Getting Back on Track

After two messy weeks of some nasty family emergency type issues, and one minor breakdown, I've regripped my research and I'm about to start writing. This is terrifying because I don't know how to begin and I'm always at a bit of a loss as to how to ground my writing with a foundation of history and terminology. I think this is mostly out of my old fear of using 'general knowledge' without a specific source text. It's times like this that I miss legitimate encyclopaedias.

What is Nationalism, and Where does it Fit

I need to start pulling my definitions together of nationalism and Islamism in particular. I'm still struggling with the reconciliation of the two terms and where they specifically fit in the context of the PA, Hamas, the secular movements, militant movements, etc. What about Islamic Jihad, which doesn't have necessarily political/governmental motivations?

I need to reread Abduh, Nastir, etc.

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.