Final Projects

GENDER, SEXUALITY AND ISLAM WINTER 2013- PAPER TOPICS

NATALIE: My final research paper will focus on the role of the Iranian government in sexual health and education for its youth. This will hopefully uncover insight for gender relations in Iran, a state governed by Islamic principles.

I don't have a title yet since I don't know which direction my research will take me.

MEGAN: I'm looking at the murder of Shaima Alawadi and how it is indicative of the American media's portrayal of hate crimes towards veiled women as well as their perceived victimization at the hands of Muslim men.

HINA: My research paper will be about the intersection between the hypersexual vs. asexual identities of Muslim American youth.

BEN: "Palestinian Homosexuality Through the Optics of Israeli Media": In this paper I hope to unpack the representation of Palestinian homosexuals by Israeli media makers. I hope further explore the relationship between the Israeli military and Palestinian sexuality through looking at certain Israeli films and music videos, and uncover the power structures that these representations cultivate.

PHIL: In my paper, I look at how Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, the insurgent group later known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), approached and appropriated female gender and sexuality in order to further its own political and ideological objectives during the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. 

CHRIS: I am looking at the Star Wars and Dune films in particular and the concept of "Orientalist science fiction" in general. By doing so I will show how both film series (or at least SW) present themselves as universalistic coming-of-age stories while disrupting that universalism by situating their protagonist's home/origin in a highly exoticized Orientalist assemblage. The topics I hope to cover include: the radical capacity of science fiction to challenge discourses of difference; how these films nevertheless reproduce difference hierarchies; and how an "imperial vision" operates within these films and grounds their intrigue.

LAUREN: I would like to look into the topic of conversion to Islam, as it can be either forced or voluntary. The forced side will relate significantly to our readings about the West's perception of Islam and gender, and especially show an interesting aspect of how different cultures use "gender" and "liberation" as tools in a media culture war (what I am thinking of specifically is examples from India and Pakistan in which many Hindu families have claimed that their daughters were kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam). In terms of voluntary conversion, I think that this will especially highlight how women take agency by inhabiting norms, and will particularly reflect on Muslim women in Western countries.

TARIK: My research is inspired by Amar's language of securitization and examines the 2002 Gujarat riots in india. Amar examines the securitization Muslim believers by Muslim believers wherein understandings of what it means to be complicit with gender/ sexual normalcy are employed in order to make a point; my research will examine the securitization of Muslim believers by Hindu believers and seeks to root out the gender politics if their are any at play.

SAFIYA: I am researching how Western feminists interact with non-European/American feminists, and how the latter feminists criticize the former's portrayal of their agency and ability to resist so-called "oppressive" societal practices.