The Forbidden Modern by Nilufer Gole

The Forbidden Modern by Nilufer Gole

This book by prominent Turkish scholar Nilufer Gole examines the complex relationships among modernity, religion, and gender relations in the Middle East. Her focus is on the factors that influence young women pursuing university educations in Turkey to adopt seemingly fundamentalist Islamist traditions, such as veiling, and the complex web of meanings attributed to these gender-separating practices. Veiling, a politicized practice that conceptually forces people to choose between the modern and the backward, provides an insightful way of looking at the contemporary Islam-West conflict, shedding light on the recent rise of Islamist fundamentalism in many countries and providing insight into what is a more complex phenomenon than is commonly portrayed in accounts by Western journalists.
Gole's sociological approach, employing a number of personal interviews, allows for both a detailed case study of these young Turkish women who are turning to the tenets of fundamental Islamist gender codes, and for a broader critique of Eurocentrism and the academic literature regarding the construction of meaning. Both perspectives serve as a springboard for the launching of theoretical innovations into feminist, religious, cultural, and area studies.
A timely book, whose publication in English will contribute to a variety of scholarly debates. It promises to be provocative and widely read among scholars interested in issues of modernism and identity, women's social movements, the status of women in Islamic societies, and the broader issues of public versus private spheres. --Nilufer Isvan, State University of New York, Stony Brook
The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling was originally published as Modern Mahrem by the Turkish publisher Metis and has been translated into French, German, and Spanish. Nilufer Gole is Professor of Sociology, Bogazici University.

A timely book, whose publication in English will contribute to a variety of scholarly debatesIt promises to be provocative and widely read among scholars interested in issues of modernism and identity, women's social movements, the status of women in Islamic societies, and the broader issues of public versus private spheres." —Nilüfer Isvan, State University of New York, Stony Brook

"...a complex analysis of contemporary Islamism in Turkey." —Journal of Women's History

"...Gole's work truly fills a lacuna in the study of the polarized political climate of the Turkish society...[A] more important contribution, I honestly hope, is that it will help break the polarization between 'Islamists' and 'secularists,' and benefit those of us who are well-meaning but self-righteous and intolerant defenders of universal values." —Emine Onaran Incirlioglu, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

"...a compelling book...[A] welcome addition to the flourishing literature on this subject." —International Affairs

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780472066308
ISBN 10	0472066307
Title	The Forbidden Modern
Author	Nilufer Gole
Series	Critical Perspectives On Women And Gender
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The University of Michigan Press
Year published	1997-01-30
Number of pages	184
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable