Thinking Intentionality: Arab Women's Subjectivity and its Discontents

Thus far, scholarship on subjectivity, relevant to Arab men as well as women, skirts the key issue of "intentionality." Feminist scholars often conflate agency and intentionality. Agency, as it is approached, is attached to the subject in the aftermath of observing actions. Intentionality invites a probe into before and during actions. The two main approaches to intentionality in psychology are "drive" theory and "relational-models." First, I briefly consider drive theory. Second, I examine relational concepts from the field of psychology, by way of a query, ending with a discussion of Kenneth J. Gergen's Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community (Oxford University Press, 2009). Third, I review some of the standing tropes through which Arab women as subjects are viewed. Fourth, I explore what these inquiries could mean for the study of Arab women's subjectivity and intentionality. Finally, I gesture toward questions on methodologies and languages.