Gender and Politics in the Middle East

Module Title: Gender and Politics in the Middle East

Module Leader: Dr Evaleila Pesaran 

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This course draws on literature in anthropology, sociology, history, politics and gender studies to critically explore diverse approaches to the study of gender and politics in the Middle East. Attentive to the various ways in which scholars have sought to understand the importance of gender to relationships and contestations of power within this region, the course focusses on the themes of decoloniality, identity and resistance. Key topics include: colonial and decolonial representations of gender, nationalism and state building, masculinities, sexuality and queer lives, expressions of women’s agency, and the participation of women in activism and political protest. The connections shared by these topics are brought together in the final session’s examination of the case study of Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom uprising (2022-23). By completing this course, students will deepen their understanding of gendered and feminist approaches to the politics of the Middle East, with an awareness of the complex intersections between gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and the state.