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Theory Tuesdays

Theory Tuesdays is a nonacademic platform for theoretical discussion founded, organized and coordinated by artist Philip Matesic since 2009. Participants read beforehand then discuss contemporary art, design, literary, cultural and critical theory on a weekly basis, with the texts selected and introduced each week by a different person.

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Tuesday 26th November 2019, 8:00pm

Session 224: “Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Islamic Revival” by Saba Mahmood

For this session, Tanja Luchsinger selected the essay “Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Islamic Revival” by Saba Mahmood (Cultural Anthropology, Vol.16, May 2001).

In this essay, Mahmood explores the complicated relationship between feminist scholarship and women involved in what they would label as “patriarchal religious traditions” such as Islam. She sheds light on a specific (secular-liberal/western) notion of “human agency” applied in a lot of feminist work which according to her limits the ability to understand the actions of women whose lives and desires have been shaped by non-liberal traditions. This essay offers an opportunity to question the concept of agency, the desire for freedom and look at the dilemma some issues of cultural specificity poses for secular-liberal politics today.

Participants: 8

Mahmood – Feminist Theory

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Founded and coordinated by Philip Matesic.