JSN242H1

Women and Money in the Medieval Middle East

Money can be a source of power, a way of building and affirming relationships, and a means of demonstrating a person's values and commitments. In this course, we will explore women's social roles, power, vulnerabilities, choices, fears, and desires by examining how they gained and spent their money. We will be looking at the experiences of royal women and enslaved women; Muslims, Christians, and Jews; conservative and rebellious; married and single; those who worked within the home, and those who worked outside of it. The course is centered primarily on texts originally written in Arabic between the 9th and 14th centuries, but all sources will be offered in English translation.