Women, Education, and Socialization in Modern Lebanon
Subtitle
19th and 20th Centuries Social History
Much has been theorized about the positive correlation between formal education and the change in women's social and legal status. In 2000, however, a United Nations report on gender discrimination indicated that bias was overwhelmingly due to socialization, or informal learning, as expressed through cultural values, norms and traditions. Governments investigated in the UN report cited cultural relativity, such as harmful laws and customs, as a major element of concern. In a study on women and higher education in modern Lebanon, one finds the Lebanese case mimics international trends in the unwillingness to confront and reinterpret strict and rigid ideologies, which limit the transformation of female educational progress into change in women's societal roles. "Women, Education, and Socialization in Modern Lebanon" provides a historical background for these socio/political influences on the Lebanese educational system.
Bio
Mirna Lattouf is a principal lecturer at ASU in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.