LY112 Culture Entry #1- Gretchen Anderson

Culture Entry #1:

I had a guest lecturer in my Anthropology 101 class that gave a presentation about her studies in Morocco. It was interesting for me personally because I am considering a study abroad program in Morocco to help improve my Arabic. Chloe Mulderig is a BU Graduate student doing her dissertation on the anthropology of politics and religion in the Middle East. Most of her fieldwork has been in the city of Fes in Morocco. She gave her guest lecture about her studies of women's religious piety and wearing of hijab, abayah, and other coverings in the city. She studies women's motivations behind wearing or not wearing the hijab and tells of the different reasons why it is or is not acceptable. She also tries to study the men's point of view about whether or not women should wear the coverings. 

She also talked about how it is hard to be a female anthropologist in the Muslim world because she can only interact with certain people. She could only really talk to mostly women, and men were not always able to speak with her. As a white woman, she also ran into difficulties of people who did not want to engage with her in discussion about their beliefs. Before converting, she was not allowed in mosques to learn more about religious rituals and practices.

I found this lecture particularly interesting because during Chloe's fieldwork, she became a Muslim convert and says she wears the hijab as a sign of respect while she is in Morocco and the Middle East.

Her lecture sparked my interest more in the culture of the Muslim World. I really want to be able to go to Morocco not just to study the language of Arabic, but to also be able to learn about the culture that is so significant to the people and language. This lecture also inspired me to take another anthropology course called "Women in the Muslim World", which is really eye-opening and interesting.

I recently read her article about the struggles she faced in being a Muslim convert. It is funny to read about how people tried to make her do different things to do Islamic rituals the "right" way or how to be a "real Muslim woman". Some women she would pray with would enter the mosque in tight jeans, but would criticize her for letting her wrists show while she prayed. Some people would tell her she was doing something forbidden by wearing make-up, but if she would not wear it they would teach her how to be a "beautiful Muslim woman" and would put it on her anyway! She tells how confusing, exciting, and interesting the process of conversion has been for her as an anthropologist because she gets to study firsthand how to actually be a Muslim woman.

http://www.bu.edu/anthrop/graduate/students/m-mulderig/

http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jca/vol2/iss1/7/