Arab women : old boundaries, new frontiers /

The disparate articles in this volume cover feminism, Islam, gender conflict, economics, nationalism, politics, and change. Contributors are drawn from many disciplines and the quality of the essays is generally rather high. The editor however, seems unable to draw a connecting theme linking the contributions. Is it "Arabness," language, cultural similarity, social structural resemblance, subsistence, location, religion, all of these? Tucker is successful in showing why none of these criteria alone suffice, but is less effective in synthesizing an effective operational paradigm for the collection. As a result, it is hard to see why "Arab" women should have been the focus of the collection, rather than Middle Eastern and North African women generally. Some contrasting material on "Arab" non-Muslim women might have helped to define the subject better. Alternatively, choosing one aspect of women's life might have brought more coherence. Nevertheless, the collection is useful, insightful, and well documented. All levels. L. D. Loeb University of Utah