New Research Topic about Muslim Women?

[Pink Rose]

Hey, guys.

 

Last question, I promise! So, I took your advice and removed Ann Coulter. You're totally right. I don't want my scholarly paper to sound like a rant. I do want to write about Muslim women and the stereotypes we face. But I definitely need an angle.

 

I wanted to deconstruct the stereotypes on forced veiling, jihad, forced marriages, FGM, honor killings, etc. However, how can I make an angle? My thesis at this point is, "Islam is a feminist religion, one that is misinterpreted and misused to perpetuate patriarchal societies." This doesn't sound edgy enough. It needs more of an angle.

 

I wanted to start off by talking about the history of Muhammad, then how these cultural practices came to be associated with Islam.

 

HELP! I'm slowly going insane...or I'm already insane, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

[GeoDUDE!]

It sounds like you need to have a talk with your advisor. 

[Geologizer]

It seems like there is an interesting angle to be had exploring the reconciliation of "feminism" across a distinct historical/cultural divide; resolving what appear to be conflicting ideas into consistent ideas that are misunderstood/lost in translation when perceived by the other side. I feel like I just spewed one of those "super-deep-philosophical-ramblings-that-said-absolutely-nothing" though just now, because anything to do with an angle is going to have to come from your own interpretation - something that no one else is really going to be able to help much with. Certainly there are very thought provoking aspects to be explored, and your angle is really going to come down to how you choose to navigate your subject matter.

[Pink Rose]

It sounds like you need to have a talk with your advisor. 

 

Lol! Amen, my brother. Thanks for answering my questions though.

[hj2012]

How long will your paper be? Also, what is your discipline? A sociology thesis will ask a very different set of questions from, say, an English thesis.

[Pink Rose]

How long will your paper be? Also, what is your discipline? A sociology thesis will ask a very different set of questions from, say, an English thesis.

 

 

Minimum of 50 pages. I'm in comparative literature.

[hj2012]

Comp lit? Interesting. What texts are you looking at?

 

I think the problem with your current thesis (and topics of interest) is that they're way too broad. An argument that Islam is a "feminist" religion could range from an exegesis of 18th century Maghreb philosophers to a discussion of the blog spaces currently occupied by Muslim women bloggers to a close reading of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Furthermore, an academic thesis (especially one that's ~50 pages long) isn't the place to make such a large argument.

 

Instead, I'd really try to focus specifically on a text (or a set of texts) that intrigue you. Rather than focusing on an overall point (let's overcome stereotypes about Muslim women!), choose a book or a writer or an event that illuminates some of your themes and sharpen the focus, e.g. the role of memoir in shaping Islamic feminist discourse, as evidenced by the reception to Leila Ahmed's A Border Passage. I'd also suggest reading some articles in your subfield(s) to get a general sense of the theoretical expectations.

 

As you're in comp lit, I don't know if there's a requirement that you work across linguistic divides or that you look at primary materials in certain languages. That might be something else to keep in mind.

[Pink Rose]

Comp lit? Interesting. What texts are you looking at?

 

I think the problem with your current thesis (and topics of interest) is that they're way too broad. An argument that Islam is a "feminist" religion could range from an exegesis of 18th century Maghreb philosophers to a discussion of the blog spaces currently occupied by Muslim women bloggers to a close reading of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Furthermore, an academic thesis (especially one that's ~50 pages long) isn't the place to make such a large argument.

 

Instead, I'd really try to focus specifically on a text (or a set of texts) that intrigue you. Rather than focusing on an overall point (let's overcome stereotypes about Muslim women!), choose a book or a writer or an event that illuminates some of your themes and sharpen the focus, e.g. the role of memoir in shaping Islamic feminist discourse, as evidenced by the reception to Leila Ahmed's A Border Passage. I'd also suggest reading some articles in your subfield(s) to get a general sense of the theoretical expectations.

 

As you're in comp lit, I don't know if there's a requirement that you work across linguistic divides or that you look at primary materials in certain languages. That might be something else to keep in mind.

 

 

Oh my goodness. Where have you been all my life???? Thank you so much! You're my angel on this planet!!! <3 <3 <3

[Pink Rose]

Comp lit? Interesting. What texts are you looking at?

 

I think the problem with your current thesis (and topics of interest) is that they're way too broad. An argument that Islam is a "feminist" religion could range from an exegesis of 18th century Maghreb philosophers to a discussion of the blog spaces currently occupied by Muslim women bloggers to a close reading of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Furthermore, an academic thesis (especially one that's ~50 pages long) isn't the place to make such a large argument.

 

Instead, I'd really try to focus specifically on a text (or a set of texts) that intrigue you. Rather than focusing on an overall point (let's overcome stereotypes about Muslim women!), choose a book or a writer or an event that illuminates some of your themes and sharpen the focus, e.g. the role of memoir in shaping Islamic feminist discourse, as evidenced by the reception to Leila Ahmed's A Border Passage. I'd also suggest reading some articles in your subfield(s) to get a general sense of the theoretical expectations.

 

As you're in comp lit, I don't know if there's a requirement that you work across linguistic divides or that you look at primary materials in certain languages. That might be something else to keep in mind.

 

Can I ask you something else, if you don't mind? How can I formulate the body paragraphs? I'm having such a hard time trying to figure out how the thesis will amount to 50 pages and the body paragraphs are the most crucial point.

[bobkindles]

is this some kind of inside joke?

[Pink Rose]

is this some kind of inside joke?

 

No, I'm writing my thesis for grad school. Why?

[MSW03]

Amazing. I majored in Middle East/South Asia studies as an undergraduate and I was always interested in Women & Islam. What's your graduate education in?

[Pink Rose]

Amazing. I majored in Middle East/South Asia studies as an undergraduate and I was always interested in Women & Islam. What's your graduate education in?

 

I'm at the NYU Draper Program of Humanities and Social Thought, specializing in comparative literature.

[juilletmercredi]

^Well, figuring out how to formulate the body paragraphs is kind of the point of the process of writing the thesis, especially in the humanities.  As your ideas and arguments develop, your body will develop along with them.

 

For some guidance - most universities have a small library of previously written student theses.  Your adviser may have copies of her past students' theses in her office, or there may be a section in the library that has them, or you may be able to find them online.  If you flip through a few of those, you may be able to get some ideas about how a graduate thesis is structured.

[rising_star]

Even if your department isn't providing you with sample theses, you can find them online. Just look for the Proquest Dissertations and Theses database, which you can then search by field or topic to get some ideas of what the text might look like. I'm surprised that you only need 50 pages for comparative literature. Also, in my experience, you need to have data around which to base your argument. In literature, those would be texts of some sort--novels, biographies, autobiographies, poems, plays, etc. What texts are you interested in using to craft your argument?