Gender-based Violence and Women’s Activism in Post Arab Revolutionary Societies
Course Overview
Despite the tumultuous events of the Arab revolts that ignited in 2010, the voices of some women continue to be obscured. This is a consequence of the media and intelligentsia’s singular focus on political and military movements led by men, overlooking the fundamental role of women as integral components of Arab society during the so-called Arab Spring. This online seminar delves into the analysis of women’s participation in the Arab revolts emphasizing their contributions to the struggle for freedom against dictatorship and the military propaganda exploiting women as soldiers or politicians and considering others as sexual objects for armed groups in Syria for instance. The seminar also grabs attention on gender-based violence against women based on their ethnicity and religion. Our objective is to explore the distinctive roles played by Arab women as political activists, artists, journalists, and writers, showing how they resist and denounce political and military and crimes against women.
The language of instruction is Arabic.
*This course may be applied toward the Consortium’s Certificate in Gender Studies.
Seminar Leaders
Dr. Hassan Almohammed
Independent Scholar
Dr. Almohammed is a scholar of French and Francophone literature and interdisciplinary cultural studies. He completed his PhD at Université d’Auvergne Clermont (2009) on the theme of death in 20th-century French “meteor” poets. Formerly a professor at Aleppo University, he has combined teaching with work in journalism and documentary filmmaking. He has held visiting professorships at UC Santa Barbara, Brandeis, Wesleyan, and Sivas Cumhuriyet University, and most recently taught a seminar on the Arab Spring and Political Art at Marburg University (2023). His research interests span ecocriticism, visual and intercultural studies of the Middle East, politics in the Arab world, and media studies. Currently, he is developing a book project, Poetic Meteorology and Eco-writing, exploring climate and literature in contemporary Francophone writing.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shibli
Assistant Professor of Arabic Language and Literature
GAZIANTEP UNIVERSITY
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shibli holds a Ph.D. in Arabic Literature (2014) from Tishreen University. His research spans comparative literature, postmodern criticism, cultural anthropology, and gender studies. He has published extensively on the image of the “Other,” feminist representation in literature, and cross-cultural narratives in both Arabic contexts. Among his key works are “Representation of the Other in the Novel” (2021) and “Death and Life in the Poetry of Lorca and Nazik Al-Malaika” (2019). He has participated in numerous international conferences focusing on narratology, gender, and ideology. He is interested in feminist discourse, narrative identity, cultural semiotics, and literary anthropology. His academic trajectory bridges literary theory with contemporary social critique.
Syllabus and Readings
Course Schedule
OCT
7
Week 1: The Concept of Gender and Feminism
- النسوية في السياق لعربي: ظروف النشأة، السيرورة التاريخية وابرز التحولات.
- الجندر المفهوم والمقاربة العربية، زهور كرام.
Hosted on Zoom
Oct
14
Week 2: The Concept and Patterns of Gender-Based Violence
- العنف المبني على النوع الاجتماعي: المفهوم والآثار” سهام مطشر الكعبي، ومجلة العلوم التربوية والنفسية.
- العنف القائم على النوع الاجتماعي في سوريا.
Hosted on Zoom
OCT
21
Week 3: Women’s Participation in the Arab Spring Revolutions
- المشاركة السياسية للمرأة في ثورات الربيع العربي (سوريا وتونس نموذجاً)
- . النساء والانتفاضة العراقية: التفاوت والفضاء ضمن آفاق نسوية، أسماء جميل رشيد، مجلة عمران، المركز العربي للدراسات والأبحاث، قطر، 2023.
Hosted on Zoom
OCT
28
Week 4: Cyber Violence Against Women
- حمابة المرأة من العنف السيبراني، هوشات فوزية، وخليفة سهام، جامعة الإخوة منتوري الجزائر.
- العنف ضد المرأة في الفضاء الرقمي
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
4
Week 5: Women, Literature and Art after the Revolutions
- العتبات النصيّة في الرّواية السجنيّة في تونس بعد الربيع العربي
- السيرة الذاتية النسوية : البوح والترميز القهري، حاتم صكر
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
11
Week 6: Violence Against Women as a Tool of Oppression
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
18
Week 7: The Role of Women in the Revolutionary Struggle
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
25
Week 8: Guest Speaker: Film Director and Actress Waha Al-Raheb
Hosted on Zoom
DEC
2
Week 9: The Position of Women in the Paths of Justice and Reconciliation
- . الثابت والمتحول في أدوار النساء في الجزائر والمغرب بعد الربيع العربي: بين السياسة الاستباقية الاحترازية والرهانات التنموية
- تقرير حول العدالة القائمة على النوع الاجتماعي
Hosted on Zoom
DEC
9
Week 10: Violence Against Women in the Visual Image
قراءة تطبيقية تتناول:
1. صور المظاهرات والاشتباكات التي أظهرت النساء ضحايا للقمع المباشر
2. الفيديوهات الموثقة التي أعادت تداولها وسائل الإعلام المحلية والعالمية، لتصبح أيقونات بصرية
تُعبّر عن هشاشة المرأة وضعفها
3. الرسوم الغرافيتية والكاريكاتورية التي جسدت النساء كرموز للثورة من جهة، وكأجساد مستباحة من
جهة أخرى، في تناقض يعكس ازدواجية النظر المجتمعية.
4. الهوية البصرية كأداة للفضح والمقاومة.
المراجع:
1. الهوية البصرية كأداة للفضح والمقاومة
2. بلاغة شعارات الثورات العربية.. الحرية أولًا ودائمًا
Hosted on Zoom
Certificates of Satisfactory Completion
Participants who attend 8 out of 10 complete seminar sessions are eligible to receive a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion signed by the Dean of The New School for Social Research.