Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East (ANTH 3638)

Professor Jones (jejones@d.umn.edu)

Class Time: TTh 9:30-10:45 am in Cina 214

Office: Cina 220B

Office Phone: 726-7613

Office Hours:  TTh 1:30-3:00 pm (and by appointment)

Campus Mailbox: Cina 228 (Soc-Anthro Main Office)

Class Schedule

Course Description: This course will examine how anthropologists study the cultures and social institutions of the modern Islamic Middle East.  We will focus on religion, family life, gender, politics, economy, urban ways of life, kinship and marriage, and the impacts of globalism on the Middle East.

Course Objectives: The objectives of this class are:

1. to familiarize you with the physical and cultural geography of the Middle East;
2. to acquaint you with anthropological concepts and methodology used to study human cultures;
3. to demonstrate how Arab Islamic traditions differ according to region, social, class, and historical and political circumstances;
4. to examine critically the imagery used to represent the Middle East; and
5. to engage you in critical writing and thinking.

Course Readings:  The required texts are:

• Abu Lughod, Lila (1986). Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society. Berkeley, University of California Press. (Veiled in syllabus).
• Denny, Frederick (1987). Islam and the Muslim Community. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, Illinois (Denny in syllabus).
• Friedl, Ericka (1997). Children of Deh Koh: Young Life in an Iranian Village. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York (Friedl in syllabus)
• Hoodfar, Homa (1997).  Between Marriage and the Market: Intimate Politics and Survival in Cairo. Berkeley, University of California Press. (Hoodfar in syllabus)
• Gorkin, Michael and Rafiqua Othman (1996). Three Mothers, Three Daughters: Palestinian Women’s Stories. Other Press, New York. (G&O in syllabus)

Articles: On Electronic Reserve at the UMD Library.

• Abu Lughod, Lila (2002). “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?  Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist 104(3):783-789. 
• Bates, Daniel and Amal Rassam (2001). Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East. 2nd edition. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.  Chapters 1, 9, 11. (B&R in schedule).
• Hoodfar, Homa (1996). “Egyptian Male Migration and Urban Families Left Behind: “Feminization of the Egyptian Family” or a Reaffirmation of Traditional Gender Roles?”  In Development, Change, and Gender in Cairo: A View from the Household, edited by D. Singerman and H. Hoodfar, pp. 51-79. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana. 
• Kalifeh, Sahar (1998). “Comments by Five Women Activists: Siham Abdullah, Amal Kharisha Barghouti, Rita Giacaman, May Mistakmel Nasser, Amal Wahdan” (translated by Nagla el-Bassiouni).  In Palestinian Women of Gaza and the West Bank, edited by Suha Sabbagh, pp. 192-215.  Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana.

Preparation and Participation: Discussions and the flow of the course material will be driven by the class participants.  I will answer questions, keep discussion on track and provide a broader context to the material where necessary.  It is your responsibility to come to class prepared to discuss the reading, participate in activities, and contribute in a respectful way to your classmates understanding of the material.  Attendance is required. Quizzes and/or in-class writing assignments will be given as needed. 

Term Paper: Your term paper should be a substantive piece addressing some aspect of the Middle East from an anthropological perspective.  Students should maintain close contact with me as they devise a thesis statement and polish their paper.  Interim deadlines for a conversation with me and project abstract and bibliography are listed in the course schedule.  The paper must conform to professional standards for typewritten and grammatically correct work and be ten pages in length not including illustrations, bibliography, or header/footers.  Term papers are due on Thursday, May 4, 2006 by 4:00 pm.  Five points will be deducted for each day after this that the paper is late (not including weekend days).

Midterm and Final Exams: We will have both a mid-term and a final exam as scheduled on the syllabus.  The exam questions will be short answer and short essay as appropriate to the material.  The final exam will be cumulative.

Extra Credit: Give a 5 minute presentation to the class based on a newspaper article written in the Middle Eastern Press about some aspect of life, not related to terrorism or war.  You must double-check your proposed article with me beforehand and field questions from the class and myself.  Examples of online newspapers in English include The Jordan Times (Jordan), al-Ahram (Egypt), Ha’aretz (Israel), al-Jazeera (Qatar), and The Daily Star (Lebanon).

Evaluation: Grading will be based on the following:

Final grades will be based on the following grading scale: (I will round grades to the nearest single digit, e.g., 75.2=75 and 75.7=76).

A violation of UMD’s Academic Honesty Policy (behavior which is also referred to as Scholastic Misconduct) such as cheating, plagiarizing or any other “act” which violates the rights of another student in academic work or that involves misrepresentation of your own work will result in penalties up to and including an F for the course.

Special Facilities and/or Arrangements: Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might affect their ability to perform in this class, are encouraged to inform me at the start of the semester.  Adaptations of methods, materials, or testing may be made as required to provide for equitable participation.

Snow Days: If classes are canceled on a day an assignment or activity is due, the assignment will be due during the next regular class.

Class Schedule