Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons^™

Will The Arab Spring Succeed In Bringing Bread, Freedom, And Dignity?, Sandra Popiden

Bridgewater Review

Economic discontent fueled the political dissatisfaction that erupted in the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen in 2011. Demonstrators blamed repressive authoritarian governments for slow economic growth, increasing poverty and social inequality, high youth unemployment and rampant corruption. Alongside demands for increased political freedom, greater participation in politics, and an end to repression were calls for economic freedom and improved well-being. The uprisings, which spawned democracy in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, continue to reverberate across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by opening up previously closed public spaces to wider popular participation in national debates over …

Social Media And Political Changes In Al-Alam Al-Arabi, Jabbar Al-Obaidi

Bridgewater Review

The Arab countries are typically described as lacking democratic traditions, freedom of the press, human rights and civil liberties. The utilization of social media for political purposes became crucial to the widespread expression of pent-up social discontent that precipitated the Arab Spring. Uploaded videos, photos, and Twitter feeds served to outrage people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria. This volatile combination of a young population, authoritarian rule, corruption and poverty is prompting youth to spearhead political demonstrations and the demand for regime change.

Urbanism In The Northern Levant During The 4th Millennium Bce, Rasha El-Endari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The development of urbanism in the Near East during the 4thmillennium BCE has been an important debate for decades and with recent scientific findings, a revival of this intellectual discussion has come about. Many archaeologists suggested that urban societies first emerged in southern Mesopotamia, and then expanded to the north and northwest. With recent excavations in northern Mesopotamia, significant evidence has come to light with the finding of monumental architecture and city walls dated to the beginning of the 4th millennium BCE, well before southern Mesopotamian urban expansion. These discoveries reflect important administrative systems and stratified sociopolitical structures within these …

Book Review: Fragile States, Lohar Brock, Hans-Henrik Holm, Georg Sorensen, Michael Stohl, Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams

Africana Studies Faculty Publications

In an era when good governance features prominently on the global development agenda, there seems to be a corollary spotlight on state fragility. In this book - a quick read that covers much ground - the authors wade into the conceptual waters of state fragility with the following aims: (i) sketching more clearly its conceptual parameters, including its core characteristics; (ii) dissecting its connection to violent conflict; (iii) analyzing the role that international society has played in relation to fragile statehood; and (iv) laying out two proposals for tackling its intractability. These analyses are conducted through the prism of three …

Ua12/2/30 Poster, Wku Saudi Student Club

Student Organizations

Poster advertising Saudi National Day sponsored by the WKU Saudi Student Club.

The Abaya: Fashion, Religion, And Identity In A Globalized World, Elizabeth D. Shimek

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The abaya is a traditional robe worn by women in the Arab Gulf states as both a symbol of national identity and as a part of Islamic veiling customs. Over the last twenty years, partly due to exposure to Western couture fashion, the abaya has changed from a plain, voluminous black robe to a unique signifier of personal taste through variations in fabrics, cuts, colors, and detailing. This study explores both the physical and symbolic changes the abaya (and the industry surrounding it) has undergone, as well as how these changes both reflect and provoke the conflicts in identity residents …

“He Loves Drinking Old Wine From The Jug”: Some Remarks On Alcoholic Beverages In Syriac Literature Based On Secular And Religious Texts, Adam C. Mccollum

HMML Lectures

The history of alcoholic beverages in various cultures, including our own, has often been written. These investigations have looked at viticulture, brewing, distillation, and the economic and religious uses and effects of alcoholic beverages. Syriac literature, being somewhat of an arcane area of interest, has rarely—if ever!—entered into any of the discussions. It is, nevertheless, a corpus with a breadth wide both in size and subject matter, and there is no dearth of references to alcoholic beverages, their preparation, and use. This paper, based on both secular and religious texts in Syriac, most of them composed in a Muslim-majority culture, …

Prehistory To 1250: Languages, Abdulkareem Said Ramadan

Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty Publications

The Hemic group includes the Egyptian and Coptic languages, the Libyan and Barbarian languages, the Koshtia languages, and the languages of the original inhabitants of the eastern part of Africa. [excerpt]

Religion And The Evolution Of Democracy: A Revised Selectorate Model For The Arab Spring, Amir K. Bagherpour

CGU Theses & Dissertations

2011 was a seminal year in the history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Popularly referred to as the Arab Spring, the region has experienced a wave of revolutions and instability. It can be classified in three broad categories within 2011: Uprisings that have resulted in the overthrow of standing regimes, uprisings that have failed to overthrow standing regimes, and states that have not experienced popular revolts. In the first category Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and Tunisia have all experienced uprisings resulting in the respective departure of Muamar Gaddafi, Hosni Mubarak, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Zine Al Abidine Ben …

The Rhetoric Of Construction: A Comparative Case Study Of The Language Of The U.S. - Mexico And Israel - Palestine Border Walls, Jesse Adam Kapenga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research examines the language and rhetoric of fear used to justify the walls and fences built by the American government along the U.S. - Mexico border, and by the Israeli government around the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It focuses specifically on the rhetoric used by the head of government of each country (the American president and the Israeli prime minister) during the years 2001-2011 to explain and justify the construction of a physical barrier as a measure of national defense and self-preservation.

Jihadis And The Use Of The Terms Terrorism And Terrorist, Aaron Zelin

Re-visioning Terrorism

Previous studies on the usage of the terms terror, terrorist, and terrorism have taken a Western perspective on how these terms should be defined and then deployed, but the viewpoint of the “terrorist” (in this case jihadis) has yet to be examined. This study analyzes how jihadis understand these terms and critically assesses their interpretation based on classical Islamic doctrine. The basis and “proof” for jihadis’ legitimization of using terror is based upon the Qur’anic verse 8:60, but when taken into context and traditional understanding, jihadis miss the mark. Yet, at the same time, when exploring the linguistic root for …

Code-Switching And Language Change In Tunisia, Lotfi Sayahi

Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Scholarship

This article quantitatively studies the patterns of Tunisian Arabic/French code-switching and the possible implications for contact-induced change in the Tunisian dialect. The purpose is to account for the extent of the occurrence of code-switching across gender lines and levels of education and assess its role in the interference from French into Arabic, both at the lexical and structural levels. Recorded semi-directed sociolinguistic interviews with twelve speakers are examined for type and frequency of code-switching and use of French borrowings.

Results show that education plays a role in distinguishing the group with a higher education from the group with only a …

Media Bias In Covering The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: With A Case Study Of Bbc Coverage And Its Foundation Of Impartiality, Gerard Mctigue

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In 2009 I began a long process of researching allegations made against the British Broadcasting Corporation and its media coverage of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict. Stemming from courses on European society and politics as well as a summer program examining the British Government’s relationship with the media, I took an immediate interest in the BBC. I was then fortunate enough to know a professor from abroad who worked with the BBC and through his connections I was able to interview a plethora of employees from the Corporation.

The former correspondent from Jerusalem, the Editor of BBC Online Middle East, an …

A Review Of "Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case For Liberty", Fethi Keles

Anthropology - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Halaf Bead, Pendant And Seal 'Workshops' At Domuztepe: Technological And Reductive Strategies., Ellen H. Belcher

Publications and Research

Almost a thousand beads, pendants and seals have been excavated from the site of Domuztepe over the past decade. This paper is based on an examination of the general typology and technology of this assemblage. Manufacturing systems based upon social networks of decentralised organisation of small production ‘workshops’ are explored. It is suggested that these networks shared a system of sequenced actions according to raw material and finished products. A group of unfinished beads in the preliminary phase of production suggests evidence of batched reduction and finishing strategies that balanced breakage risk with a high level of proficiency. At Domuztepe …

Negotiating Cultural Identities Through Language: Academic English In Jordan, Anne-Marie Pedersen

English Faculty Articles and Research

This article discusses how a group of multilingual scholars in Jordan negotiate multiple linguistic and cultural affiliations. These writers' experiences demonstrate the varied ways English's global dominance affects individuals' lives. The scholars find both empowerment and disempowerment in English, viewing English as linked to Western hegemony in some situations and as de-nationalized and de-territorialized in others.

Barb Rieffer-Flanagan On Muslims In Global Politics: Identities, Interests, And Human Rights. By Mahmood Monshipouri. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. 325pp., Barb Rieffer-Flanagan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Muslims in Global Politics: Identities, Interests, and Human Rights. By Mahmood Monshipouri. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. 325pp.

Media And Teaching About The Middle East, Khodi Kaviani

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

This qualitative study was conducted in 2006-2007 and found that teachers relied on a variety of readily available media to stay informed about the Middle East and used some of them in their teaching. Teachers tried to explain to their students that every Middle Eastern Muslim is not a terrorist and Iraq was not behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The guiding questions were: (1) What are the sources of news that teachers use to teach about the Middle East? (2) How do teachers use the media to teach about the Middle East in the post 9/11 schools? Semi-structured interviews were …

U.S Mediation At Camp David (I) And (Ii): A Reflection On Third Party Mediation Processes, Bassel Salah Mostafa

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Even In Words, There's Greed: Stories About Power And The Everyday Among Christian Cement Carriers In Saft El-Laban, Fouad Halbouni

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Writings: Presentation Delivered Friday September 26, 2008 On Candidates Night At The Ramallah Club, Edna Louise Saffy

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Speeches: Presentation sponsored by the Arab American Institute, delivered September 26, 2008 at the Ramallah Club of Jacksonville.

Democratic Solutions To Identity Conflict: The Case Of Lebanon, Monty Roberson Jr.

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cultural Persistence And The Bedouin Of Egypt's Sinai Penninsula, Simeon Roos-Eefsting

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Saudi Arabia: Remodeling Authoritarianism For The 21 St Century, Kira D Jumet

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Documentary Film Presentation Local Colors: Natural Dyeing In A Milas Carpet Weaving Village, Ulara Tamura, John Wells

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This documentary, filmed in 2006, examines the process of naturally dyed carpet production in a village in the Milas region of Muğla Prefecture in southwest Turkey, a region well known as a traditional Turkish carpet production area. In large numbers of villages of this region, carpet weaving is the household based work of every woman who lives there.

In this paper, I aim to add more detailed information and discussion specifically on the colors and dyes of the carpets shown in this film. First I will introduce the varieties of the natural dye materials the villagers use one by one. …

The Construction Of A National Identity In Exile: Palestinians In Egypt, Wael Mohamed Ismail

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Experience Of Protest: Masculinity And Agency Among Young Sudanese Refugee Males In Cairo, Martin Timothy Rowe

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Being Ghetto: The Hara As Heterotopia In Judeo-Tunisian Literature, Deborah Barnard

The Coastal Review

The Hara, or ghetto, is a place that distinguishes its inhabitants from other religious and cultural groups, acting as a spatial indicator of their difference. When Foucault’s theory of heterotopia is applied, the Hara becomes a hybrid, a place simultaneously of crisis and of deviation. In Albert Memmi’s La statue de sel, the protagonist experiences the Hara as antagonistic, or as a dystopia. In Nine Moati’s Les belles de Tunis, the protagonist experiences the Hara as a utopia.

Portraying Domestic Violence In Egyptian Films, 1950-2000, Maie Shawky

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Fifth Millennium Anthropomorphic Figurines In Southeastern And Central Anatolia: Comparative Museum Research., Ellen H. Belcher

Publications and Research

The Halaf cultural horizon occurred during the fifth millennium B.C. (uncalibrated) and extended throughout upper Mesopotamia, including southeastern Anatolia. Halaf material culture is well-known for its imaginative and beautifully made architecture, polychrome-painted pottery, geometric stamp seals and figurines. The regional character and variation of Halaf figurine assemblages however, is poorly understood, particularly in southeastern Anatolia. My research and study of these figurines reveals distinct southeastern Anatolian styles and technologies, some of which demonstrate direct connections to central Anatolia.

This article presents preliminary conclusions from a comparative analysis of contemporaneous anthropomorphic figurines belonging to the Halaf and Chalcolithic cultures …