An exploration of sexuality, gender roles, and notions of the body within the Islamic tradition from the formative period of Islam to the present. This course will examine the historical development of gendered and patriarchal readings of Islamic legal, historical, and scriptural texts. Particular attention will be given to both the pre-modern and modern strategies employed by heterosexual women, gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims to subvert these exclusionary forms of interpretation and to insure more egalitarian outcomes for themselves in the public sphere. Topics discussed include: women and religiosity, marriage and divorce, motherhood, polygamy (polygyny), sex and desire, honor and shame, same-sex sexuality, the role of women in the transmission of knowledge, domestic and sexual violence, and perspectives on bio-medical technology.
- Teacher: Tariq al-Jamil