Lebanese anthropology. Doing Anthropology in a Time of Uncertainty

Abstract

International audience ; Anthropological studies of Lebanon are as varied as the approaches and career paths of the researchers who conduct them. This diversity mirrors the diasporic tendencies of this small, hemmed-in country (10,452 km2, the official, if contested), while also illustrating the density and power of the knowledge to which it contributes. This chorus of anthropological voices, however, is ultimately a reflection of turbulent and uncertain times, and even by contrast with other Arab countries, Lebanon is a complex country in which to do research. Its accessibility and conflictual history offer rich fields in which to develop innovative methods for the study of societies which are undergoing structural political crises.