Society and Psychology

Presentation Transcript

Culture and Psychology of Arab-Muslim Societies

Course Topics Introduction to Middle East – North Africa "culture range" Social structure, family association & "code" of respect and humility Islam and Islamism Modernization, underdevelopment & personality Gender, youngsters, & advancement Arab Spring dissents & insurgencies

Readings Naguib Mahfouz: Palace Walk The Middle East: A Cultural Psychology Henry Munson: Islam and Revolution in the Middle East Ryszard Kapucinski: Shah of Shahs Excerpts from books & articles ( numerous on electronic save )

Assignments "Key idea" papers (~3-4 pgs.) on every segment of the course Participation in class dialogs Research Paper: paper teach-in

"Culture Area" Concept Political association ("tribes") Language Subsistance economy Kinship, family association, marriage Ritual & religion

Early Culture-Area delineate

Native American Culture Areas

Middle East as a "Culture Area"? "Center East" ? Middle Easterner ? Muslim ? Middle Easterner – Muslim ? Mediterranean ?

Middle East

Arab Ethnicity: Arabian Penn. + introduce day Syria Iraq Jordan Palestine

Islam

M.E.N.A. Center East & North Africa Border zones: Turkey? Iran? Sudan? Pakistan? Afghanistan?

A Mediterranean culture territory?

Mediterranean Basin

Mediterranean Basin

Germain Tillion: "Republic of Cousins" Circum-Mediterranean shaped culture range Industrial unrest changed Europe Enabled Europe to colonize MENA underdevelops Nationalist reaction protects "conventions" against colonizers Patriarchy & religion grasped (by a few) as center of social realness

Westerners Study the Orient Knowledge made to: Colonize and direct Imagine "primitive" difference to human advancement Imagine flexibility & arousing quality stifled by progress 1978

Mini-Stereotypes (Katherine Tidrick) Primitive Savage & Brutal Tyrant Noble Savage - Bedouin Exotic-Erotic Woman of the Harem Patriarchal misanthrope Terrorist

1920s – 1960s: Exotic/Romantic Rudolph Valentino: The Sheik

1920s – 1960s: Exotic/Romantic

The Real Lawrence

1970s - now: Tyrants & Terrorists

American Movie Arabs

Planet of the Arabs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi1ZNEjEarw

Misunderstandings Despotism & strife originate from a tribal attitude outfitted with present day weapons The "respect code" hoards the Middle Eastern mind and subverts modernization Islamic "capitulation to the inevitable" breeds resignation and slows down improvement The energy of custom opposes modernization Terrorism springs from a vein of devotion in Arab culture and mind

How to start? Naguib Mahfouz, Palace Walk

Café Riche, Cairo 2003 Mahfouz & literati of Egypt

History of "current" Egypt 16 th – 18 th hundreds of years: Ottoman (Turkish) run 1798: Napoleon attacks 1882: British attack 1910s: Nationalist Movement 1919: Egyptian revolt 1922: constrained Independence 1952: Army Coup – Nasser - autonomy

Napoleon Invades Egypt 1798

Battle of the Pyramids

Napoleon "frees" Egypt from Ottoman Empire

"Clash of Nile" 1798: British Adm. Nelson massacres Napoleon

1882 British assault Alexandria Invade Egypt & build up province

After siege: hostile to European mobs

Alexandria after assault 1882

Alexandria after assault British at Pyramids

World War I Allies guarantee Arabs autonomy in return for participation against Germany Britain and France covertly consented to partition Middle East as states after WWI ("Sykes-Picot agreement") Britain expanded military in Egypt, constrained Egyptians to offer cotton & grub underneath market cost, recruited 500,000 Egyptians

World War I 1917 Bolshevik Revolution: Sykes-Picot settlement uncovered Occupation + monetary hardships + Sykes-Picot selling out energized patriot development Saad Zaghlul rose as pioneer Delegation – wafd – to arrange freedom at Paris Peace Conference, however ousted

1919 Saad Zaghlul & Wafd

1919 Egyptian Revolution

Egyptian Independence 1922: Britain conceded Egypt autonomy Created parliament + government on British model Kept rights to military occupation that permitted control of Egyptian legislative issues until 1952 overthrow by Gamal Nasser and "Free Officers"

1952 "Free Officers" Coup Gamal Nasser

Nasser Era Arab Nationalism Unite M.E. as "Bedouin country" comprehensive of all religions Many pioneers were Arab Christians Democracy and direct communism Leader of recently autonomous "Third World" uncommitted countries Neutral in Cold War between U.S. what's more, U.S.S.R.

Nasser Era – con't Social advance: Land change Education Health mind Guaranteed employments Economic development Initial well known energy Cult of identity ��  fascism

1967 Crushing annihilation by Israel indicated disappointment of Nasser and of "Bedouin patriotism" Period of "self-feedback" by savvy people and craftsmen Youth starts swinging to Islam Mosques start filling Young ladies put on headscarves and shroud Gov't bolsters Islamists to undermine radicals

Naguib Mahfouz 1912: conceived in old quarter of Cairo 1919: watched exhibitions & dissidents slaughtered by British troops in Egyptian Revolution 1934: University of Cairo Worked on M.A. in theory Began composing 1939-1954: Ministry of Islamic Affairs civil servant 1954-1969: gov't establishment for silver screen

Naguib Mahfouz 1952: Completed "Cairo Trilogy" A couple of months before Nasser's overthrow Written as 1500 page book; then isolated into 3 1952 – 1959: quit composing 1960s: composed verse, screenplays, books purposeful anecdotes incredulous of Islamism & degenerate common rulers 1988: Nobel Prize 1994: cut by Islamists, somewhat incapacitated 2006: passed on

Cairo: Nile River

Midan Tahrir

Cairo: midan Tahrir

Cairo downtown

Downtown Cairo

Cairo neighborhood downtown

"prominent" Cairo neighborhoods

"estates" in Cairo rural areas

Cairo old city

Cairo: Khan al-khalili & Naguib Mahfouz bistro

Rabat medina

Rabat medina

Rabat medina

Rabat medina

Cairo: al-Azhar mosque

Alaa al Aswany

Spring Protests

Tunisia 2010 - 2011

Egypt 1970s - 2011 1970s: liberal-radical resistance smashed; gov't bolsters Islamists 1981: Sadat killed by Islamists 1990s: Islamist assaults 2000s: expanding devotion diminishing Islamism

2004: Kifaya "enough" development

January: Midan Tahrir "Opportunity Square"

Mubarek : "President" to detainee

Warning ! ! ! The course concentrates a lot on "conventional" social association & culture. "Modernization" is quickening & its blended results are not known.

Wednesday The Middle East : Introduction Chapter 1: "Mistaken assumptions" Palace Walk : Chapters 1 – 4 Bring discourse notes !!!