Assignment

Reading

• "Qasim Amin Argues for the Emancipation of Women in Egypt"
• "Articles in Iranian Magazines"
• "Bahithat al-Badiya." (last two are in one PDF file )

Prepare to discuss the following in class. TYPE short answers in sentences to the following questions, to aid you in discussion. Use quotations from the texts. Bring the readings in hard copy or on a device (laptop, tablet, e.g.) to class (you may use a device for this class). I will collect the papers at the end of class. These are not essays.

Qasim Amin

1. What is his argument?
2. How does he support his argument?
3. Who is his audience? And how can you tell?

Iranian magazines

4. How do the writers argue for women's equality?

Bahithat al-Badiya

5. Identify at least two of her "gripes,"
6. Identify her solution to the problem, and
7. Identify a contradiction or contradictions in her argument.

All

7. Identify something in these readings that surprised you about people in Middle Eastern societies during this period (late 19th-early 20th century.)

8. Which of these primary sources is most effective in portraying the debate about women, and why?