and historical introduction.
Readings
- EW: H. #1
Eickelman,
Dale F.: Anthropology, the Middle East, and Central Asia. In The Middle
East and Central Asia. An Anthropological Approach. Prentice-Hall,
Inc. 1998. Pp. 1-26.
Soden,
Wolfram von: Chapters I-III. In The Ancient Orient. An Introduction
to the Study of the Ancient Near East. William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company. 1994. Pp. 1-20. |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 2 - May 17, 2006
Family
as a formalized and/or traditional institution.
Various
types of marriages.
Readings
- EW: H. #2
Eickelman,
Dale F.: Personal and Family Relationships. (whole chapter #7). Naming.
Women, Men, and Sexuality (part of chapter 8). In The Middle East and
Central Asia. An Anthropological Approach. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1998.
Pp. 147-199.
Haeri,
Sharla: Introduction. Marriage as Contract. Permanent Marriage: Nikah.
In Law of desire. Temporary Marriage in Shi’i Iran. Syracuse University
Press: 1989. Pp. 1-48.
Ahmed,
Leila: Women and the Rise of Islam. In Women and Gender in Islam.
Yale University Press:1992. Pp. 41-63. |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 3 - May 22, 2006
| Birth
and childhood. A matter of honor.
Readings
- EW: H. #3
Al-Khayyat,
Sana: The Pressure to Conform. In Honour and Shame. Saqi Books.
1990. Pp. 21 -56.
Guthrie,
Shirley: Fertility, Health and Childcare. In Arab Women in the Middle
Ages. Saqi Books: 2001. Pp. 41-64. |
........... |
|
TAKE
HOME EXAM - to be turned in by May
31, 2006
Meeting
# 4 - May 24, 2006
The
marriage route: spousal selection and the first days “thereafter.”
Readings
for MEETINGS #4, 5 - EW: H. #4, 5
Al-Khayyat,
Sana: Choosing a Partner. In Honour and Shame. Saqi Books. 1990.
Pp. 57 -78.
Guthrie,
Shirley: Contraception and Abortion. In Arab Women in the Middle
Ages. Saqi Books: 2001. Pp. 64 -78. |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 5 - May 29, 2006
MEMORIAL DAY!
Meeting
# 6 - May 31, 2006
| Dos
and don’ts of the marriage life: procreation, adultery, gossip, seclusion.
Divorce. Part 1.
Readings
for MEETINGS #6, 7 - EW: H. #6, 7
Schumann,
Ruth Antelme & Stephane Rossing: The Sexuality of the Human World.
In Sacred Sexuality in Ancient Egypt. Inner Traditions. 2001. Pp.
50-68.
Esposito,
John L. and Natana J. DeLong-Bas: Classical Muslim Family Law. In Women
in Muslim Family Law. Syracuse University Press: 2001. Pp. 12-37 |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 7 - June 5, 2006
| Dos
and don’ts of the marriage life: procreation, adultery, gossip, seclusion.
Divorce. Part 2.
Movie:
Yol.
TAKE
HOME EXAM - to be turned in by June
14, 2006 |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 8 - June 7, 2006
| All
about sex. Part 1.
Movie:
History of Sex.
Readings
for MEETINGS #8, 9 - EW: H. #8, 9
Al-Khayyat,
Sana: Worlds Apart: Sexual Life for Women and Men. In Honour and Shame.
Saqi Books. 1990. Pp. 79 -- 96.
Haeri,
Sharla: Women’s Life Stories. In Law of desire. Temporary Marriage in
Shi’i Iran. Syracuse University Press: 1989. Pp. 105-146.
Schumann,
Ruth Antelme & Stephane Rossing: Uncommon Sexual Practices. In Sacred
Sexuality in Ancient Egypt. Inner Traditions. 2001. Pp. 139-149.
Roth,
Martha T.: Bestiality laws in the chapter on Hittite Laws. In Law Collections
from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Scholars Press: 1997. Pp. 236-237.
* Schumann,
Ruth Antelme & Stephane Rossing: The Erotic Papyrus of Turin. In Sacred
Sexuality in Ancient Egypt. Inner Traditions. 2001. Pp. 150-161.
* Varone,
Antonio: Eroticism In Pompeii. The J. Paul Getty Museum. 2001.
*
Warning! Sexually explicit material! |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 9 - June 12, 2006
| All
about sex. Part 2. |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 10 - June 14, 2006
Aging,
death, and inheritance.
Readings
- EW: H. #10
Esposito,
John L. and Natana J. DeLong-Bas: Classical Muslim Family Law. In Women
in Muslim Family Law. Syracuse University Press: 2001. Pp. 37-46
Wasilewska,
Ewa: Nor Shall They Grieve: Death and Afterlife in the Qur’an: Part One.
In The World & I. The Washington Times Corporation. September
2002. Pp. 153-161.
Wasilewska,
Ewa: So the Soul Can Rest. Death and Afterlife in the Qur’an: Part Two.
In The World & I. The Washington Times Corporation. October
2002. Pp. 156-169. |
........... |
|
Meeting
# 11 - June 19, 2006
Meeting
# 12 - June 21, 2006
A movie
week.
The following movies are available in the Marriott Library and/or in the
collection of the Middle East Center.
Movie:
A Summer in La Goulette. Tunisia 1996. (MEC collection).
Movie:
Leila. Iran. (MEC collection).
Movie:
Divorce Iranian Style (MEC collection).
Movie:
Man of Ashes. Tunisia. 2000. (MEC collection).
Movie:
Yol (Marriott Library).
For
your final (take-home) exam, please select three movies to watch. Then,
write a comparative critique of these movies using class lectures and readings
and, in the process, answer the following question: which of three selected
sexual behaviors/customs in the Middle East do you consider to be most
interesting/shocking/unusual, etc. and why? Please provide specific examples.
AUGUST
2, 2006 - final
exams and research papers must be turned in to the Dept. of Anthropology,
ST. Build. 102.
Ewa
Wasilewska's Home Page |
