Getting a Grip on My Topic

Palestine has a very firm connection with nationalism because of the pressures of occupation. Palestinian nationalism is not something that is going to go away. How is Islam providing not an alternative to, but a support of that nationalism, and what is the role of religious Muslim Palestinian women in providing that support? As far as veiling goes, this is both an indicator of and a contribution to that support. Why? It changes the space for women, allowing them to participate in the open while also helping them to work in stealth. It opens the political space. Secondly, the veil is a visual sign of Islam, much like the kufiyya for men. It can come to mean Islam, but also come to mean Palestine. How is the veil a symbol of the rise of female influence in forging a national and religious identity for Palestine?

It's About Accountability

Since I had to start blogging for my art class, I figured that I might as well strengthen the habit by committing a separate blog to thoughts as I research and write my thesis. I tend to lose the bits of paper on which I write down my ideas as I go, but since I almost always have a laptop on me, there's no excuse to forget anymore. Besides self-motivation, this should give me the opportunity to better communicate with my advisor (Banu), potential second readers (Omid, Nasser I'm looking at you), and my 'reading buddies.' Dad, you'll probably have something to say, too. In that vein, I'd appreciate any comments left for posts. I'm going to try to keep a running list of sources that I'm consulting so that I can compile a bibliography more easily and give some insight into the scholarship that I'm looking at.