User:MBJAnderson/sandbox


 * 1) REDIRECT White supremacy in U.S. school curriculum

Development of the field
Middle Eastern women's history as a field is still developing, but expanding swiftly. Scholarship first began to appear in the 1930's and '40's, and then further developed in the 1980's. The earliest historical research in the west came from Gertrude Stern (Marriage in Early Islam), Nabia Abbott (Aishah, the Beloved of Muhammed and Two Queens of Bagdad), and Ilse Lichtenstadter (women in the Aiyam al-'Arab: A Study of Female Life during Warfare in Preislamic Arabia). Following a relatively dormant period, the western version of the discipline became revitalized by the feminist movement, which renewed interest in filling gendered gaps in historical records. [Meriweather] Numerous studies were published during this period, a trend which has continued and even accelerated into the twenty-first century.

Despite the concentration on, and development of women's history in the Middle East, a very large number of scholars in this discipline are from or work in western countries. Compared with other areas of women's history such as those of Europe and North America, it has received less attention. [Meriweather] Many scholars cite a dearth of direct historical documentation throughout many of the region's areas.

In their descriptions of this research, Meriweather, [...] and [...] emphasize some differences between the approaches taken by scholars in the Middle East and scholars from the west. Meriweather and Keddie cite that western feminism has been a driving force in the development of scholarship on this topic outside of the Middle East, while the same ideologies espoused by western scholars may not be entirely shared by those actually from or currently residing in the Middle East.

Pre-modern Middle East
Scholarship on the Middle East before the 1800's has suffered from the limited number direct records of women's lives during ancient and medieval periods. Since the vast majority of historical information has come from male authors and is primarily focused on men, accounts and data which are authored by and center on women are rare.[cite ...everybody] Much of what has been synthesized has come from art, court records, religious doctrine, and other mentions. Researchers have made particular use of court records from the Ottoman Empire. Despite relative sparseness, valuable sources have been identified, and historians have been able to publish recounts of women's social, economic, political, and cultural involvement. Amira El-Azhary Sonbol's Beyond the Exotic: Women's Histories in Islamic Societies brings together twenty-four historians' essays on sources that can be used to fill gaps in conventional historical narratives. Among the essays, analyses of women's legal statuses, patronage of arts, and religious involvement according to region figure prominently.

Perceptions of Islam
Islam is often framed by historians as a profound influence on many women's lives throughout Middle Eastern history. Many researchers have dedicated special attention to changes brought about after the rise of Islam, as well as specific ways in which women's lives were shaped by Islamic law and custom.[cite ...everyone] However, historians are somewhat split in their interpretations on the role of Islam in mediating women's oppression since its development. Keddie identifies several different approaches among scholars:

Much of the work done on Middle Eastern women's history has been conducted in a politically charged environment.[cite Keddie] Keddie explains that

Several scholars have argued that women's rights declined due to non-religious reasons: Barbara Stowasser (Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation), Denise Spellburg (Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: The Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr).

Consequences for feminism
For these reasons, Islam is regularly placed in conversation with feminist discourses and agendas, particularly in western scholars' works. Several scholars have written histories that push back against stereotypes typically found in the west about the roles women have placed in the Middle East.[cite Keddie] Pushes for gender equality in the west have often been a driving force behind western scholarship on Middle Eastern women, their histories included. [] writes that approaches to women's roles in society imperialist relationship western countries