Page 2- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 8, 1989
Speaker studies Middle East women
BY MONICA SMITH
Women of Middle Eastern and Islamic origin-
are a diverse group who are under-researched and
have often been wrongly classified as a mono-
lithic group, said assistant Sociology Professor
Muge Gocek. Gocek led a discussion yesterday
onwomen in the 18th-Century Ottoman empire.
Gocek studied inheritance registers, detailed
documents filed at the time of a person's death
'that described everything the person owned, their
debts, their loans, and the final disposition of
their estates. She cited research which tried to
"recreate the daily lives of these women from the
information in the records.
Gocek's study sampled 124 of these records,
29 of which were of women. She said although
- women lacked the administrative skills to partic-
ipate in politics, they nevertheless participated in
court proceedings and money lending, owned
land, and produced and owned silk. Her research
revealed that many men owed women money, and
religion had little relationship to debt.
Gocek said Islam is a religion associated with
unchanging social relations and is seen as tradi-
tional. She said the assumption that all members
of Islam are the same hampers research.
"If you assume women of Middle East or Is-
lam are different you are marginalizing them,"
Gocek said. "You study them as a chunk... you
assume people of the Middle East are one mono-
lithic group. People see Islamic women as one
category. No one sees Christian women as one
category."
Gocek said she sees the need for a change in
the study and approach to studying Middle East-
ern and Islamic women.
"We need to have a more humanistic ap-
proach, approach them as human beings," she
said.
Gocek said she thinks the social sciences'
emphasis on Islam is leading to an incomplete
view of the Middle East. While Islam is an im-
portant factor in the study of Middle Eastern and
Islamic women, Gocck said it is necessary to
maintain a balance so that examination of one
variable, such as religion, would not preclude
study of other aspects.
Women who have not participated in public
institutions have historically had little informa-
tion recorded about them, Gocek said. Available
information on Middle Eastern history draws
largely upon accounts by western travellers,
which often leads to problems.
Gocek said western travellers often visit the
Middle East with a cultural bias, causing them to
judge and compare the area to their country.
Also, she said Western travellers tend to view
the Middle East in relation to its biblical image.
She said this can interfere with their interpreta-
tion of the Middle East and its people.
Native American artist discusses history
Good Times do come cheap
Wednesday. Make the week bearable. A Pitcher of Beer is only $2.95
Thursday. Another Pitcher special to celebrate Friday, all
Pitchers are $1.00 off.
Charsey
114 S.4 eriva Cuc 668-841
BY DONNA IADIPAOLO
"We don't want Indians/Just their
names/mascots/machines/cities/prod
ucts/buildings/living people."
These painted die-cut words are
just one of the many forms of art
shown last night in a slideshow pre-
sentation by renowned artist Edgar
Heap of Birds.
Heap of Birds - a name as
common as "Smith" for Native
Amerians - discussed last night
the insurgent messages present in
Native American art and how it dif-
fers from the dominant white culture
in America. The presentation, titled
"Apartheid Oklahoma," was made at
Rackham Amphitheater to more than
100 people.
"Political art is becoming a man-
nerism," said Heap of Birds. "[Art] is
becoming a little tainted by people
being so far removed from certain
affirmations. If you don't have that
experience, then maybe you
shouldn't speak out against it."
Heap of Birds not only presented
slides and posters of his own paint-
ings, photographs and prints, but
included drawings by Native Ameri-
can prisoners during the 1800s, and
works from other contemporary
artists.
Also depicted were portraits by
today's Native American photogra-
phers. One of these artists focused
on the condition of the "Street
Chiefs" of Oklahoma. Street Chiefs,
said Heap of Birds, are Native
Americans who are victims of
homelessness and poverty because of
state oppression.
In reference to his own work,
Heap of Birds said that he purposely
did not sketch a framework before
beginning to paint. He said that he
"starts the painting like astorm -
see art Page 3
IN BRIEF
Compiled from Associated Press and staff reports
New committee to investigate Tower
WASHINGTON - Senator Sam Nunn, the Democratic chair of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, said yesterday he has directed staff
from another committee to investigate new allegations of excessive
drinking against John Tower, an unusual move that quickly raised
protests from Republicans.
The partisan disagreement erupted as President Bush once again de-
fended embattled defense nominee, saying there would be "25,000 people
in the Pentagon" making sure Tower stands by his no-drinking pledge.
Senate Democratic Leader George Mitchell, meanwhile, conceded there
may be further Democratic defections but insisted the GOP will not have
enough votes to win Tower's confirmation.
"Why are we still investigating Senator Tower?" Republican leader
Bob Dole of Kansas asked on the Senate floor. "Isn't the FBI report ade-
quate? When does the investigation stop?"
Iran breaks relations with Britain
NICOSIA, Cyprus - Iran broke relations with Britain yesterday be-
cause it refused to suppress "The Satanic Verses," whose author is under a
death sentence by Ayatollah Khomeini for blaspheming Islam.
Khomeini's fundamentalist Shiite Moslem regime said it was deter-
mined to defended Islam against foreign insults. The regime has put a
price of $5.2 million on novelist Salman Rushdie's head.
Britain said that Khomeini's order that his followers kill Rushdie, a
British citizen, violated the principles of international relations and that
the diplomatic rupture was "entirely of Iran's making."
In London, the Foreign Office said yesterday that British officials had
not received formal notification from Iran, but had heard of the action
through news reports and a Tehran radio broadcast.
Iran decided February 27 to sever diplomatic ties unless Britain met its
demands.
Baker meets with Shevardnadze
SHANNON, Ireland - Secretary of State James Baker met with the
Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze yesterday and agreed to visit
Moscow in May, where the will discuss prospects of a Bush-Gorbachev
summit.
'His two-hour meeting with Shevardnadze in Vienna took place the day
after they outlined their governments' positions at a 35-nation conference
at reducing conventional military forces in Europe.
Baker resisted a Soviet overture to reopen negotiations in April or May
on reducing long-range or strategic nuclear missiles. He said the Bush
administration wants to complete parallel reviews of its arms control
policy and nuclear force structure before resuming talks.
Reopening the talks on long-range bombers, nuclear submarines and
missiles will be discussed during the visit to Moscow in the first half of
May, he said.
Industrialized nations commit to
ban chemicals harmful to ozone
LONDON - Industrialized nations committed themselves to banning
chemicals that are destroying the ozone layer. at an international
conference on the ozone layer that ended yesterday. They reacted coolly to
Third World demands for money to find substitutes, however.
China, India and other populous developing nations embarking on
mass production of consumer goods containing chlorofluorocarbons rea-
son that since the west invented and produces most of the ozone-destroy-
ing chemicals, the west should pay to replace them.
Despite the split, the 123 countries agreed that pressure is on scientists
and industry to find safe alternatives before more damage is done to the
atmospheric shield.
William Reilly, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
said the conference sparked as much public discussion as any international
environmental issue since the 1985 Chernobyl nuclear accident.
EXTRAS
Spring Break in Daytona will
mean sun... and arm wrestling
DAYTONA BEACH - Spring Breakers will get a chance to test their
strength in the 1989 National Collegiate Arm Wrestling Championship on
March 19 at the Carnival Hotel in Daytona Beach.
The event, sponsored by the World of Arm Sports Magazine, Budweiser
and the Carnival Hotel, will be held on the hotel's pool deck. Weigh-ins for
contestants will precede the competition.
The cost per entrant is $10.
Awards will be given in five men's right hand divisions, three women's
right hand divisions, and three men's left hand divisions. Awards will range
from first to fourth places. Team awards will also be given.
The competition is free and open to the public.
& Mi Xan B
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