Argumentative Essay

CHOOSE ONE ESSAY TO WRITE ON. DO NOT WRITE ON THE TWO OPTIONS, ONLY WRITE ON ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TWO OPTIONS. YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHICHEVER ESSAY OPTION YOU WANT

ALSO, ONLY USE THE SOURCES I HAVE LISTED IN YOUR CITATION. DO NOT USE INFORMATION FROM ANY OTHER BOOK OR ARTICLE ONLINE

The essay must include:

    A thesis statement in the introduction.
    Specific evidence to support your thesis.  Avoid using broad, vague concepts and ideas. Mention specific geographic regions, time periods, individuals, events, and concepts. 
    References (although not page citations) to specific course readings and films, i.e. cite authors last name for readings and title of relevant film(s). 

Choose essay A or B to write on (only pick one essay) :

A.    How did Islamic ideology on women and gender in the early period (seventh to tenth centuries C.E.) originate and become the basis for Islamic law?  What were the forces and influences that shaped the historical process?  What role did interpretation play?

Book: The Middle East and North Africa by Guity Nashat and Judith E. Tucker

B.    How does the dominant discourse on women in the medieval period correspond to the actual lives of urban women in the areas of property ownership/management and education, to Turko-Mongol gender practices, and to the depictions of women in popular folk tales of the period?

Book: The Middle East and North Africa by Guity Nashat and Judith E. Tucker

Book: Women in Iran from the Rise of Islam 1800 by Guity Nashat and Lois Beck

Book: Women in Islam and the Middle East (Only use chapter 16, Pages 165 180) by Ruth Roded