Syllabus
lass Schedule
Week 1: Introduction to the course
Week 2: Orientalism
Obligatory readings:
Jan Mrázek (2017). “Returns to the Wide World: Errant Bohemian Images of Race and Colonialism,” Studies in Travel Writing, 21:2.
Sherene Seikali (2021). “The Matter of Time”. Publicbooks.org, January 29, 2021. Accessible on: https://www.publicbooks.org/the-matter-of-time/
Additional readings:
Edward Said (1978) Orientalism. Vintage Books. (Introduction, Chapter 1 and 2)
Frantz Fanon (2008) Black Skin, White Masks. Pluto Press (Introduction, Chapter 1)
Questions for Reader’s Response:
What is the historical time and condition that these two articles describe?
How do their argument differ? With which one would you agree?
Can being “a citizen of the world” be considered a colonial privilege?
Week 3: Does Arab Culture Exist?
Obligatory readings:
Timothy Mitchell (1989). “The world as exhibition,” Contemporary Studies in Society and History, 31(2), 217-236.
Additional readings:
Lila Abu-Lughod. (1991) “Writing against Culture,” in R. G. Fox (ed.) Recapturing Anthropology: Working in the present. School of American Research Press.
Clifford Geertz (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures. Selected Essays (New York: Basic Books) (Part 1)
Questions for the Reader’s Response:
How does the author portray the access to Arab culture in colonial times?
What contemporary institutions<s
Annotation
The course is designed to familiarize students with ethnographic writings about contemporary Middle Eastern societies. Analyzing the region through the lenses of anthropology and sociology, the course aims to introduce students to the debates that dominate the research on the region, and which are also relevant to other human societies, such as religion, gender, revolutions, social inequality, and arts. The course aims to expand the understanding of the region that goes beyond the thesis of cultural specificity of the Middle East and to establish the ground for comparison of social, cultural, and historical phenomena.
Format:
The course consists of 13 class meetings and is divided into four teaching blocs. The teaching blocs correspond to large debates that dominate the research on the region: 1 – Middle East and the West; 2 – youth cultures; 3 – the arts and media; 4 – the state and social inequality. Based on the obligatory readings, the discussion in the class will be guided along three main concepts: gaze; agency; and body. Class meetings will combine lecturing, discussions, and presentations. The working language of the course is English. Obligatory readings will be made available on the course’s Moodle page.
