Bodies and Sexualities - Fall’14
Midterm Exam
I. IDs: (for 2 of the following, write a brief definition in 250-300 words.)1
1.
2.
3.
4.
Aisha bint Abi Bakr
Khadija
Uterine suffocation
Ziraf (Funny Women)
II. Discuss: (Briefly discuss 2 of the following in 500-600 words. Focus on the most important
aspects as much as space permits)
1. Humoral theory
2. Heat-based sex differentiation
3. Ubnah (Hidden Illness)
4. “Singing Girls”
1. For IDs and Discuss questions, you do not have to cite your sources. But don’t use Wikipedia!
I will find out!
III. Write 3-4 pages on one of the following:2
1. Translation movement:
Through the ninth century, the main intellectual and urban centers of the Islamic world (such as
Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Damascus, etc) witnessed a developing book market and increasing
translations of Greek and Persian materials into Arabic. Such translation movement formed the
basis of the intellectual and cultural life in Islamicate societies throughout the medieval period.
Discuss different theories that attempted to explain the translation movement, while explaining
the evidence they use and their conclusions.
2. Muhammad’s wives and their perception:
Muhammad’s wives and their stories continued to play significant roles in the history of
Islamicate cultures long after their death. Among them, Aisha and Khadija became the most
famous and most influential, although their fame, influence and personas were different in many
respects.
Discuss the role played by the characters of Muhammad’s wives and why this role continued to
be important, and analyze the differences between the perceptions of Aisha and Khadija, why
they were portrayed differently, and the implications of such different portrayals.
IV. Write 3-4 pages on one of the following:
1.Humoral definition of health - methods of treatment:
Galenic Humoral theory dominated medical practice throughout the medieval and early modern
period. In addition to its clear theoretical views about the body, Galenic Humoral theory involved
specific understanding of health and disease, which had important influences on methods to
diagnosis and treatment.
Discuss the major theoretical underpinnings of Galenic medicine, highlighting the implications
of these theoretical views on the definition of health and diseases, the types of diseases and the
main methods of treatment.3
2. Medical views on Sex differentiation:
Fetal sex differentiation was a significant question that animated important discussions among
physicians and medical authors. In their different works, authors used different models to explain
how sex is differentiated in utero. Discuss the different theories that explained sex
differentiations, highlighting their difference and similarities.
2. For essay questions, you need to cite your sources in footnotes. If you are using lecture
materials, cite it as well in the following format: lecture, “lecture title from the syllabus”, date.
3. Methods of treatment do not include specific drugs or preparations but rather main categories
or treatment modalities.
d
te
in
Pr
it
w
Bonus questions:
(Answer this question in lieu of one of the essay questions for an additional shade of grade
applied to this exam4)
h
a
Ibn Fadlan (fl. 921) was a scholar and a bureaucrat in the Abbasid court of Baghdad. Around 921,
he was sent in an embassy to various courts and tribes in Eastern and Northern Europe. In
summarizing his trip, Ibn Fadlan produced one of the more interesting travelogues that
chronciled his travels in the tribal regions of Eastern and Northern Europe.
D
o
em
of
is
N
Travelogues, which was the genre in which Ibn Fadlan composed his account, were popular in
the medieval Isalmicate literary world. In most of these texts, certain expressions of the self and
the other were produced and circulated revealing variable intellectual, cultural and scientific
priorities for the authors and readers alike. Analyze Ibn Fadlan account highlighting how he
understood the other, and how he perceived difference between his own society and the ones that
he visited (Pay attention to what he focuses on, and what such emphasis might imply)
us
t
ri
W
er
o
Pr
Ahmad Ibn Fadlan. Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness : Arab Travellers in the Far North. In
Lunde, Paul; Stone, Caroline (Ed.). London: Penguin, 2012. (63-77)
it
w
h
a
D
o
em
of
i
N
s
u
s
ri
W
r
e
t
o
Pr
[Text uploaded to the website]
d
e
nt
i
Pr
4. A shade is a + sign; So, if you answer the bonus question and your grade is A-, it will be A; if
it is B, it will be B+. If you get an A in the exam anyway, you will only have my gratitude for I
will have no more shades to give you! NB. My gratitude does not translate into grades!