Overview

Middle Eastern Humanities: An Introduction to Cultures of the Middle East combines the guided, step-by-step and interactive style of a textbook with a sophisticated and sympathetic approach to the cultural logics of tradition and innovation of the Middle East. The book will be useful for teachers and students, as well as those educating themselves about this critical region of the world. Each chapter starts with an introduction by the author, an anthropologist and historian who writes and teaches about Syria, Islam, nationalism, gender, media and popular culture. Each chapter then includes readings by Middle Eastern and Western scholars, journalists and historical actors to deepen the point. Finally, study or discussion questions prompt the reader to apply the material to practical situations. The book is divided into sections on methodology (the value of a humanities approach and debunking stereotypes), diversity and environment (geography, food and diverse lifestyles), Islam (its origins, practices and beliefs, family life and durabilities and vulnerabilities as a social system), cultural expressions (literature, art, science, music and dance traditions) and current hybrids (electronic media and popular culture in predominantly young societies). Following a program used successfully in the University of Arizona's General Education program for a decade, this book prepares students and readers for a trajectory of further study, professional engagement or appreciation of the complexities of this critical region of the world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Leila Hudson
Publisher:   Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co ,U.S.
Imprint:   Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co ,U.S.
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 20.30cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 25.40cm
ISBN:  

9780757583124

ISBN 10:   0757583121
Pages:   334
Publication Date:   23 August 2010
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

PART 1 PRELIMINARIES Chapter 1 The Humanities Why Study Middle Eastern Humanities? Losing the Liberal Arts ~ Valerie Saturnen Top Ten Reasons to Study Humanities ~ Roberta Vandermast Chapter 2 Stereotypes On Stereotypes Orientalism: A Brief Definition ~ Edward Said The Meaning and Significance of Stereotypes in Popular Culture ~ Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause Among the Norse Tribes ~ Judith Gabriel Arabs in America ~ Philip Harsham PART 2 DIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENT Chapter 3 Geography Resources and Access The Middle East ~ lan R. Manners and Barbara McKean Parmenter The Struggle for Islamic Oil ~ Juan Cole Chapter 4 Food Agriculture and Civilization The Muslim Gardens of Paradise ~ Clifford Wright On the Flatbread Trail ~ Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid A Harvest of Legume Research ~ Lynn Teo Simarski Wine of Arabia ~ Paul Lunde Chapter 5 Hospitality Meat, Ritual, and Hospitality Environment: Land, Animals, and Special Skills ~ Donald Cole PART 3 ISLAM: UNITY AND POWER Chapter 6 Messenger and Message Muhammad's World The Medium and the Message ~ Ingrid Mattson Chapter 7 Islamic Practice Orthodoxy, Orthopraxis, and Unity Islamic Values and Social Practice ~ Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban The Hajj ~ Ismail Ibrahim Nawwab Fasting Days, Festive Nights ~ Sarah Gauch Chapter 8 Islamic Fault Lines Authority and Centrifugal Forces The Other Islam ~ Vali Nasr Chapter 9 Women and Family A Gender Revolution? Childhood in the Harem ~ Huda Sha'arawi Weddings in Egypt ~ Patti Jones Morgan PART 4 CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS Chapter 10 Private and Public Hijab and the City The Kabyle House or the World Reversed ~ Pierre Bourdieu The Magic of the Mashrabiyas ~ John Feeney Fishawy's Cafe ~ Mae Ghalwash and Josh Martin Hammam ~ Paul Lunde Chapter 11 Representations Surface, Space, and Science The Flowering of lntellectual Life ~ Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom The World of Mohammed Zakariya ~ Piney Kesting Chapter 12 The Word Orality and Literacy: The Power of Words Tales in the 'Hood: The Last Hakawati ~ Barbara Nimri Aziz Flat Number 6 ~ Elif Shafak Chapter 13 Music and Dance Spirituality and Sexuality Flight of the Blackbird ~ Robert W Lebling Jr. From Umm Kalthum to Arabpop ~ Andrew Hammond La Danse du Ventre ~ Elias Antar PART 5 CURRENT HYBRIDS Chapter 14 Media Evolution The Nation-State and Its Discontents Prime-Time Ramadan ~ Sarah Gauch Chapter 15 Old Culture, New Culture Growing Up Children of War ~ Deborah Ellis Appendix A Map of North Africa and the Middle East Appendix B Glossary About the Author Credits

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