5th annual Virginia Council of Graduate Schools Graduate Student Research Forum

On Thursday 3 February I presented a poster of my research at the 5th annual Virginia Council of Graduate Schools Graduate Student Research Forum. My university, Old Dominion, chose me to present my Morocco field research via a full color 3' x 4' poster at the Library of Virginia. I was the only student from my department, the Graduate Program in International Studies, to be chosen.

I got some useful feedback. I find, as my research develops, and the more I talk about it with people, that there are 2 frustrating reactions.

Firstly, since the working title is: Women, Illiteracy and Public Participation: Barriers to Transforming Governance in Arab states?, many people make a pensive gesture and mutter something like, "oh, I see, you're educating women." No. Not at all. That is not AT ALL what my research is about. In fact, you might say just the opposite. I am DRAWING ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT our notion of 'education' is actually not clearly defined. I am refuting the culturally biased assumption that knowledge ipso facto means being literate. What do we mean by education or literacy anyway? What if your native language isn't written? How are you supposed to be literate, and is it really reasonable for the world to assume that you are doomed to be useless or unproductive in this case?

Secondly, 2 people so far have denied that the stereotype of 'illiterates as obstacles to development' is a common theme throughout development literature. This baffles me, but I have to admit that it merits investigation since more than one person has suggested it. Obviously I will take great pleasure in refuting them. Not only is this stereotype almost universally present, it remains virtually uncontested! This is just one of the treats I will be offering to the world.

Here are the specifics of what I presented in Richmond:

Degree Program: Graduate Program in International Studies (PhD)

Research Working Title: Women, Illiteracy and Public Participation: Barriers to Transforming Governance in Arab states?

Illiteracy is a gendered factor across societies at all levels of development and globalization. Literacy is not simply an indicator of class, social status and educational level, but is assumed to serve as a major barrier to large swathes of society—namely women. Women have marginalized voices, both written and spoken, yet are counted in number in terms of their participation in politics at all levels of governance. "Most women fight wars on two fronts, one for whatever the putative topic is and one simply for the right to speak, to have ideas, to be acknowledged to be in possession of facts and truths, to have value, to be a human being."[1] By investigating the ways in which illiteracy affects women’s agency in terms of obtaining, or desiring to obtain positions of influence and decision-making across all levels of governance, this paper analyzes the capacity of literacy to empower and exclude women from public participation.

The role of illiterates in society is complex and largely defined by agents other than the literates themselves. My dissertation focuses in part on the (non)existence of illiterate women in the literature that considers women’s political capacity. Historically where developing states achieved extensive advances in literacy, an increase in political participation also occurred. In Morocco there is expansion of participation without advances in literacy. If literacy is not necessary to empower women as assumed, how does the traditional focus of foreign aid and development regimes on literacy programs miss the mark in terms of the role that illiterate women play in political transition?

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[1] http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174918