Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons^™

Pottery Is King: Bevel Rim Bowls And Power In Early Urban Societies Of The Ancient Near East, Arianna M. Stimpfl

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is about how material objects, specifically ceramics, are used to create and perpetuate political power of the ruling class. My research will demonstrate how bevel rim bowls were a form of structural violence in the Uruk/Protoliterate period Mesopotamia by forcing the people to create the very vessels they needed to obtain their rations. These vessels were widely used throughout the region, and as of yet their exact function is unknown. The Uruk period in Mesopotamia was a time of great change. Large urban centers were being formed and people were coming together in a new way to live …

Self-Confidence In Moroccan Women: Understanding And Implications, Bethan Owen

Student Research – Stevenson Center

This research seeks to explore the theory outlined in the article “Supplemental material for age and gender differences in self-esteem—A cross-cultural window,” which states that women in developing countries are more likely than women in developed countries to have high levels of self-confidence. An observational study was conducted by the author on 30 women in the town of Imouzzer Kandar, Morocco. Based on this very limited sample size, results suggest that these women do, generally, have high rates of self-confidence. Morocco-specific cultural influences are examined, as well as results found in other studies and the author’s personal experiences in the …

The Impact Of Arab Revolutions On Asia: A Study Of Diffusion Theory, Mohammad El-Sayed Selim, Gamal M. Selim

Political Science

يجيب هذا البحث عن أربعة أسئلة، هي: هل تنتشر الظواهر السياسية بالفعل من إقليم إلى آخر، وما العوامل التي تحدد المدى المكاني والزماني للانتشار، وما آثار هذا الانتشار، ولماذا تنتشر الظواهر الثورية في النظم الديمقراطية، ويجيب البحث عن الأسئلة من زاوية نظرية الانتشار مع اشتقاق فروض من تلك النظرية لاختبارها في حالة انتشار ظاهرة "الثورات العربية" إلى آسيا. ومن ثم يعرض البحث لأصول نظرية الانتشار وتطبيقاتها وأدبياتها، مع عرض الإطار النظري لمفهوم الانتشار. ومن هذا الإطار اشتق ثمانية فروض تدور حول محددات انتشار الظواهر، واختبرت تلك الفروض في حالة انتشار ظاهرة "الثورات العربية" في الدول الآسيوية منذ سنة 2011. وقد …

Historical Trauma And Refugee Reception: Armenians And Syrian-Armenian Co-Ethnics, Nicole M. Campos

Master's Theses

This thesis considers the ways in which Armenian history has influenced integration of Syrian-Armenian refugees into Armenia due to the ongoing Syrian War. Ethnic Armenian outlooks were analyzed relative to the influx of Syrian refugees, particularly co-ethnic Syrian-Armenians. Field work in Armenia found a sustained cultural impression of Armenians’ Soviet membership and genocide. Findings suggest that recognizing the importance of history as it may or may not affect migration reception policies and attitudes is important to developing sustainable resettlement environments, at least until repatriation or third-country resettlement becomes an option to migrants. Ultimately, this thesis argues that more attention must …

On East Jerusalem Streets, Palestinians Say Settlements Trump Social Media As Source Of Violence, Jad Sleiman

Capstones

This project uses interviews with Palestinian residents of violent East Jerusalem neighborhoods to get at the root causes of a year-long wave of lone wolf Arab attacks against Jews in Israel and the West Bank.

Link to capstone project: https://medium.com/@jadalisleiman/c4187cc3660b#.oibq7chq6

"Who Am I?": The Development Of A Male Palestinian Political Identity, Tala J. Dayyat

Master's Theses

The Palestinian people have lived under numerous imperial rulers; first, the Ottoman Empire, then later the British. Today they live under the military occupation of the state of Israel as second class citizen millions more living abroad as refugees. Young Palestinian men have become the leaders and the physical manifestation of the struggle against Israel, a political Goliath that has used tactics to repress the Palestinians such as, detentions, beatings, and land confiscation, which many outside of the Israeli state deem as illegal. Scholar Rashid Khalidi states that “the quintessential Palestinian experience, which illustrates some of the most basic issues …

The Influence Of Social Media In Egypt During The Arab Spring, Nicole Reed

Capstone Collection

In the past 10 years social media has become a way of communicating, following the news, posting pictures, and marketing for brands. The platforms including Facebook and Twitter continue to grow, making them an ideal way of communication all across the world. It has been argued that what happened in the Arab Spring in 2010 was shaped and influenced by more people having access to the internet, and therefore having signed up for social media sights. The act of one man sent a region swirling into turmoil, political overthrow, and in some cases, such as Egypt, creating a revolution.

In …

Language Evaluation: Classical Arabic Approaches, Abdulkareem Said Ramadan

Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty Publications

This article explores the criteria and standards of literary evaluation as used by linguists in the Arabic literary tradition. Linguists did not apply such standards for instructional purposes only, but they also used them to assess poetic aesthetics. Because poetry was the primary context in which language was assessed, this linguistic evaluation appeared in various forms throughout poetry criticism. For example, giving preference to one poet over another meant the poet had reached a more superior linguistic level according to the standards that linguists followed in their judgments. These standards, which linguists in the Arabic literary tradition used, were not …

Review Of Muslims And Jews In France. History Of A Conflict By Maud S. Mandel, Bryan Turner

Publications and Research

The mood of European scholarship with respect to the recognition and integration of Islam is typically pessimistic. The rise of anti-immigrant and anti-Islam political parties – Golden Dawn in Greece, the Northern League in Italy, Marine Le Penn and the National Front in France, and the English defense league in Britain – have exposed a hitherto hidden or ignored under-current of resentment against foreigners. In the context of these developments, Maud Mandel’s study of Muslims and Jews in France is a welcome corrective to the dominant focus on anti-Islam in the academic literature and in the popular media. The historical …

Twice Heard, Paradoxically (Un)Seen: Walking The Tightrope Of Invisibility In Palestinian Translated Fiction, Mona Nabeel Malkawi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the translators’ invisibility in postcolonial translated Palestinian fiction. On one hand, this analysis revolves around the ethical stance of translators towards authors in a postcolonial theoretical framework. On the other, it brings postcolonial translation scholars’ approaches into practice and examination. Therefore, this study provides a critical analysis of reading novels in translation as both a channel of decolonization from Oriental and imperial discourses and an aesthetic catalyst for freedom in exile, specifically translated by Trevor LeGassick, Elizabeth Fernea, Salma Jayyusi, Adnan Haydar, and Roger Allen. The intriguing paradox of the translator’s invisibility is inherent in the contradiction …

The Conflict In Syria: Should The United States Get More Involved?, Jacob Peoples

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The purpose of this research is to explore the relations between Syria, Russia, and the United States in the Syrian civil war. The relationship has been in turmoil because of the complexities of the situation. Syria has been a designated state sponsor of terrorism since December 29, 1979, five years before the next designated state of Iran. Syria is a very important and strategic country and now more than ever has a large risk of being completely overrun by the newest terrorist group ISIS. The turmoil is possibly stemming initially from the result of a failed 1957 Central Intelligence Agency …

Syrian Refugee Women In Jordan: Family Planning Preferences And Barriers In A Host Community, Hilary Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aims of this pilot study were to research and analyze the availability of birth control and family planning resources among Syrian refugee women at a reproductive age. This study took place in the host community of Karak, Jordan. Syrian women are a vulnerable population based solely on their gender. But being refugee women makes them more vulnerable and sometimes, their needs do not get met. This study is important because it will look into reproductive health aspects for this vulnerable population to ensure that there is satisfaction among women about their own health. This cross-sectional study sought to answer …

Continuous Care In Complex Contexts: Access To Health Services For Noncommunicable Diseases Among Syrian Refugee Women In Jordanian Host Communities, Jennifer Ostrowski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines how, when and where Syrian refugee women living in a host community in central Jordan access health services related to noncommunicable diseases. Noncommunicable diseases are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, but can be effectively managed through timely treatment. Examining access to care for these diseases in the context of humanitarian emergencies, such as war and displacement, is particularly important because they require continuous care, which may be interrupted during emergencies, and because they can cause acute complications, which may be exacerbated by emergencies (WHO, 2016).

Previous studies indicate a high burden of NCDs among …

Human Creativity As A Vehicle For Societal Change: Can Social Action Through Art And Music Drive Positive Societal Change In Jordan?, Marina Qutab

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study addresses a gap in the research on society and culture as it examines the relationship between social action through human creativity and positive societal change in Jordan. This relationship was studied through the following methods: six formal interviews with three Musicians, one Artist, one Organizational Behavior and Work Psychologist, and one Cognition and Didactics Researcher; one informal interview with a Jordanian taxi driver; and 30 oral surveys provided to students at The University of Jordan. The researcher’s main goal was to investigate how human creativity expressed through music and the arts can address current pressing environmental and …

Is Faith Truly The Reason For Our Security? A Study On The Extent To Which Islam Influences Jordanian National Security, Shynelle Kissi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

After witnessing years of coups, war, and overall civil unrest in the Middle East, it comes as no surprise that there are many competing explanations for why this is. Much to the disbelief of the researcher, the average American’s theory for this was that the heavy influence of Islamic teachings in lawmaking prevented the successful implementation of democratic processes and overall peace in the region. However, Jordan appears to have evaded all forms of chaos, and remain peaceful despite also being a Muslim country. Why? Has Jordan escaped turmoil because unlike its neighbors it does not use Islam in its …

Review Of Eqbal Ahmad: Critical Outsider In A Turbulent Age, Nubar Hovsepian

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Eqbal Ahmad: Critical Outsider in a Turbulent Age by Stuart Schaar.

Performing El Rap El ʿArabi 2005-2015: Feeling Politics Amid Neoliberal Incursions In Ramallah, Amman, And Beirut, Rayya S. El Zein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study is about politics in Arabic rap. Specifically, it is about affective dynamics and material negotiations during rap concerts in three cities in the Levant. I analyze Arab hip hop culture in the context of three different but related histories of cosmopolitan, middle class growth, and gentrification. Using an ethnomusicological framework rooted in participant observation and performance theory, I compare concert conditions, audience behavior, and accessibility of music production in Ramallah, Amman, and Beirut.

In Chapter One, I elaborate the discursive and theoretical frameworks that have pinned the political valences of Arab youth, Arab artists, and Arab rappers in …

The Tying Of The Ceremonial Wedding Thread: A Feminist Analysis Of “Ritual” And “Tradition” Among Syro-Malabar Catholics In India, Sonja Thomas

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article presents a feminist analysis of patriarchy persisting in Catholicism of the Syro-Malabar rite in Kerala. The article specifically considers the impact of charismatic Catholicism on women of the Syro-Malabar rite and argues that it is important to interrogate this new face of religiosity in order to fully understand how certain rituals are allowed to change and be fluid, while others, especially concerning female sexuality, are enshrined as “tradition” which often restricts the parameters for women’s empowerment and may reinforce caste and patriarchal hegemonies preventing feminist solidarity across different religious- and caste-based groups.

A Targeted Approach? A Study Of Ngo Roles And Practices In Promoting Economic Development, Emma Shoaf

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In recent years, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have become key actors promoting economic development. Despite their rapid rise, there are still significant gaps in the development sphere regarding what NGOs do in specific contexts. This research evaluates how NGOs promote economic development among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to give context to general trends within development literature. Through an in-depth case study of the NGO Cives Mundi and their recent development project Tatreez–focused on promoting economic empowerment among Palestinian refugee women through the formation of a weaving co-op–this study seeks to evaluate key advantages and disadvantages to NGO work in specific …

Analisis Kebutuhan Bahan Ajar Bahasa Arab Bagi Calon Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (Tki) Di Timur Tengah, Nuruddin Nuruddin

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study is to describe the needs to develop Arabic language teaching materials for prospective Indonesian migrant workers in Middle East. It is a research and development study adapted from Borg and Gall with the following procedures: reviewing relevant literature, conducting a field observation, studying some collected documentation, and in-depths interviews. The results of the study show that (1) the teaching materials are geared to help the prospective Indonesian migrant workers to communicate, to make their tasks at ease, to understand the culture and customs and relevant documents on employment; (2) the teaching materials are designed as multimedia products; and …