Middle Eastern Studies

In our age of globalization and multiculturalism, it has never been more important to appreciate all cultures and how people live and learn in areas of the world unfamiliar to most US students. These volumes take a step forward in this endeavour by presenting information on those regions likely to be most 'foreign' to US students.

"Focuses on cultures and countries around the world, specifically what is and is not shared culturally by the people who live in a particular country. Entries contain descriptive summaries of the country in question, including demographic, historical, cultural, economic, religious, and political information."

"Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East is a two-volume A-to-Z reference to the history and culture of the peoples of Africa and the Middle East. This fascinating resource includes about 900 entries on the major peoples that have maintained a cultural identity in the area—from ancient to modern times—summarizing their history, migration, culture, belief system, social organization, and relationship to other peoples. Students will find entries on the Assyrians and the Asante, as well as entries on "Iraqis: nationality" and "Ghanaians: nationality," describing who they are today with cross-references to the various ancestral peoples. Entries on all large or well-known groups include up-to-date information on their geography, origins, languages, history, and culture, with subsections on topics such as subsistence, religion, social and political structures, economy, government, military practices, dwellings and architecture, clothing, transportation, technology, art, music, and literature. Invaluable reference features include a chronology, glossary, bibliography, and a comprehensive index, and a fact sheet, timeline, examples of further reading, maps, and pictures complete this authoritative reference. Appendixes offer helpful background information on topics such as the regions of Africa, kinship systems, religious systems, and subsistence systems. Entries include: Angolans: nationality Arabs Armenians Asante Babylonians Bantu Berbers Canaanites Dinka Egyptians Fulani Greeks Hittites Hutu and Tutsi Iraqis: nationality Israelis: nationality Jews Khoikhoi Khoisan Kurds Malians Ottomans Persians Phoenicians San Songhay South Africans: nationality Tuareg Turkic Peoples Yoruba Zulu."

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"The Middle East is the birthplace of ancient civilizations, but most of the modern states that occupy its territory today are of recent origin, as are many key concepts of communal and individual identity and loyalty that the peoples of the region now confront. In The Multiple Identities of the Middle East, eminent Middle East historian Bernard Lewis elucidates the critical role of identity in the domestic, regional, and international tensions and conflicts of the Middle East today. Examining religion, race and language, country, nation, and state, Lewis traces the rapid evolution of the identities of the Middle Eastern peoples, from the collapse of the centuries-old Ottoman Empire in 1918 to today's clash of old and new allegiances. He shows how, during the twentieth century, imported Western ideas such as liberalism, fascism, socialism, patriotism, and nationalism have transformed Middle Easterners' ancient notions of community, their self-perceptions, and their aspirations. To this fascinating historical portrait, Lewis brings an understanding of the region and its peoples, as well as a profound sympathy for the plight that the modern world has imposed on them. The result is an invaluable tool in our understanding of an area that is of increasing global importance and concern today."

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"This text examines the domestic culture of the Middle East. In a traditional Middle Eastern city, deceptively modest street entrances opened into the spacious and comfortable-equipped households of the wealthy official and merchant classes. Here, textiles were dominant as flexible units of furnishing, household linen, dress and accessory. Their qualities of brilliant colour, imaginative treatments of surface and texture also influenced the form and ornament of the ceramic and metalwork utensils, and the decoration of manuscripts and paintings which catered to the everyday and leisure activities of such households. The book reveals the importance of woven textiles and discusses their influence on Middle Eastern design and craftsmanship. The character and special qualities of the different kinds of interior space are reviewed, with emphasis on the contrasting roles of public and private space, and how they were reflected in terms of arrangement, furnishing and ornament."