Women’s Studies 343
Gender and Ethnicity: The Middle East in the U.S.
Professor Nadine Naber
Winter 2004
Midterm Paper Assignment
Due March 4th
Position yourself as a resident of a small Midwestern town. Give your town a name and
consider town X as a place where over 5,000 Arab immigrants have settled over the past
5 years. In town X, there has been some recent unrest. Several students at a local junior
high school harassed a group of Arab girls on their way home from school. The story
made the front cover of the local newspaper and the local Arab community organization
has called for a town hall meeting. It was the first time that an issue impacting the Arab
immigrant community has received public attention. This incident marked a growing
interest among townspeople about their local Arab community. Teachers at the local
high school have responded by developing a campaign to raise awareness about Arab
people, cultures, and histories. This campaign includes publishing book reviews on
Arab-related issues within the town magazine. They have little knowledge in this area
and found out that you are a specialist in Arab American gender studies and that you have
recently read the book Bint Arab (by Evelyn Shakir). They have asked you to write a
book review essay on the book, Bint Arab.
This should be considered a formal essay using academic level analytical writing. You
are expected to develop a theoretical argument about the book using at least three
theoretical issues discussed in this course to date. To build your argument, you might
imagine that you are wearing various theoretical “lenses.” You are reading the book
through these lenses (and are putting the theoretical frameworks we have been discussing
into conversation with the ideas Shakir is putting forth). How would you respond to
Shakir’s book and analysis if you were wearing the lens of a post-colonial feminist
theorist? What about if you were wearing the lense of “intersectionality” (women of color
feminist approach)? Or What about transnational feminism?
You may, for example, build an argument around the theoretical issues of:
*the transnational approach to Arab American gender studies
*the intersectionality approach (race, class, and gender)
*post-colonial feminist theory
*historically situated approaches (i.e. approaches that situate “cultural patterns”
within historical and political circumstances as opposed to discussing “culture” in
abstract terms)
What I will be looking for:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
A demonstration that you understand the theoretical issues/debates above
A demonstration that you can apply the theoretical issues/debates to the book
Specific, detailed, close readings of the text to support and develop your argument
Articulation of why it matters that we see what you’re showing us
Grammatical, comprehensible, EDITED, elegant prose
Coherent organization for your paper, including:
*having a clear focus and central THESIS that can be summarized in 1-2
sentences and that answers an implied question or questions
*having an argument that effectively leads to a clear conclusion
*adequately developing your ideas (including sufficient detail to be
persuasive)
*supporting all claims with evidence, including reasoning, examples, etc.
Your paper should be 6-8 pages. It should be typed, double spaced, and stapled and
should include an introduction, body, and a conclusion.
You may follow the following format for writing a book review:
You may take a look at the following journals for example of book reviews within a
Women’s Studies context:
Signs
Feminist Studies
Gender and Society
I am available for consultation by appointment.