RELS 235 Jews and Gender in Modern Southwest Asia and North Africa
This course surfaces gender as it examines the Jews of Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA)—a region typically defined as stretching from Morocco to Afghanistan. We will understand Jews as integral to the SWANA region and gender as integral to SWANA Jewish narratives in ways heretofore elided by Eurocentric tellings of Jewish history, identities, and culture. Sources and topics will include fictional accounts such as Mazaltob: A Novel exploring Jews and gender in early 20th century North Africa; speeches from early women’s rights activists throughout Egypt and the Levant such as those from Esther Moyal; biographies and music from Jewish women of culture such as artists Layla Murad in Egypt and Salima Pasha in Iraq; autobiographies from modern Mizrahi Jews (Jews of SWANA origin) such as Ayelet Tsabari; and films such as Dimona Twist which discusses SWANA Jewish women’s racist discrimination in Israel/Palestine. By the end of the course, students will feel empowered to ask more challenging questions about SWANA Jewish Studies and possess a more varied and dynamic picture of Jewish communities and Jewish people.
Credits
This is a 4-unit course. On average, you should expect to spend at least twelve (12) hours a week (including in-class time) on this course
Prerequisite
None
Corequisite
None