A Photographer among the Syrian Bedouin

Anthropology/Sociology, Photography, Syria


Morning Mist

A Life with a Bedouin family in Syria — from the Far East to the Middle East —

by Megumi YOSHITAKE, JAPAN

At the age of 15 the story of T. E. Lawrence [Lawrence of Arabia] captured my heart and mind. Ever since, I have yearned after deserts and been enchanted by the Arab world, and wanting to convey the essence of these places in my own way is what caused me to choose photography as my path.

I first visited Syria in 1987, and have spent part of every year from 1995 onwards living with a family of Bedouin in the Syrian Desert. Initially I was single, but visited again on my honeymoon after getting married and introduced my husband. I returned once more in 2004, this time bringing along my 16-month-old son. The time I have spent photographing the Bedouin — amounting to some 14 years — is unique among Japanese and rare even worldwide.


A Bedouin father and his daughter

To read the full story and look at the gallery of photographs, click here.

The Propaganda Value of a Detained Journalist

Anthropology/Sociology, Iran, Journalism and Media


A street in Tawila, a Kurdish village near the border with Iran. Iraq, 1950, Photo by Wilfred Thesiger

by William O. Beeman, New America Media, August 06, 2009

New America Media Editor’s Note: New America Media correspondent Shane Bauer is one of three Americans presumed to be detained by the Iranian government near the Iran-Iraq border last weekend. Commentator William O. Beeman writes that their situation raises profound political questions.

“In the wrong place at the wrong time” is an apt description for three Americans currently being detained in Iran. They will likely be released, but not before Iranian authorities have wrung maximal publicity over their situation, painting them as Western intelligence operatives. The process could take months.

The timing for this event could not be more inopportune. Iran is on high emotional alert. It is flush with righteous indignation and paranoia vis-à-vis Western nations. It has undergone a contentious election where opponents of President Ahmadinejad were accused of collaboration with Western powers. Understanding the current state of mind in Iran is crucial to predicting the fate of the three travelers. Continue reading The Propaganda Value of a Detained Journalist →

Rumi-nations on Houris

Gender and Sexuality, Poetry

Houris
by Rumi, translated by William C. Chittick

If anyone asks you about houris, show your face and say, “Like this.”

If anyone speaks to you about the moon, rise up beyond the roof and say, “Like this.”

When someone looks for a fairy princess, show your face to him.

When someone talks of musk, let loose your tresses and say, “Like this.”

If someone says to you, “How do clouds part from the moon?”

Undo your robe, button by button, and say, “Like this.”

If he asks you about the Messiah, “How could he bring the dead to life?”

Kiss my lips before him and say, “Like this.” Continue reading Rumi-nations on Houris →

Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Newsletter

Anthropology/Sociology, Islam: Introduction, Journalism and Media, Teaching Resources


Charles Kurzman, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina

The Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies website is an important resource for anyone interest in the study of Islam from a sociological perspective. The current summer issue is available online at the main website. In the current edition, Charles Kurzman has an introduction well worth reading. He observes,

The sociology of Islam and Muslim societies is “hot,” for all the wrong reasons. It is not because globalization has drawn the world closer together, or because sociology is internationalizing its focus beyond its historical interest in Western Europe and North America. No, the sociology of Islam is “hot” because of the common but inaccurate association of Islam with terrorism and international conflict. The world wants to know why we are seeing such violence in the name of Islam, and sociologists — along with other social scientists — are expected to have answers. Violence and stereotypes related to Muslims are, sadly, good for business in the sociology of Islam. Continue reading Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Newsletter →

The War Within

Iraq War, Journalism and Media


Sgt. Blaylock in Iraq

On Dec. 9, 2007, Sergeant Blaylock, heavily intoxicated, lifted a 9-millimeter handgun to his head during an argument with his girlfriend and pulled the trigger. He was 26.

“I have failed myself,” he wrote in a note found later in his car. “I have let those around me down.”

Economics trumps politics, even though the two are always in bed together. The bailouts on Wall Street and the impending end of unemployment handouts on Main Street have occupied the news channels, while the back roads of Iraq have receded in the wishful rear-view thinking about the war. But along comes a New York Times video report that brings it all back. The video documents the suicide of Sgt. Jacob Blaylock, who was haunted by the death of two close friends, to the point of posting dark poems on his Facebook page. Suicides, despite the comedic Mash theme are not painless. For the full article on the issue of suicides of returned Iraqi war veterans, click here.

What Students are Reading in Dayton

Books You Should Read, Islam in America, Islamophobia, Teaching Resources

Book about Islam required reading for UD freshmen

By Dave Larsen, Dayton Daily News, July 26, 2009

More than 1,700 incoming University of Dayton students are required to read “War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims” before they arrive on campus Aug. 22 for first-year orientation.

The book, an award-winning collection of essays about young American Muslims, was written by Melody Moezzi, a 1997 graduate of Centerville High School and an American Muslim of Iranian descent.

UD is a Marianist Catholic university.

Moezzi’s book will serve as the basis for a series of student dialogues on the issue of diversity and differences, said Kathleen Webb, UD dean of libraries. Continue reading What Students are Reading in Dayton →

Edward T. Hall (1914-2009)

Anthropology/Sociology, Books You Should Read, Scholars

One of the most readable anthropologists of the 20th century passed away earlier this month on Monday, July 20. Most known for his The Silent Language (1959) and The Hidden Dimension (1966), Edward T. Hall specialized in the analysis of body language and established his theory of proxemics. Hall received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1942. In 1979 Hall was interviewed by Kenneth Friedman in the August issue of Psychology Today for an article entitled “Learning the Arabs’ Silent Language.” His comments on Arab culture are worth revisiting:

Kenneth Friedman: Do we Americans understand the Arabs, or do we tend to caricature or stereotype them?
Edward Hall: I don’t think we understand them. We ten to think of Arabs as underdeveloped Americans – Americans with sheets on. We look at them as undereducated and rather poor at anything technological. All we have to do is make believers out of them, get them the proper education, teach them English, and they will turn into Americans. Continue reading Edward T. Hall (1914-2009) →