The Arab World: Personal Encounters

by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, Robert A. Fernea

In the ten years since Anchor first published Elizabeth and Robert Fernea's award-winning The Arab Personal Encounters , vast political and economic shifts have taken the end of the Iran/Iraq War and the Lebanese civil war; the outbreak of the Gulf War; the historic 1993 peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians, to name just a few. Which is why the Ferneas, leading scholars in Middle Eastern studies, felt a need to return to the same towns and cities they had written about previously-to see how these changes had affected the region and the people who live in it.

The authors reveal the human face of the Arab World as they revisit and talk with newsmakers and colleagues, old friends and new. Their forty years of experience in the region help illuminate the human consequences of changes all too often discussed in abstractions and the military conflicts, new urbanization, labor migration, religious revival, as well as radical changes in the roles of men, women, and the family. With new chapters on Baghdad, Beirut, Amman, Jerusalem, Marrakech, and Cairo, this new edition of The Arab World will strengthen its reputation as a book "which should be required reading for anyone with a serious interest in the Middle East" ( The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs ).

Genres: Middle East, History, Anthropology, Islam, Nonfiction

576 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1985

About the author

Elizabeth Warnock Fernea was an influential writer, filmmaker, and anthropologist who spent much of her life in the field producing numerous ethnographies and films that capture the struggles and turmoil of African and Middle Eastern cultures. Her husband, the anthropologist Robert A. Fernea, was a large influence in her life. Fernea is commonly regarded as a pioneer for women in the field of Middle East Studies.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for historical perspective on the issues facing Israel, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, this book is a fascinating look at a moment in time (the 1990s) in the region. Prescient in some parts, and shockingly wrong in others. The authors were professors of Arabic studies at the University of Texas, and it is worth a read.

[aj · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part of this book is when Elizabeth (a seasoned anthropologist and scholar) is introduced to Arab discontents of Western cultural hegemony. Overall an enjoyable read, and good portrayal of the complex interactions between Western "observers" and Arab individuals.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a muyst read. I really enjoyed this book.

[Dave/Maggie Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firsthand experiences in the world's most volatile region from an anthropological perspective. Light on theory, heavy on empirical observation.