Hailey Kurth

Arab Society

Exploration Table 1

1. Something I learned this week

2. Something I already knew
3. I’m still confused about

1. I learned that when speaking about identity it goes a lot deeper than just what is on the
surface or even your personality. That often people find one identity to hold onto, and is
usually the one that they feel they cannot fully step into, which is a perspective I think is
very true but I had never thought about before. I also learned that many peoples
identities stem from the climate around them, where an Arab living in the US would most
likely identify as Muslim, but an Arab living in an Arab country might identify as a woman
or man before a Muslim since the majority of people around them are Muslim and vice
versa a Christian in an Arab country would most likely identify as Christian first. The
perspective of ones identity in the context of where they live is something I have not
taken much thought to before and I felt like I really learned a lot and was forced to think
more about perspective and social context in terms of identity.
2. I already knew that women in some parts of the Arab world has gone through
resistances to veiling and going back to wanting to be more covered.
1. Also, I knew that there has been a lot of government intervention to, in particular,
how women dress.
2. I also feel that I know many people (not just in the Arab world, but possibly more
exacerbated here) find identity in their dress
3. I don’t really understand where the veiling situation stands now in most of the Arab world
and the conclusion that was reached from all these movements.