Class Discussion

During our class discussion on Tuesday with the East meets West group, we watched a great short film on an Iraqi living in America and allowing everyday people to ask him questions called Talk to an Iraqi-This American Life. I thought this was a great way for Americans to get first hand knowledge from someone living the life, but what I realized is that people do not take advantage of this. Often, the Americans would tell the Iraqi what his life is like rather than letting him tell his own story. Even the soldiers serving in Iraq seem to have a tainted view of what life is like. What upset me was the one solider who was excited to go to Iraq. It bothered me because he was excited to go to war and it doesn't seem like anyone should be excited to go to war. I thought it was funny and interesting the man who asked if there were any fat people in Iraq. In someways it seems like it shows how little people really know about life outside America. But I also think it shows the man trying to make a personal connection with something foreign that he can relate to in a personal way. I was very impressed with the eleven year old girl, who wanted to apologize for our (America's) actions toward Iraq. I felt she was wise way beyond her years and the maturity she showed to understand the reasoning of adults and to see that it possibly can be flawed. I think this was a great idea, but I wish people would actually listen to him and allow him to speak his story because only then could they really learn something.

Arranged

I really enjoyed this film, Arranged, probably the most so far. I think it was a great way to start off this group about East meeting West. I liked how the two women allowed themselves to have the best of both cultures. The modern, American culture where Muslims and Jews both get along and can be good friends. And their traditional religious cultures by upholding modesty as well as their families' standards of arranging marriage. They were not pushed over by anyone, not the children, nor the principal, nor their families. I liked how the matches for each girl were what one would think of in the stereotype of a tradition arranged marriage; obnoxious, overweight, ugly, and old. But both stood their ground and held faith that the right man would come along. I loved Rochel's exercise on acceptance through the unity circle. I think this was a fantastic example of how to teach children about ignorance and that they all have choices on who they are friends with through a kinestetic activity. I would adjust this for high schoolers so that I could do something similar when I become a teacher. I thought it was great that the movie emphasized how both women's parents wanted the best for their daughters. I think there is a misconception that the women in arranged marriages have no choice, but my showing this it breaks down the stereotype to show these women do have choices. Overall, I think this was a great film to kick off this group and I really enjoyed it as well. I hope we have some time next week to discuss it!

Final Presentation Day and Class Discussion

Yesterday was the last day of our group's presentation. We wanted to hold a discussion about what we had done in the past week. First we started discussing the speakers we brought in. We actually got the second speaker from Egypt to come back for the last hour of class and talk with us again. I found it interesting what she said about in Egyptian families, women are the queens of the household and make the majority of the decisions. I also found it interesting that she said Islam is very sex-positive for women and if a woman is not sexually satisfied, that is grounds for divorce because to not allow it may push the woman to commit adultery. We also discussed the first speaker, Gulnar, and how she talked about the day her daughter started wearing the hijab. Gulnar said she would have told her daughter to wait to wear it, but instead did not say anything. We were trying to determine her reasoning behind saying that. Some people said they felt she wanted her daughter to fit in into American culture and that would make her daughter seem like more of an outsider. I found this confusing because it seemed like Gulnar would want her daughter to embrace the different aspects of their culture, including wearing the hijab. I liked though how she allowed her daughter to make her own decisions and did not force her to do anything she didn't want to do. We also discussed the film and the role the men play in the film. John said he noticed that all the men seemed to be portrayed as irrational and controlling. We thought that Fereshteh's husband was the most controlling because he bought her freedom, he had the ultimate control over her family for her entire life. Overall, I think everyone agreed that there will always be disagreements on how to follow customs and laws because everyone has their own interpretation of the laws.

Two Women

On Thursday we watched the film for our group called Two Women(1999). I was very interested in the last scene of the film when Fereshteh was finally free, yet she seems so hopeless and so helpless. She asks her friend and the friend's husband, "what am I supposed to do now?" All of her dreams, goals, and ambitions seem lost to her and likens herself to a "free bird without wings." I thought it was interesting that in the husband's death Fereshteh's children would go to a grandfather or uncle, but not to her. It shows how men dominate every aspect of society. What I thought was most interesting was the different types of men portrayed in this film. There were men who look for their lives in a bathroom. Men who stop and stare at women in the middle of the road. Men who are stalkers. Men who stick up and defend women. Men who are traditional father. Men who are controlling husbands. Men who are distracted doctors who won't give women the time of day. Finally, there are quality caring men such as Roya's husband who want the women in their lives to succeed. I think this is an accurate description of the different types of men in Middle Eastern society, primarily male-dominated. So looking at all the different types of men in this movie was really interesting.

Guest Speakers for Women in the Middle East Group

Today we had two guest speakers come into class to discuss what life is like for women in Islam and the Middle East. I think Gular was a great speaker and she definitely knew a lot about how women are affected by the Quran in Islamic countries. I found it interesting how she came to the United States and why she decided to stay. Gulnar came to the United States in January of 1981 to come live in Kalamazoo with her husband who was a graduate student at Western. She said her family started from scratch and that she went to college for four years, but never dreamed of coming to U.S. to earn a higher degree because she couldn't imagine leaving her family. Once she married her husband in 1980, she decided to join him in the U.S. with both of them having every intention of coming back. She had her daughter in 1984 and soon started to settle into American life. When she would go back to Pakistan she began noticing the uncomfortable living conditions. Cold water showers and power outages, she soon became more inclined to stay in Kalamazoo. She realized that Kalamazoo had become her home. I also found it interesting that several of the 99 names for God are female-based. It definitely reinforced the idea that Islam is a pro-women religion. I liked how Gulnar said that she feels that Prophet Muhammed was one of the first feminists. She gave a lot of great information, but for it being my group I was very disappointed with how today went. I felt like it would have been more educational for the class if Gular were allowed the full amount of time to finish her presentation and to take maybe 30-40 minutes to answer questions and further a discussion. I think a lot of great questions would have come up because my peers are very insightful and a great discussion could have ensued. If we had maybe one more day, I would have had the second speaker come in another day then on a third day we could have compared the two different upbringings of these women. There was too much information to digest today much less have an educational class discussion. The discussion was significantly hindered by not allowing the speakers to fully answer questions. There was so much interruption I don't feel that students really got an inside look to what life is like for women living in the Middle East and Islam. I felt these women weren't given the respect or the time they deserved. Hopefully, the rest of our project will go better.

Memed, My Hawk

Yesterday, we finished reading Memed, My Hawk and had a class discussion. It was a coming of age novel about a boy whose family is being starved and punished by a controlling landowner. He runs away at first to escape the constant beating by the Agha, but being away from home for so long he begins to feel guilty for leaving his mother and his responsibilities. He is captured and returned, and tries to solve his problems before his family starves to death. He becomes a brigand and fights for the Agha for his family and village. A brigand is an outlaw and highly romanticized within the novel. The villagers appreciate brigands because they are fighting for their land, rights and lives. I think in some ways we romanticized outlaws in our history. Yes, they were criminals, but if we look back to old Western stories of highway robbers those are romanticized as well. Outlaws like Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Butch Cassidy have had films made about them or books written on them. I think there are a lot of similarities we can draw between our culture and that within Memed, My Hawk.

Dr. Mirzeler and Turkey Group's Short Stories

Today, Dr. Mirzeler came into our class today to introduce the book Memed, My Hawk to us. He started by explaining to us his youth then related his experiences back to the novel. I was surprised by the beauty of Turkey that Dr. Mirzeler showed us in his pictures. He showed us all different types of landscapes in this country; I loved all the medieval castles the most. I assumed, like most Americans, that the Middle East was all desert with no other descriptive landscape. In reality, there are mountains, valleys, deserts, swamps, and everything in between. He discussed the Turkish culture being based primarily on agriculture and how Roman/Greek remnants are still around from previous occupation. Even though this occupation was hundreds of years ago. Dr. Mirzeler told us of a bridge that was built and how no one can seem to figure out how. The current was so strong, and the bridge itself is very secure, despite being over 2000 years old. He also discussed honor killings, and how men are never involved in being killed, but Dr. Mirzeler himself would have been a victim of the cycle of violence had it not been for the quick thinking of his mother and other family members. I was dumbfounded by this, we see it on television or hear about it...but never really experienced it. I couldn't it is unthinkable, imaging have to make a decision like that. To harm one of my family members is not even worth considering to me. I read the short stories on Sunday and found them getting progressively more difficult to understand. "World for Sale" was the most understandable for me, but the man seems to have a very depressing life. To lose not only your wife, but your child as well and another family member on top of that would be unbearable. But it seemed as if the man had a disconnect with reality. There was not a lot of emotion, maybe because he was so numb from all the pain he couldn't feel anything anymore. I think what he wanted to do with the money was profound as well..."So this kind-faced, unkempt man sitting in the corner of the coffeehouse is the man who wanted to buy the world." Everything was taken away from him, so he wanted to buy the world to make up for everything he couldn't have. The next two stories we more difficult for me to understand. It wasn't that they were hard to read, more that the subject matter was difficult to grasp. I'm hoping that we discuss them in class tomorrow to have a better idea of their meaning.