Gender, Politics, and Global Cultures

Posted By: Mansi Trivedi In The Naqib’s Daughter Samia Serageldin describes the stories of several Egyptians during the late 18th-century French colonization of Egypt conducted by General Bonaparte. Serageldin’s vivid imagery, character development, and overall historical accuracy and research give the reader a startling image of Egyptian society under French rule. Though most Western societies … Read more

Posted By: Mansi Trivedi  Experiences described in novels and memoirs are hard to imagine unless the reader can relate directly to these experiences.  While reading I was reading Al Joundi’s memoir it was very difficult to relate to the incidents that occurred in her life due to the drama and pain surrounding each experience. Rape, … Read more

What is personal identity?  It is what makes the individual unique.  It is an individual’s perception of “self”, which can include gender roles, sexuality, and racial identity.  The struggle to discover identity and family heritage is a major theme in The Bastard of Istanbul.  Both Armanoush and Asya yearn to feel confident in their identities … Read more

In The Bastard of Istanbul, Elif Shafak uses tea glasses as a strong symbol of Zeliha’s ability to endure. In spite of her refined beauty, Zeliha’s “towering high heels”, bold wardrobe choices, offensive language, public smoking habits, and nose ring (4) all seem to counteract any likeness she could have with a delicate tea glass. … Read more

Caroline Lindberg Female circumcision, female genital cutting (FGC), or female genital mutilation (FGM), is the partial or total removal or cutting away of a woman’s external genitalia is still practiced widely today. It is performed ritually in 28 countries all over the content of Africa as well as several Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, … Read more

 Jenna King  Every year 600,000 maternal deaths occur in developing countries such as Cambodia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Resources are limited and it is often is a struggle for a pregnant mother to provide proper nutrition for herself and for her growing baby to survive. Taking action to reduce excessive maternal mortality is a priority … Read more

Humans deal with traumatic events in their lives in all sorts of ways. The ways people use to “deal” with these events are called defense mechanisms. In The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing, the main character, Darina, uses a defense mechanism of desensitization to emotionally survive the war in Lebanon.  Desensitizing oneself means to “extinguish … Read more

During the Iranian revolution, people were imprisoned for a number of reasons such as communism, treason, supporting the old regime and even for religion. Dalia Sofer’s, Septembers of Shiraz, focuses on a Jewish man, Isaac, who is imprisoned during the revolution for having a successful life under the Shah’s regime. While reading this book I … Read more

When the Ottomans took over control of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, they captured Christian children and converted them to Islam with the opportunity to climb the social ladder. If, however, the Christians refused to give up their past and war against their fellow Christians, they were promised a horrendous future. The conflict of … Read more