three mothers, three daughters study questions

Remember--these are just a guide! You may come up with your own questions as well as you are reading the book.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of using oral histories as primary sources? How may we legitimately approach the subjects, the interviewers, and the questions/answers as documentation of historical events?

What are the issues of generational conflict and cooperation that emerge in the life histories and stories of these three mothers and their daughters? How do their life experiences reflect Palestinian concerns? What are the issues facing them as women, as wives, mothers, daughters, as Palestinians, as people living under occupation?

How do the interviewers position themselves in the book? What are their strategies for getting their subjects to open up? What are their weaknesses and strengths as interviewers?

rai study questions

Remember, these questions are just a guide.

How does Rai function as a social protest movement? Is Rai experienced differently by men and women? If so, how?

How has Rai influenced Algerian and Algerian expatriot politics, social norms, sexuality, and financial life? Why is there opposition to Rai? How is that opposition met?

From which traditions does Rai gather its influences? What is the meaning of "rai" as a form of musical expression?

How do you explain the international success of Rai? Is it merely a "World Music" fad, or is there more to its success?

heilman study questions

These are just to get your started, not the only questions that may come up while reading this book.

What are the identities that Haredim ("Ultra-Orthodox" Jews in Israel) adhere to? How do they view their positions in their country, neighborhoods, families, and the universe? How do they view history?

What are the gender roles of men and women (and girls and boys) as they pass through various stages in their lives? What are the ideals and what happens when people transgress those ideals?

How do the Haredim position themselves as moral guardians, and how do they view/control/contest space and place in Jerusalem and Israel?

How do the Haredim relate to non-Haredi populations they encounter? How do they relate with other Haredi groups different from their own?

How is daily life negotiated by the Haredim? How do Haredi people experience the life cycle?

hoodfar study questions

These are just to get your started--come up with your own as well! :)

How do impoverished household economies work in Cairo, according to Hoodfar? What are the strategies and survival mechnisms people employ? What are the benefits and drawbacks to such systems?

How are marriage and other family relationships connected to economics among the poor? What are the roles of women, men, and children in the family economic structure, and how do they work together--and seperately--to survive hard times? Consider issues such as sexuality, money management, fertility and child care, paid and unpaid labor, and the intervention of other family members, as well as fashion, negotiations through public and private space, and education.

Friedl study questions

These are just to get your started, not the only questions that may come up while reading this book.

How is childhood conceived of in this Iranian village? What are the roles for children of different ages, boys, girls, sisters, brothers, etc? What does society demand from children, and what does it give them?

How do children learn about life in this village? What are the relationships like between siblings, friends, and family members? Are their generational conflicts and/or alliances when it comes to child rearing?

How does Friedl position herself in the telling of children's lives in Deh Koh? How do works such as these assist historians interested in understanding histories of children, village life, Iranian history, etc? What are the pitfalls of using such a work in historical studies?

What are some of the "universal" issues of childhood that come up in this book, and what are the "strange" elements that stood out to you in reading it? Why (or why not?) are these commonalities/differences relevant to historians?

Dalrymple study questions

Don't let this limit you; these questions are just to get your started.

How does Dalrymple juxtapose the contemporary experiences of Christians in the Middle East with their historical pasts? How do current and recent historical conflicts in the region inadvertently--or overtly--impact the position of Christians? Where are Christians more prominent than other places, and why?

What are the pros and cons of using travel literature, written by foreigners, as historical documents? How might we use this book for effective historical analysis, and where are its pitfalls?

What are some of the striking beliefs, practices, and historical experiences of Christians in the Middle East, and how to they differ--and/or how are they similar--to both Western Christians and the Jews and Muslims of the Middle East?

ahmed study questions

Here are a few study questions for Leila Ahmed's "Women and Gender in Islam"-->don't let this limit you; these questions are just to get your started.

1) How does Ahmed explain the historical position of Islam in terms of gender issues? What are the innovations of Islam for relations between men and women, and where does she claim Islam borrows and adapts from other cultures/religions/etc? Why is this important for the study of gender roles in Islam?

2) How does Ahmed study Islamic history from the perspective of women's positions? For example, in what periods does she see things are "better" for women in terms of rights and social priviledges than in other times? What influences these changes in history?

3) What are the modern (i.e last 200 years!) issues around women and Islam? For instance, what were women in the 19th and 20th centuries interested in attaining from their religion and their societies using their religion to legitimate social and legal treatment of women?