Contemporary Issues in the Social Anthropology of the Middle East

SOAN30122 Contemporary Issues in the Social Anthropology of the Middle East 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 3 Michelle Obeid Unit coordinator Anthropology 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0  This course is designed to critically interrogate some of the longstanding stereotypical images and representations of the Middle East region, with a specific focus on Arab-majority societies. The course relies on comparative anthropological approaches to examine contemporary issues that emerge in everyday life and that shed light on what it means to live in or be connected to this ever-changing region. The sessions will weave together themes that explore the concept of ‘modernity’ in its specific cultural contexts, not least by challenging the enduring dichotomy of ‘tradition and modernity’. We will explore changing gender relations, everyday Islam and emergent moralities, the construction of the political through belonging, resistance and protest, and globalisation through unpacking new forms of media and consumption, cultural production and human mobility. By focusing on ethnographic approaches, the course aims to provide students with a nuanced understanding of the heterogeneity of the region and the diversity of its peoples.  The lecture course will cover the following themes: <ol> <li> The Middle East as a 'Region'</li> <li> Family, Kinship and 'Patriarchy'</li> <li> Women and Morality</li> <li> 4 Middle Eastern Masculinities</li> <li> Islam, Islamism and Modfernity</li> <li> State, National Identity and Citizenship</li> <li> The 'Arab Spring' and its Afthermaths</li> <li> New Media</li> <li> Consumption and Modernity</li> <li> Mobilities, (Forced) Migration and Displacement</li></ol> . This course is designed to critically interrogate some of the longstanding stereotypical images and representations of the Middle East region, with a specific focus on Arab-majority societies. The course relies on comparative anthropological approaches to examine contemporary issues that emerge in everyday life and that shed light on what it means to live in or be connected to this ever-changing region. The sessions will weave together themes that explore the concept of ‘modernity’ in its specific cultural contexts, not least by challenging the enduring dichotomy of ‘tradition and modernity’. We will explore changing gender relations, everyday Islam and emergent moralities, the construction of the political through belonging, resistance and protest, and globalisation through unpacking new forms of media and consumption, cultural production and human mobility. By focusing on ethnographic approaches, the course aims to provide students with a nuanced understanding of the heterogeneity of the region and the diversity of its peoples.   By the end of the course, the students should be able to: <ul> <li> Have a critical understanding of some of the changing concerns of the anthropology of the Middle East and set them in a historical, political and socio-economic context.</li> <li> Appreciate the ethnographic diversity of the region.</li> <li> Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate mainstream knowledge production of the Middle East (news, film, reports etc.).</li> <li> Make some theoretical links between the anthropology of the Middle East and mainstream anthropological themes.</li> </ul> Lectures and Discussions. 2 Written assignment (inc essay) 100% Students will receive online feedback on the News Report and on the Final Essay. BSocSc(Hons) Social Anthropol BSocSc(Hons) Social Anthropol Third Year Optional BSocSc(Hons) Social Anthropol BSocSc(Hons) SocAnth w Int Stu Fourth Year Optional Y   <ul> <li> Bonnie, Michael E. (2012). ‘Of Maps and Regions. Where is the Geographer’s Middle East?’ In Michael E. Bonnie, Abbas Amanat and Michael Ezekiel Gasper (eds.). Is there a Middle East? The Evolution of a Geopolitical Concept. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. PP. 56-99.</li> <li> Deeb, Lara and Jessica Winegar (2012). ‘Anthropologies of Arab-Majority Societies’. Annual Review of Anthropology. Vol. 41: 537-558.</li> <li> Hafez, Sherine (2011). An Islam of Her Own: Reconsidering Religion and Secularism in Women's Islamic Movements. NYU Press. Available online.</li> <li> Ghannam, Farha (2013). Live and Die Like a Man Gender Dynamics in Urban Egypt. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Blue Area Floor 2 (396.4 G7 ).</li> <li> Schielke, Samuli (2015). Egypt in the Future Tense. Hope, Frustration and Ambivalence Before and after 2011. Bloomington: Indiana.</li> </ul> Lectures 30 0 170 Information Length of Course: 12 weeks