FYW-1159 Veils and Turbans: Genders and Modernities

This seminar explores the philosophical and historical underpinnings of contemporary Western attitudes to certain practices in Eastern cultures. It takes the recent controversies over different kinds of headwear for men and women as a starting point to gain a better understanding of both Western and Eastern forms of modernity as they impinge on various contested notions of selfhood (of both men and women) and community. Insights gained from philosophical, historical and ethnographic and sociological texts will be used to understand the representations of similar themes in certain works of literature. 4 credits.