Arab Women in the Field: Studying Your Own Society (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East)

For The First Time, Arab Women Researchers Perform Field Work In Their Own Societies And Discuss The Experience. As A Group, They Also Provide An Excellent Overview Of The Issues Involved In A Number Of Different Arab Communities: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, And A Bedouin Community In The Egyptian Western Desert. Soroya Altorki And Camillia Fawzi El-solh Provide A Rich Contribution To The Currently Debated Issues Of Gender And Indigenous Status In Relation To Research. This Volume Presents The Field Experiences Of Women Of Arab Descent As Well As An Examination Of What Is Often Simplistically Misunderstood As A Dichotomy Between Insider/outsider, Subjectivity/objectivity. The Complexity Of The Issue Becomes Apparent In Fieldwork Situations, Where Gender And Indigenous Status Interrelate With A Diversity Of Variables Such As Class Origin, Education, Field-worker's Age, Marital Status, Religious Affiliation, Ethnic Or Minority Status, As Well As Topic Of Research And National And Religious Politics. The Six Contributors To This Volume Have Been Trained As Social Scientists In U.s. Or European Universities. Four Were Raised And Socialized In The Arab World (altorki, El-solh, Soheir Morsy, And Seteny Shami). Introduction / Soraya Altorki & Camillia Fawzi El-solh -- Feminism, Familism, Self, And Politics : Research As A Mughtaribi / Suad Joseph -- At Home In The Field / Soraya Altorki -- Fieldwork In My Egyptian Homeland : Toward The Demise Of Anthropology's Distinctive-other Hegemonic Tradition / Soheir Morsy -- Gender, Class, And Origin : Aspects Of Role During Fieldwork In Arab Society / Camillia Fawzi El-solh -- Studying Your Own : The Complexities Of A Shared Culture / Seteney Shami -- Fieldwork Of A Dutiful Daughter / Lila Abu-lughod. Edited By Soraya Altorki And Camillia Fawzi El-solh. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 163-178. Frontmatter Contributors (page xi) 1. Introduction (Soraya Altorki and Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, page 1) 2. Feminization, Familism, Self, and Politics: Research as a Mughtaribi (Suad Joseph, page 25) 3. At Home in the Field (Soraya Altorki, page 49) 4. Fieldwork in My Egyptian Homeland: Toward the Demise of Anthropology's Distinctive-Other Hegemonic Tradition (Soheir Morsy, page 69) 5. Gender, Class, and Origin: Aspects of Role during Fieldwork in Arab Society (Camillia Fawzi El-Solh, page 91) 6. Studying Your Own: The Complexities of a Shared Culture (Seteney Shami, page 115) 7. Fieldwork of a Dutiful Daughter (Lila Abu-Lughod, page 139) References (page 163) Index (page 179)