1.) INTRODUCTION TO THE MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, ASIA
DR. ELISE G.YOUNG Email: eyoung@crocker.com
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'The events that occurred in Calabar and Owerri provinces in southeastern Nigeria in November and December of 1929, and that have come to be known in Western social-science literature as the 'Aba Riots' are a natural focus for an investigation of the impact of colonialism on Igbo women. In the development and results of thatcrisis can be found all the elements of the system that has weakened women's position in Igboland-and in much of the rest of Africa as well. The 'Aba Riots' are also a nice symbol of the 'invisibility' of women: 'Aba Riots' is the name adopted by the British; the Igbo called it Ogu Umunwanyi, the 'Women's War' (Uchendu 1965:5;Oknojo 1974:25,n.40). This is more than a word game. In politics, the control of language means the control of history. The dominant group and the subordinate group almost always give different names to their conflicts, and where the dominant group alone writes history, its choice of terminology will be perpetuated. Examples of this manipulation of language abound in American history, as any examination of standard textbooks will reveal.'"
- from 'Aba Riots' or 'Women's War'? Ideology, Stratification, and the Invisibility of Women' Judith Van Allen
"All history is ideological, because all history reflects the concerns of the individuals and societies which produce it. What is remembered, and, where possible, recorded, is what is felt to be of enduring importance. Because of this, we continue rewriting history- not because new facts come to light (though they often do) but because we have learned to understand them in new ways."
- Elizabeth Isichei (from A History of African Societies to 1870)
This course is designed to engage students in learning and discussion about the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Organizing themes will include social, political, economic organization, religion, class structures, gender, the historical movements of colonialism and nationalism, resistance movements, and their legacies in the twentieth century.Topics covered in the course include historiography, South Africa, Arab-Islamic civilization, inter-communal relations in the Arab world, the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires, creation of modern nation-states, Africa's "triple heritage" of indigenous customs, Islam, and interaction with the West, slavery, colonial economies and administrations, women and imperialism, indigenous women's movements, economic globalization. In addition to required texts, we will explore these topics through social biography, examination of primary sources, literature, and film.
Comparative analysis, including comparison with various aspects of U.S. history will be stressed.
2.) WOMEN AND REVOLUTION
DR. ELISE G.YOUNG Email: eyoung@crocker.com
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This is a history course that looks at
a range of ways that the terms 'women' and 'revolution' can and have been connected. The word revolution in its root meaning is about turning around to look at something again, perhaps from a new perspective. The word 'woman' itself has gone through many 'revolutions' in that sense. As women redefine and remake themselves in various geographic and historic contexts, they remake their societies and they remake history. Some social scientists maintain that the word 'woman' itself has been colonized. Women have created a revolution in thought and in social structures by challenging hegemonic assumptions about who women are and can be.
In the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries women have initiated and have participated in the major historical developments of imperialism, colonialism, independence struggles and nationalist movements. In this course we will examine the connections between feminism and nationalism and we will examine the effects on women of the major movements of our times. At the same time we will examine the ways in which women have philosophically as well as empirically revisioned such areas as science, religion, economics, militarism, education, health.
In this course we will use case studies exposing variations in women's movements, strategies, philosophical positions, and goals within geographic areas and between geographic areas. Regions covered include: Iraq; Iran; Sri Lanka; Native America. A segment of the course will focus on the connection between women and revolution within the context of Ecofeminism.
For bookings:
Elise Young, 413-320-3452 • eyoung@crocker.com
413-572-8237 • eyoung@wsc.ma.edu
