Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa

Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa

Edited by Sherine Hafez and Susan Slyomovics

Series: Public Cultures of the Middle East and North Africa

INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS

Publication date: 1/2/2013

SOON TO BE PUBLISHED!

This volume combines ethnographic accounts of fieldwork with overviews of recent anthropological literature about the region on topics such as Islam, gender, youth, and new media that are of particular relevance for understanding the “Arab Spring” of 2011. It addresses contemporary debates about modernity, nation building, and the link between the ideology of power and the production of knowledge. Contributors include established and emerging scholars known for the depth and quality of their ethnographic writing and for their interventions in current theory.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Power and Knowledge in the Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa Sherine Hafez and Susan Slyomovics

Part I. Knowledge Production in Middle East and North Africa Anthropology 
1. State of the State of the Art Studies: An Introduction to the Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa Susan Slyomovics
2. Identity and Difference in the Middle East and North Africa: A Review Essay Seteney Shami and Nefissa Naguib
3. Anthropology’s Middle Eastern Prehistory: An Archaeology of Knowledge Jon W. Anderson
4. The Pragmatics and Politics of Anthropological Collaboration on the North African Frontier Paul A. Silverstein
5. Post-Cold War Politics of Middle East Anthropology: Insights from a Transitional Generation Confronting the War on Terror Lara Deeb and Jessica Winegar

Part II. Subjectivities: Youth, Gender, Family and Tribe in the Middle East and North African Nation-State
6. Anthropology of the Future: Arab Youth and the State of the State Suad Joseph
7. The Memory Work of Anthropologists: Gendered Studies of Conflicts and the “Heroic Life” in Middle East and North Africa Sondra Hale
8. Rejecting Authenticity in the Desert Landscapes of the Modern Middle East: Development Processes in the Jiddat il-Harasiis, Oman Dawn Chatty
9. Notable Families and Capitalist Parasites in Egypt’s Former Free Zone: Law, Trade, and Uncertainty Christine Hegel-Cantarella

Part III: Anthropology of Religion and Secularism in the Middle East and North Africa 
10. Will the Rational Religious Subject Please Stand Up? Muslim Subjects and the Analytics of Religion Sherine Hafez
11. Defining and Enforcing Islam in Secular Turkey Kim Shively
12. Sharia in Diaspora: Displacement, Exclusion and Anthropology of the Displaced Middle East Susanne Dahlgren
13. A Place to Belong: Colonial Pasts, Modern Discourses, and Contraceptive Practices in Morocco Cortney L. Hughes

Part IV: Anthropology and New Media in the Virtual Middle East and North Africa 
14. “Our Master’s Call”: Mass Media and the People in Morocco’s 1975 Green March Emilio Spadola
15. The Construction of Virtual Identities: On-line Tribalism in Saudi Arabia and Beyond Sebastian Maisel
16. Youth, Peace, and New Media in the Middle East Charlotte Karagueuzian and Pamela Chrabieh Badine