Women's Autobiography in Islamic Societies: The Ultimate Unveiling?

只要浏览一下主流报纸的畅销书排行榜，就会发现自传作为一种文学体裁是很受欢迎的。这种对自传的痴迷应该会引起历史学家的特别兴趣，因为对于这一体裁的许多作家和读者来说，这是他们与过去打交道的唯一手段。然而，其他学科的研究者对自传作为一种文化现象的研究则持更为开放的态度。特别是女性的自传吸引了越来越多的性别专家作为一个不断发展的文学形式，可以提供重要的见解不断变化的自我，社会和政治话语的概念，以及国家，种族和性别身份的建设学术关注。然而，这项工作的大部分都集中在欧洲和北美的妇女自传上，只有一小群孤立的学者-主要是由这个网络汇集在一起的学者-讨论伊斯兰社会中的妇女自传。他们的研究指出了这些材料的丰富性，特别是在恢复由于面纱而经常隐藏在公众视野之外的妇女的经历方面。尽管如此，在伊斯兰世界的地理和时间分布上进行比较将是一项全新的任务。它将允许合并个案研究，同时也强调历史和地理背景的重要性以及学科方法的重要性，因此，这个网络的目的是通过汇集已经完成伊斯兰社会妇女自传个人研究的15名学者的核心小组，促进跨学科和比较方法。贯穿他们辩论的问题是，在一个理想化女性公众匿名的文化背景下书写自己的生活是否代表了对女性自我的戏剧性揭示：借用Farzaneh Milani的话说，“最终的揭开”（2007：220）。第一阶段将是评估小组成员使用的源材料，作为思考术语和定义或“定义体裁”的一种手段。该项目的第二阶段是“背景和建设”，将超越文本，审查特定的历史和地理背景。简而言之，谁写，为什么写，如何写，为谁写？第三阶段将重新关注自传体叙事的内容，确定各种主题和次主题：从国籍和地区身份的转变到母性、家庭和性。由于这些主题暗示了作者选择呈现自己的方式，无论是有意还是无意，重点将放在“表征和身份”上。因此，该项目将吸引那些对妇女历史、伊斯兰教和自传体文学感兴趣的人，参与者在学科方面非常多样化，代表历史、语言和文学、文化理论、艺术史和妇女研究。其中有来自澳大利亚人权委员会国际战略所针对的国家和地区的与会者，包括美国和南亚。其他代表是研究领域的机构，即土耳其、阿拉伯联合酋长国和孟加拉国。该项目的核心将是三个主要的网络活动，重点是上述主题，因为它们来自现有的文献。这些活动将在得克萨斯大学南亚研究所（2010年2月）、德里印度国际中心（2010年12月）和沙迦美国大学（2011年11月）举行。在这些会议之间，与会者将通过电子邮件继续讨论，并在项目网站上发布正在进行的工作和活动新闻。他们将通过在主要国际会议上组织关于特定地区或自传文学类型的小组讨论，接触更广泛的受众。然后将通过适当的学术论坛传播结果。

A glance through the bestseller list of any mainstream newspaper reveals the popularity of autobiography as a literary genre. This obsession with autobiography should be of especial interest to historians, as, for many writers and readers of the genre, it is their only means of engaging with the past. Yet those in other disciplines have been far more open to the study of autobiography as a cultural phenomenon. Women's autobiography in particular has attracted growing scholarly attention from gender specialists as an evolving literary form that can offer important insights into changing notions of the self, social and political discourses, and the construction of national, racial and gender identities. The majority of this work, however, has focused on women's autobiography in Europe and North America with only a small group of isolated scholars - primarily those to be brought together by this network - addressing women's autobiography in Islamic societies. Their studies point to the richness of this material, particularly in recovering the experiences of women so often hidden from public view on account of the veil. Still, to draw comparisons across the geographical and temporal spread of the Islamic world would be an entirely new undertaking. It would allow the amalgamation of individual case studies, while also highlighting the importance of historical and geographical context and the significance of disciplinary approach.The aim of this network, then, is to foster an interdisciplinary and comparative approach by bringing together a core group of fifteen scholars already completing individual research on women's autobiography in Islamic societies. Running through their debates will be the question of whether writing one's own life in a cultural context that idealises women's public anonymity represents a dramatic revelation of the female self: 'the ultimate unveiling', to borrow the words of Farzaneh Milani (2007: 220). A first stage will be to assess the source materials used by members of the group as a means to thinking about terminology and definitions - or 'defining the genre'. The second stage of the project, on 'context and construction', would move outside the text to examine particular historical and geographical context. In simple terms, who writes, why, how and for whom? A third stage will refocus on the content of autobiographical narratives by identifying various themes and sub-themes: from shifting nationality and regional identity to motherhood, the home and sexuality. As these motifs suggest ways in which an author chooses to present herself, whether intentionally or otherwise, the emphasis will be on 'representation and identity'. The project will thus appeal to those interested in women's history, Islam and autobiographical literature.The participants are incredibly varied in disciplinary terms, representing history, languages and literature, cultural theory, art history and women's studies. Among them are participants from countries and regions targeted in the AHRC's International Strategy, including the United States and South Asia. Others represent institutions in the area of study, namely, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh. At the project's heart will be three main network events focusing on the themes cited above as they arise from the existing literature. These events will be held at the South Asian Institute, University of Texas (February 2010), the India International Centre, Delhi (December 2010) and the American University Sharjah (November 2011). Between these meetings, participants will continue discussion via email, and by posting work-in-progress and news of events on a project website. They will reach out to a broader audience by organising panels on particular regions or types of autobiographical literature at major international conferences. The resultswill then be disseminated through appropriate academic forums.