389 TOWARDS A FEMINIST LITERARY PEDAGOGY: AISHA TAYMUR AND CHAROLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN Hala Kamal This paper seeks to explore the intersections of genre and gender in women’s writing as represented in a selection of fictional and non-fictional writings by two pioneer women writers of the turn of the 20 th century: the Egyptian Aisha Taymur (1840-1902) and the American Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935). The study aims at presenting a comparative feminist reading of two fictional texts: Taymur’s Nata’ij al-ahwaal fil-aqwaal wal-af’aal (Consequences of Circumstances in Words and Deeds, 1887) and Gilman’s Herland (1915). In the light of their non- fictional writing, with particular focus on the feminist issues raised in Taymur’s Mir’aat al-ta’ammul fil-umuur (Mirror of Contemplation, 1892) and selected essays from Gilman’s Our Androcentric Culture, or The Man-Made World (1911). As a comparative feminist inquiry, this paper addresses the opportunities and constraints of genre, as well as the literary representation of gender roles towards a feminist literary pedagogy. The study does not follow a conventional comparative study method, but is structured around an imaginary cross-cultural dialogue between the two authors and the cross-generic echoes between their texts. The paper is divided into four parts. First the two authors are introduced highlighting their position as pioneers of women’s literary writing and advocators of gender equality. Then the paper addresses the issue of genre in terms of the writers’ knowledge of the conventions of the maqama and utopian fiction, as well as their contributions through subverting the conventional. The next part looks more closely at the writers’ discussion of gender issues through their critique of masculinity and femininity. The paper concludes with reflections on Taymur’s and Gilman’s contributions to women’s literary tradition and feminist thought, offering potentials for feminist literary pedagogy. Taymur and Gilman Aisha Taymur (also known as Aisha al-Taymuriyya) 1 is an Egyptian pioneer woman poet and writer. She received her education at home, mastering Arabic, Turkish and Persian languages which not only offered her access to intellectual life, but qualified her to become a translator working in the royal court (Ashour et al, 2008, 502). Her writings establish her as a precursor of modern Egyptian and Arabic literature, a critic of established gender roles, and advocator of women’s education. In her pioneering critical study of Aisha Taymur, published as