Women and Workers are two of the most important yet misunderstood and understudied historical actors in the modern Middle East. This course expose students to some of the most important critical scholarship on women and workers produced during the last half century. Our goal will be to open discussions and debates that will provide a strong foundation for future reading and research on both these social actors in the Middle East/Muslim world and beyond (through the commonalities with and unique aspects of dynamics of work/labor and gender in the modern Middle East vis-à-vis other regions in the world), and to help students formulate topics for potential research topics for a writing and/or research course.
Days: TU TH  11:00-12:20 PM

Emphasis/Category: World Religions (Category 1)

This course explores the rich history, literature, and culture of Sephardic Jews from medieval Iberia across the Mediterranean to the Americas, the Ottoman Empire, and beyond. We will begin with medieval Sephardic life in al-Andalus and follow the routes of Sephardic Jews as they settled and created global networks that spanned continents and centuries. We will consider the cultural production that reflected these historical transformations. In examining a wide range of sources, including newspapers and letters, rabbinic responsa and photography, music and memoirs, we will learn to read and think deeply, analyze texts, formulate interpretations, and communicate insights. Throughout, we will attend to questions of language and translation; oral and written genres; culture and power; gender and sexuality; changing conceptualizations of Sephardic identity; and memory and mythology.

(Satisfies Pre-1800 Requirement)

Same as HISTORY 130C


Days: MO WE  10:30-11:50 AM