Rethinking Orientalism: Women, Travel and the Ottoman Harem

Annotation The oppressed yet highly sexualised woman of the Muslim harem is arguably the pivotal figure of Western Orientalism. Yet, Rema Lewis argues, Western understandings of Middle Eastern culture remain limited, with little attention being paid to the voices of self-identified 'Oriental' women whc published accounts in English about segregated life, challenging Western Orientalist stereotypes and intervening in debates about female and national emancipation. This first full-length study of alternative dialogues between Ottoman and Western women and a major contribution to both Middle East and Cultural Studies, looks closely at writings from and about Istanbul by writers including Demetra Vaka Brown, Hatide Edib, Zeyneb Hanurn, Melek Hanum and Grace Ellison.