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The Vulgar Spirit of Blogging – ethnographic study of Persian-language weblogs

Published on December 11, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, cyberanthropology, internet, Middle East

Alireza Doostdar, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, American Anthropologist

This article is an ethnographic study of Persian-language weblogs (blogs), focusing on a divisive argument among Iranian bloggers that came to be known as the “vulgarity debate.”

Sparked by a controversial blogger who ridiculed assertions that Islam was compatible with human rights, the debate revolved around the claim that biogging had a “vulgar spirit” that made it easy for everything from standards of writing to principles of logical reasoning to be undermined. >> continue (pdf) (Link updated)

(via Global Voices)

Alireza Doostdar, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, American Anthropologist

This article is an ethnographic study of Persian-language weblogs (blogs), focusing on a divisive argument among Iranian bloggers that came to be known as the "vulgarity debate."

Sparked by a controversial…

Unmarried Women in Arab Countries: Status No Longer Dependent upon the Husband

Published on October 25, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, gender, Middle East

Arabnews

Depending on the societies they live in, when unmarried girls reach a certain age which differs from society to society, people begin to refer to them as “old maids” or “spinsters”. Especially in Arab countries, people still look upon a young unmarried girl as though she were to blame for her state. The girl soon becomes the butt of ridicule, accusations, and meddling by those around her and even those closest to her.

Dr. Bakr Bagader, an anthropology professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, said: “People differ in the age at which a woman is considered an ‘old maid’. We often see today that the marriageable age is linked to the stages in education because of the responsibilities of making a living and supporting a family. Completing education is thus seen as important and delays marriage for girls. Women no longer feel that their worth or status is dependent upon their husband.” >> continue

Arabnews

An Ethnographic Study on Online Communities in Saudi Arabia

Published on October 4, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, cyberanthropology, fieldwork / methods, internet, journal articles / papers, Middle East

Forum: Qualitative Social Research (FQS)

The aim of this article is to discuss the lessons learned from conducting semi-structured interviews online in an ethnographic study that took place in Saudi Arabia during the period 2001-2002.

The purpose of the study was to explore individuals’ participation in online communities in Saudi Arabia and also understand how online communities in Saudi Arabia are affecting participants’ offline culture. Semi-structured online interviews were used to report the perceptions of 15 participants (8 females, 7 males) about their online community experience in Saudi Arabia. >> continue

PS: This article is part of the 16th Issue of the open-access journal “Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research” (FQS) that now is available online.

Forum: Qualitative Social Research (FQS)

The aim of this article is to discuss the lessons learned from conducting semi-structured interviews online in an ethnographic study that took place in Saudi Arabia during the period 2001-2002.

The purpose of the study was to…

The ‘earth house’ recreates a traditional Lebanese lifestyle in exacting detail

Published on August 23, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, Middle East

The Daily Star – Lebanon News

TERBOL, Lebanon: In an old peasant house in the village of Terbol, everything is so perfect, so miniature that you’d think you were wandering around in a doll house. The “Earth House,” as this newly opened museum in the Western Bekaa is called, aims to revive the traditional house style of the rural Bekaa region.

“This project was conceived thanks to a book by anthropologist, ethnologist and photographer Hoda Kassatly called “Terres de Bekaa””, said the museum’s coordinator Nicole Nachnouk.

“The Earth house is just what we and the younger generations need to get over our ‘lost memory’ and to remember how our ancestors used to live,” the Bekaa photographer Kassatly said. And indeed, as Kassatly explained further, the museum is specially dedicated to the Bekaa inhabitants whose “ignorance and lack of interest” in their ancestors’ culture is “alarming.” >> continue

The Daily Star - Lebanon News

TERBOL, Lebanon: In an old peasant house in the village of Terbol, everything is so perfect, so miniature that you'd think you were wandering around in a doll house. The "Earth House," as this newly…

Anthropologist: Iranian Nomads Constitute Cultural Treasure

Published on July 11, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, indigenous people / minorities, Middle East

Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency

“Nomads constitute a cultural treasure, not a simple community, because the Iranian society can trace back its roots among them and still feeds on their agricultural products,” said Dr. Jalaludin Rafifar, nomad expert and head of the Anthropology Association of Tehran University. Economically speaking, nomads meet 20 percent of Iran’s needs to red meat, though they themselves are very content and incur little, if no, cost on the central government.
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Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency