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The Middle East currently dominates the news, often with misleading stories that cast local people as terrorists or oppressed. In Search of Worldviews argues that in-depth anthropological studies are the best data-driven way to provide accurate information from local perspectives on everyday topics such as women’s roles, why Islam is overtaking other major religions, why democracy has difficulty taking hold, how minorities cope, and formal and informal methods of conflict resolution. It also helps us understand ourselves better when we know how other cultures address the same human problems. Using anthropological techniques such as participant observations, historic document research, and institutional analysis, each chapter of this book poses an important question about the Middle East with a focus on local perspectives.
Andrea B. Rugh lived for 25 years in Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates, while conducting research and working on development projects for USAID, UNICEF, and Harvard University in South Asia, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere. She is author of thirteen books on the Middle East, including Christians in Egypt (Dio Press Inc, 2015).
Preface
Chapter 1. Searching for Worldviews in the Middle East
Chapter 2. “Beautiful Communications”: The Art of Getting Along
Chapter 3. Climate Resilience: A Syrian Farm Family Copes with Drought
Chapter 4. Demystifying Arab Women: Do They Really Need Saving?
Chapter 5. Women’s Power: Their Influence on Tribal Politics in the United Arab Emirates
Chapter 6. Family-Focused Society: Where Do Orphanages and Homes for the Elderly Fit?
Chapter 7. Islam: Why It’s the Fastest Growing Major Religion in the World
Chapter 8. Communicating Values Through Advice Columns
Chapter 9. Christians: Coping with Minority Status in a Cairo Community
Chapter 10. Dress Along the Nile: Meanings and Symbol Systems
Chapter 11. Western-Style Democracy: A Challenge in Tribal-Origin Societies
Chapter 12. Solving Problems: Legal Systems and Negotiating Styles
Chapter 13. Education and Foreign Assistance: Where Conflicting Worldviews Meet
Chapter 14. What Worldviews Tell Us about the Middle East
Bibliography
Index