'Reflections on Jordan' presentation is Sept. 29 at NSU
Published: 2011-09-22
(Tahlequah, Okla.)--Challenging preconceived notions regarding the role of women in the Middle East, two faculty members who recently returned from Jordan will conduct a free lecture on September 29.
Northeastern State University faculty Dr. Amy Aldridge Sanford and Dr. Dilene Crockett will discuss their International Faculty Development fellowships in Jordan.
Reflections on Jordan will be at 2p.m. in Room 614 of the W. Roger Webb Educational Technology Center with Sanford and in Room 114 of Language Arts in Broken Arrow with Crockett. The sites will be in contact through ITV. The presentation will also be carried live to Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton.
We learned so much about women in the Middle East that challenged our assumptions, we wanted to share it with others, said Crockett, associate professor of business administration at NSU-Broken Arrow.
Crockett and Sanford visited Jordan in June to study gender and economic issues in the Middle East. The trip was arranged by the Council on International Education Exchange in cooperation with NSU.
Sanford said her most prominent topic will be gender and its ramifications in Jordan.
Men can be victims in a society where masculinity is dominant, she said. In Jordan, birth order is important. The first born male is well-treated but also faces high expectations. Daughters are often bossed around by their brothers even younger brothers and that can make for difficult relationships among siblings. The genders don't associate with each other as friends. That duality can be dangerous.
The presentation will also discuss what gender relations in Jordan can teach those living in western cultures.
I will talk about what it means to be masculine or feminine in dress, on the job and in ones free time, Sanford said. Every society gets its ideas about masculinity and femininity from much the same sources. Families, spiritual beliefs, pop culture these all influence the rules we live by.
Further movie screenings are Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. in Seminary Hall, Room 204, and Oct. 12 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 139 of the Education building in Broken Arrow. The Jordanian film to be shown is My City, which looks at the diminished community roles of women in a rural town in Jordan. The films length is 24 minutes.