Introduction / Marilyn Booth  1

I. Normative Images and Shifting Spaces  

1. Early Women Exemplars and the Construction of Gendered Space: (Re-)Defining Feminine Moral Excellence / Asma Afsaruddin  23

2. Normative Notions of Public and Private in Early Islamic Culture / Yaseen Noorani  49

3. The Harem as Gendered Space and the Spatial Reproduction of Gender / Irvin Cemil Schick  69

II. Rooms and Thresholds: Harems as Spaces, Socialities, and Law  

4. Caliphal Harems, Household Harems: Baghdad in the Fourth Century of the Islamic Era / Nadia Maria El Cheikh  87

5. Domesticating Sexuality: Harem Culture in Ottoman Imperial Law / Leslie Pierce  104

6. Panotopic Bodies: Black Eunuchs as Guardians of The Topkapi Harem / Jateen Lad  136

7. Where Elites Meet: Harem Visits, Sea Bathing, and Sociabilities in Precolonial Tunisia, c. 1800–1881 / Julia Clancy-Smith  177

8. The Harem as Biography: Domestic Architecture, Gender, and Nostalgia in Modern Syria / Heghmar Zeitlian Watenpaugh  211

III. Harems Envisioned  

9. Harem/House/Set: Domestic Interiors in Photography from the Late Ottoman World / Nancy Micklewright  239

10. Dress and Undress: Clothing and Eroticism in Nineteenth-Century Visual Representations of the Harem / Joan DelPlato  261

11. Harems, Women, and Political Tyranny in the Works of Jurji Zaydan / Orit Bashkin  290

12. The Harem as the Seat of Middle-class Industry and Morality: The Fiction of Ahmet Midhat Efendi / A. Holly Shissler  319

13. Between Harem and Houseboat: "Fallenness," Gendered Spaces, and the Female National Subject in 1920s Egypt / Marilyn Booth  342

Bibliography  375

Contributors  401

Index  405

Marilyn Booth

Asma Afsaruddin

Yaseen Noorani

Irvin Cemil Schick

Nadia Maria El Cheikh

Leslie Peirce

Jateen Lad

Julia A. Clancy-Smith

Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh

Nancy Micklewright

Joan DelPlato

Orit Bashkin

A. Holly Shissler

“Rarely have I encountered an edited collection as coherent and focused as Harem Histories. . . . Harem Histories offers concrete historical examples of the ways that gendered space is constructed and imagined, public and private overlap and merge, and cultural interaction has complex
dynamics and consequences. Although perhaps of most interest to historians and other scholars of the Middle East, these are issues of more general concern to sociologists as well.”—Leila J. Rupp, Contemporary Sociology

“[A] useful lens for understanding current narratives about Muslim women as well as earlier histories, stories, and the people who wrote them.”—M. Lynx Qualey, Women’s Review of Books

“[A] fascinating compilation. . . . Taken together, the articles demonstrate
major historiographical advances in the field—new approaches and new questions that enable us to better understand the role of gender played in imperial and household relations and how it changed over time and place.”—Nancy E. Gallagher, Digest of Middle East Studies

“The thirteen contributions to this volume illuminate the complex dynamics of producing, consuming, and inhabiting harem spaces by examining a number of Western and non-Western primary sources, including novels and
memoirs, historical and legal documents, as well as architectural layouts and photographs. This vast range of sources not only creates a comprehensive mosaic of the material but also bolsters our understanding of it by virtue of the dialogue amongst the authors and chapters themselves, which adds a level of nuance, depth, and liveliness.”—Nadine Sinno, Clio

“In Harem Histories, editor Marilyn Booth has compiled an innovative and multidisciplinary volume on the historical “concept/institution/image” of the harem in the Middle East and North Africa (4).... Perhaps the most important contribution of this volume is the ways in which it broadens the definition of the harem—as an architectural space, social institution and representative symbol/trope in literary-political discourses both in Muslim-majority societies and Euro-American imaginations.... Harem Histories will prove essential reading for scholars of gender, space and Islam, and is a core text for anyone studying the Islamic harem.” —Angma Jhala, Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

“[T]his volume is a much-needed and long-awaited scholarly and interdisciplinary collection of essays on the multilayered nature of the harem over time and in various contexts as it was imagined, represented, and experienced in Middle Eastern and North African societies and by the visitors of these societies and it is hoped will stimulate further exploration into and fresh perspectives on this issue. It might be used as a textbook in the field of
literature, cultural studies, Middle Eastern studies, gender studies, and the visual arts and arts history providing insights for a field that is so far understudied.”
—Züleyha Çolak, Insight Turkey

“From the examination of the public acts of the female companions of Muhammad to the changing legal structure around sexuality in Ottoman imperial law, the volume extends conceptions of the relationship between women, the harem, and the public sphere in useful ways. The extraordinary ground covered by this volume means that any scholar, regardless of his or her area of specialization, can learn something, and perhaps many things, from it.”—Lisa Z. Sigel, History: Reviews of New Books

“Harem Histories. . . paints a rich picture of the divergent ways that Muslim women in the Middle East and North Africa have been viewed by their own societies and Islam, as well as by others. . . . [It] provides fodder for reflecting on the complex series of historical, religious, and cultural events that have constructed gender roles in the Islamic world as well as on the history of Western societies in simplifying the meanings and practices associated with these roles.”—Justine Williams, Mediterranean Quarterly

“[A]ll the essays in this important contribution to women’s and Islamic studies clearly illustrate the continuing power of the historic and the imagined harem to influence the way Muslims and non-Muslims today view gender and women’s bodies in the Islamic world.”—Anna Dempsey, International Journal of Islamic Architecture

“Rarely have I encountered an edited collection as coherent and focused as Harem Histories. . . . Harem Histories offers concrete historical examples of the ways that gendered space is constructed and imagined, public and private overlap and merge, and cultural interaction has complex
dynamics and consequences. Although perhaps of most interest to historians and other scholars of the Middle East, these are issues of more general concern to sociologists as well.”—Leila J. Rupp, Contemporary Sociology

“[A] useful lens for understanding current narratives about Muslim women as well as earlier histories, stories, and the people who wrote them.”—M. Lynx Qualey, Women’s Review of Books

“[A] fascinating compilation. . . . Taken together, the articles demonstrate
major historiographical advances in the field—new approaches and new questions that enable us to better understand the role of gender played in imperial and household relations and how it changed over time and place.”—Nancy E. Gallagher, Digest of Middle East Studies

“The thirteen contributions to this volume illuminate the complex dynamics of producing, consuming, and inhabiting harem spaces by examining a number of Western and non-Western primary sources, including novels and
memoirs, historical and legal documents, as well as architectural layouts and photographs. This vast range of sources not only creates a comprehensive mosaic of the material but also bolsters our understanding of it by virtue of the dialogue amongst the authors and chapters themselves, which adds a level of nuance, depth, and liveliness.”—Nadine Sinno, Clio

“In Harem Histories, editor Marilyn Booth has compiled an innovative and multidisciplinary volume on the historical “concept/institution/image” of the harem in the Middle East and North Africa (4).... Perhaps the most important contribution of this volume is the ways in which it broadens the definition of the harem—as an architectural space, social institution and representative symbol/trope in literary-political discourses both in Muslim-majority societies and Euro-American imaginations.... Harem Histories will prove essential reading for scholars of gender, space and Islam, and is a core text for anyone studying the Islamic harem.” —Angma Jhala, Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

“[T]his volume is a much-needed and long-awaited scholarly and interdisciplinary collection of essays on the multilayered nature of the harem over time and in various contexts as it was imagined, represented, and experienced in Middle Eastern and North African societies and by the visitors of these societies and it is hoped will stimulate further exploration into and fresh perspectives on this issue. It might be used as a textbook in the field of
literature, cultural studies, Middle Eastern studies, gender studies, and the visual arts and arts history providing insights for a field that is so far understudied.”
—Züleyha Çolak, Insight Turkey

“From the examination of the public acts of the female companions of Muhammad to the changing legal structure around sexuality in Ottoman imperial law, the volume extends conceptions of the relationship between women, the harem, and the public sphere in useful ways. The extraordinary ground covered by this volume means that any scholar, regardless of his or her area of specialization, can learn something, and perhaps many things, from it.”—Lisa Z. Sigel, History: Reviews of New Books

“Harem Histories. . . paints a rich picture of the divergent ways that Muslim women in the Middle East and North Africa have been viewed by their own societies and Islam, as well as by others. . . . [It] provides fodder for reflecting on the complex series of historical, religious, and cultural events that have constructed gender roles in the Islamic world as well as on the history of Western societies in simplifying the meanings and practices associated with these roles.”—Justine Williams, Mediterranean Quarterly

“[A]ll the essays in this important contribution to women’s and Islamic studies clearly illustrate the continuing power of the historic and the imagined harem to influence the way Muslims and non-Muslims today view gender and women’s bodies in the Islamic world.”—Anna Dempsey, International Journal of Islamic Architecture

“A very important contribution to the literature on the harem, this collection will quickly become a standard text in cultural studies, Middle Eastern studies, gender studies, and the visual arts.”—Mary Roberts, author of Intimate Outsiders: The Harem in Ottoman and Orientalist Art and Travel Literature

“Harem Histories includes magisterial essays by a number of leading scholars at the top of their game, and it takes us through a series of insightful and inspiring examinations of the harem system. Delightful cultural analyses of literary and visual depictions of the harem link Western and Eastern cultural producers, drawing out the tensions and relationships between different socio-sexual orders.”—Reina Lewis, author of Rethinking Orientalism: Women, Travel, and the Ottoman Harem

Permission to Photocopy (coursepacks)

If you are requesting permission to photocopy material for classroom use, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at copyright.com;

If the Copyright Clearance Center cannot grant permission, you may request permission from our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).

Permission to Reprint

If you are requesting permission to reprint DUP material (journal or book selection) in another book or in any other format, contact our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).

Images/Art

Many images/art used in material copyrighted by Duke University Press are controlled, not by the Press, but by the owner of the image. Please check the credit line adjacent to the illustration, as well as the front and back matter of the book for a list of credits. You must obtain permission directly from the owner of the image. Occasionally, Duke University Press controls the rights to maps or other drawings. Please direct permission requests for these images to permissions@dukeupress.edu.
For book covers to accompany reviews, please contact the publicity department.

Subsidiary Rights/Foreign Translations

If you're interested in a Duke University Press book for subsidiary rights/translations, please contact permissions@dukeupress.edu. Include the book title/author, rights sought, and estimated print run.

Disability Requests

Instructions for requesting an electronic text on behalf of a student with disabilities are available here.

Rights & Permissions Contact Information

Email: permissions@dukeupress.edu

Email contact for coursepacks: asstpermissions@dukeupress.edu

Fax: 919-688-4574

Mail:
Duke University Press
Rights and Permissions
905 W. Main Street
Suite 18B
Durham, NC 27701

For all requests please include:

1. Author's name. If book has an editor that is different from the article author, include editor's name also.

2. Title of the journal article or book chapter and title of journal or title of book

3. Page numbers (if excerpting, provide specifics)

For coursepacks, please also note: The number of copies requested, the school and professor requesting

For reprints and subsidiary rights, please also note: Your volume title, publication date, publisher, print run, page count, rights sought