Beyond the Veil at NU

Priscilla Morin, Norwich professor of English, was teaching in Iran when the revolution broke out in 1979. She chose to conform to the standards most women follow in the Middle East and wore a veil to cover her hair. 

"Things were really tense, we did not realize what was going on at the time," Morin said.
After her experiences abroad, and interacting with people of different cultures, Morin is now an advocate of studying other societies.

"I think it is important to learn about other cultures because it helps us understand our own culture better," Morin said.

Morin is not the only professor on campus who shares this view, which is why Judith Stallings-Ward, professor of Spanish, went looking for an educational film series to show on campus. What she found was "Beyond the Veil: Perspectives from the Muslim World."

According to Stallings-Ward, the series is funded by the Friends of Kreitzberg Libraries.
"Beyond the Veil" is a series of movies that are shown in the faculty dining lounge in the Wise Campus Center every Sunday at 5 p.m.

Students who attended the series last semester will notice a change in time and venue for the presentation.  The movies were previously shown in Cabot 85 at 8 p.m. on Sunday nights. There were many reasons for the changes.

"We were originally thinking about not doing the series this spring," Stallings-Ward said. 

"There were so many students who came up to me and really wanted it [the series] to continue."

According to Stallings-Ward, students thought that a more intimate, and informal setting that was closer to the center of campus would be a better venue for the series, so she booked the faculty dining lounge.

"The series was made by Women Make Movies, a non-profit organization which was established in 1972. Their aim is to promote women's rights," said Natalia Zajac, a 20-year-old junior political science major from Poland.

"Their purpose is to represent women in film, and also train women film makers to deal with current issues such as human rights," Stallings-Ward said. 

Zajac is currently the only student who has presented one of the films.  She was chosen due to her interest in woman's rights.

"I am very much interested in woman's rights and also the relationship between Islam and Christianity, and how we perceive each other," Zajac said.

The films display different aspects of Middle Eastern culture and Islam. Some of the previous films focused on marriage, women's rights, children's rights, how war affects women and women's thoughts on being forced to cover themselves in public.

"Every single film is a new world, a new window to the Muslim world, and it absolutely opened, and expanded my awareness of the complexity of the issues that women face in the Muslim world," Stallings-Ward said.

"The movies are people talking about their own experiences," said Rowland Brucken, associate professor of history. 

"Hearing women and their own divided opinions on wearing the veil was really instructive because it is very easy to get into a Western mindset and think the veil is wrong because it shows submission," Brucken said. "If you listen to a woman who wants to wear the veil because she takes pride in her religious heritage, it gives her an identity, and empowers her; then those are pretty powerful arguments."

In addition to teaching English in Iran, Morin also taught in France for 20 years. According to Morin it is not uncommon for students to wear veils or full hijabs due to the high population of Muslims in France.

"Some wore the veil because they were very seriously religious and that is what the Qur'an tells them to do," Morin said.

Others wore it as a form of protest because at the time the French government was attempting to pass a law to forbid the wearing of the hijab, which is the material that covers the entire body including the face.

The French government claimed it was an attempt to prevent terrorist attacks since law enforcement officials would not be able to see potentially hidden weapons.
According to Morin, the movement was very controversial and many felt as if their personal rights were being infringed upon.

In 2004 the French government successfully passed a law forbidding the wearing of the veil for people under the age of 18.

Dart Thalman, visiting associate professor of political science, is an avid supporter of the "Beyond the Veil" series.

According to Thalman it is important for students as world citizens to have a better understanding of the Middle East and Islam so when governments make policies, such as the examples previously referenced, they can knowledgably support or argue against them.

"I think we need to educate ourselves now more than ever since we are involved in Iraq and Afghanistan where there are two prominent forms of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shiites," Morin said.

"We've expended a lot of human, material, and financial resources into that part of the world," Thalman said. "We will only be successful in the Middle East if we understand its culture, language and religion."

"It is also important to better relate to the people we may meet in travels, or even Islamic people living in the United States," Thalman said.

According to Stallings-Ward, the "Beyond the Veil" series is an excellent way to begin educating one's self on the culture of the Middle East. Not only are these movies first-hand experiences, they are also accompanied by an intellectual discussion following the film.

"I think it is a wonderful way to keep intellectual debate alive on this campus," Stallings-Ward said.

"A university should be a place where the exchange of ideas can happen," Thalman said.

"Whether you are corps or civilian, whether you are going to commission or not, being interested in foreign people, their values, and culture is a very important effort to undertake," Brucken said.

 "The student who comes to Norwich University is learning how to serve their country as a citizen or as a soldier," Stallings-Ward said.  "In order to work as a leader in the world, you need to understand the world."

For students who are interested in viewing the 13 films that were presented last semester, they have been put into general circulation at Kreitzberg Library, according to Stallings-Ward.