Constructions of Masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa

Constructions of Masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Mohja Kahf
Publisher: American University in Cairo Press
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1649030150

A multi-disciplinary exploration of how masculinity in the MENA region is constructed in film, literature, and nationalist discourse Constructions of masculinity are constantly evolving and being resisted in the Middle East and North Africa. There is no "before" that was a stable gendered environment. This edited collection examines constructions of both hegemonic and marginalized masculinities in the MENA region, through literary criticism, film studies, discourse analysis, anthropological accounts, and studies of military culture. Bringing together contributors from the disciplines of linguistics, comparative literature, sociology, cultural studies, queer and gender studies, film studies, and history, Constructions of Masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa spans the colonial to the postcolonial eras with emphasis on the late twentieth century to the present day. This collective study is a diverse and exciting addition to the literature on gender and societal organization at a time when masculinities in the Middle East and North Africa are often essentialized and misunderstood. Contributors: Jedidiah Anderson, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, USA Amal Amireh, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA Kaveh Bassiri, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA Oyman Basran, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, USA Alessandro Columbu, University of Manchester, England Nicole Fares, independent scholar Robert James Farley, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA Andrea Fischer-Tahir, independent scholar Nouri Gana, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA Kifah Hanna, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, USA Sarah Hudson, Connors State College, Warner, Oklahoma, USA Mohja Kahf, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA John Tofik Karam, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA Kathryn Kalemkerian, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Ebtihal Mahadeen, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Matthew Parnell, American University in Cairo, Egypt Nadine Sinno, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

Constructions of Masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa

Constructions of Masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Mohja Kahf
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021
Genre: SOCIAL SCIENCE
ISBN: 9781649030160

Constructions of masculinity are constantly evolving and being resisted in the Middle East and North Africa. This book examines constructions of both hegemonic and marginalized masculinities in the MENA region, through literary criticism, film studies, discourse analysis, anthropological accounts, and studies of military culture. This book spans the colonial and postcolonial eras with emphasis on the late twentieth century to the present day.

Gender and Diversity in the Middle East and North Africa

Gender and Diversity in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Zahia Smail Salhi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2013-09-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317989074

The images of women in chadors or burqas as contrasted with images of belly dancers which circulate today as representations of Muslim/Middle Eastern women do not fluctuate from the images propagated by Orientalist paintings and colonial photographs which also offer contrasting representations of the veiled thus secluded and the naked or semi-naked thus eroticised Muslim/Oriental woman. As well as challenging the prevailing stereotypes of the Middle Eastern and North African women, the book aims to highlight the element of diversity which characterises the lives of these women and the regions to which they belong. The sense that most of the Middle Eastern and North African countries are Muslim does confer a common identity, a distinction from others that may serve to bridge wide social, cultural, and economic differences among them. However, it is also important to stress that significant elements other than Islam contribute to the making of MENA societies and women’s cultural identities. This book was published as a special issue of the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.

Novel Palestine

Novel Palestine
Author: Nora E.H. Parr
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2023-10-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520394658

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Palestinian writing imagines the nation, not as a nation-in-waiting but as a living, changing structure that joins people, place, and time into a distinct set of formations. Novel Palestine examines these imaginative structures so that we might move beyond the idea of an incomplete or fragmented reality and speak frankly about the nation that exists and the freedom it seeks. Engaging the writings of Ibrahim Nasrallah, Nora E. H. Parr traces a vocabulary through which Palestine can be discussed as a changing and flexible national network linking people across and within space, time, and community. Through an exploration of the Palestinian literary scene subsequent to its canonical writers, Parr makes the life and work of Nasrallah available to an English-language audience for the first time, offering an intervention in geography while bringing literary theory into conversation with politics and history.

The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society

The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society
Author: Caroline Starkey
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 823
Release: 2021-12-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 042988317X

In an era which many now recognise as ‘post-secular’, the role that religions play in shaping gender identities and relationships has been awarded a renewed status in the study of societies and social change. In both the Global South and the Global North, in the 21st century, religiosity is of continuing significance, not only in people’s private lives and in the family, but also in the public sphere and with respect to political and legal systems. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society is an outstanding reference source to these key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject area. Comprising over 40 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into 3 parts: Critical debates for religions, gender and society: theories, concepts and methodologies Issues and themes in religions, gender and society Contexts and locations Within these sections, central issues, debates and problems are examined, including activism, gender analysis, intersectionality and feminism, oppression and liberation, equality, bodies and embodiment, space and place, leadership and authority, diaspora and migration, marriage and the family, generation and aging, health and reproduction, education, violence and conflict, ecology and climate change and the role of social media. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies and gender studies. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as cultural studies, area studies, politics, sociology, anthropology and history.

Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa

Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Sanja Kelly
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Total Pages: 606
Release: 2010-07-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1442203978

Freedom HouseOs innovative publication WomenOs Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Progress Amid Resistance analyzes the status of women in the region, with a special focus on the gains and setbacks for womenOs rights since the first edition was released in 2005. The study presents a comparative evaluation of conditions for women in 17 countries and one territory: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine (Palestinian Authority and Israeli-Occupied Territories), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The publication identifies the causes and consequences of gender inequality in the Middle East, and provides concrete recommendations for national and international policymakers and implementers. Freedom House is an independent nongovernmental organization that supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights. The project has been embraced as a resource not only by international players like the United Nations and the World Bank, but also by regional womenOs rights organizations, individual activists, scholars, and governments worldwide. WomenOs rights in each country are assessed in five key areas: (1) Nondiscrimination and Access to Justice; (2) Autonomy, Security, and Freedom of the Person; (3) Economic Rights and Equal Opportunity; (4) Political Rights and Civic Voice; and (5) Social and Cultural Rights. The methodology is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the study results are presented through a set of numerical scores and analytical narrative reports.

African Masculinities

African Masculinities
Author: L. Ouzgane
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2005-03-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 140397960X

While masculinity studies enjoys considerable growth in the West, there is very little analysis of African masculinities. This volume explores what it means for an African to be masculine and how male identity is shaped by cultural forces. The editors believe that to tackle the important questions in Africa-the many forms of violence (wars, genocides, familial violence and crime) and the AIDS pandemic-it is necessary to understand how a combination of a colonial past, patriarchal cultural structures and a variety of religious and knowledge systems creates masculine identities and sexualities. The work done in the book particularly bears in mind how vulnerability and marginalization produce complex forms of male identity. The book is interdisciplinary and is the first in-depth and comprehensive study of African men as a gendered category.

Masculinities in a Global Era

Masculinities in a Global Era
Author: Joseph Gelfer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2013-06-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1461469317

​​Masculinities in a Global Era extends the conversation of masculinity studies by analyzing global masculinities from a psychological perspective. Canvassing a broad array of psychological aspects such as the construction of identity, the negotiation of power, coping with trauma, and sexuality, this volume shows how masculinities are experienced, performed and embodied in geographically dispersed communities. Importantly, Masculinities in a Global Era fulfills a much-needed but elusive need within the study of masculinities: a forum in which the often polarized approaches of pro-feminists and men’s rights advocates can begin to move beyond their entrenched historical positions towards a more fruitful and nuanced future.​

The Palgrave Handbook of African Men and Masculinities

The Palgrave Handbook of African Men and Masculinities
Author: Ezra Chitando
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 995
Release: 2024
Genre: Men
ISBN: 303149167X

This handbook provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of key theoretical and analytical approaches, topics and debates in contemporary scholarship on African masculinities. Refusing to privilege Western theoretical constructs (but remaining in dialogue with them), contributors explore the contestations around and diversities within men, masculinities and sexualities in Africa; investigate individual and collective practices of masculinity; and interrogate the social construction of masculinities. Bringing together insights from scholars across gender studies, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, history, literature and religion, this book demonstrates how recognizing and upholding the integrity of African phenomena, locating and reflecting on men and masculinities in varied African contexts and drawing new theoretical frameworks all combine to take the discourse on men and masculinities in Africa forward. Chapters examine a range of issues within the context of masculinities, including embodiment, sport, violence, militarism, spirituality, gender roles, fatherhood, homosexuality, health and work. This handbook will be valuable reading for scholars, researchers, and policymakers in Gender Studies (particularly Masculinity Studies) and Africana Studies.

Masculinity and Syrian Fiction

Masculinity and Syrian Fiction
Author: Lovisa Berg
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2021-11-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0755637631

What can novels tell us about masculinity in Syria? In this book, Lovisa Berg explores over 20 Syrian novels covering the last 50 years of the 20th century. Uniquely, she examines only female writers in order to gauge the changing ways in which Syrian women perceived the function of masculinity, and the impact certain attitudes towards masculinity have on men, women, children and Syrian society, from a female perspective. The works of writers from Kulit Khuri to Usayma Darwish are analysed to explore changing attitudes to gender in Syria and the Middle East, as well as the political upheavals within the country and region. We see the idealistically portrayed men in the novels of female authors in the 1950s give way in time to a more critical depictions of patriarchy. Above all, we see through the use of novels a plethora of critiques of masculine hegemony in Syrian society, the authors of which are able with the use of fiction to reorganise and question maleness in a way denied to them in reality. This book will be of interest to scholars of Contemporary Syrian and Arabic Literature, Masculinity Studies and Women's Studies.