Suchergebnisse

This book sheds light on the ways in which the on-going Israeli-Arab conflict has shaped Arabic language instruction. Due to its interdisciplinary nature it will be of great interest to academics and researchers in security and middle eastern studies as well as those focused on language and linguistics.

Encyclopedias of psychology cite a type of religious psychosis known as the Jerusalem Syndrome, which can be triggered by a visit to the city. Symptoms can include bellowing liturgical songs, delivering moralistic sermons and an intensified concern with cleanliness and ritual purity. Though similar reactions have been recorded at other holy cities, notably Rome and Mecca, Jerusalem holds the record for this psychopathology. From the point of view of any normal urban logic, however, the city itself appears crazier still. Its boundaries extend far beyond its core population centres, encompassing dozens of villages, barren hilltops, orchards and tracts of desert, as well as new-build suburbs with scant relation to the historical city; in the north, they stretch up, like a long middle finger, nearly to Ramallah, to take in the old Qalandia airport, some 10 kilometres from the Old City walls, and bulge down almost to Bethlehem in the south. But if the cityscape of Jerusalem has no decipherable urban logic, what rationality has shaped its growth? In Benvenistis view, it all started from the post-1967 municipal borders and the famous principle of maximum square kilometres of land and minimum number of Arabs. There is much to be said for this hypothesis; but we will have to begin a little earlier than that. Adapted from the source document.

Mista'arvim – Jewish-Israeli soldiers who masquerade as Arabs – and Hista'arvut (the act thereof) hold a special place in Jewish-Israeli culture. By analyzing popular television programs – a thriller titled Fauda (Arabic for "chaos") and documentaries
by journalist Zvi Yehezkeli – we argue that "cultural Hista'arvut" is a powerful reflection of Zionist perceptions of Palestinian and Arab Others. Cultural Hista'arvut helps frame the paradox of a Jewish-Israeli society that is located inside the Middle East but
maintains distance as a superior outsider that is not of the region. In this sense, the act of impersonation emphasizes the hierarchy of Jews over Arabs and cements the alleged dichotomies between them.

This essay deals with a section of somewhat unfamiliar terrain within the battlefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: museum sites. The focus is on two museological case studies, the Palestinian Museum of Prisoners in Abu Dis and the Israeli Captured Material Display (also known as the Exhibition of Terror) in Ramat Hasharon. Through an analysis of the artistic, educational and political characteristics of both sites, one can observe the complex internal and external power relations of museums located within an ongoing conflict zone. The essay will showcase the role these institutions play in a tenacious struggle for representation amidst efforts to gain the hearts and minds of the world's public opinion while simultaneously battling for national and communal memory. It will show that museums both serve as and perpetuate model behavior and perceptions of a political consciousness and its enemy and, in doing so, help shape political discourse. It also suggests that the study of Israeli and Palestinian museological sites can make a significant contribution to the understanding of Israeli and Palestinian collective fears, phobias, political perceptions, and desires.

This book presents a collection of articles that put forward original research and significant insight regarding several key issues related to knowledge and language in Middle Eastern societies. The aspects studied include: the role of knowledge and language in affirming and negating political agendas and self-identities within areas of conflict and tension; ideas regarding the usefulness and interaction of religious and secular knowledge; and the attributes that render knowledge and language

Explores the dynamic relationships between language, politics and society in the Middle EastPublished in honour of Professor Yasir Suleiman, this collection acknowledges his contribution to the field of language and society in general, and to that of language analysis of socio-political realities in the Middle East in particular. Presenting a range of case studies relating to the role of language in the Middle East, each shows that the study of language unearths deeper processes relating to political affiliations, social behaviour and transnational as well as religious and sectarian identities. It also explores questions related to the power of language as a socio-political instrument, and addresses current issues that facilitate an understanding of the evolving intersections in the areas of language and politics in the modern Middle East. This includes how language forms and is shaped by its social and political surroundings, the language manifestations of social, religious and political identifications, as well as groupings, divisions and polarisations in the encounter between language, conflict and politics in contemporary Middle Eastern communities. Looking at language as a proxy for social and political struggles, the volume gives prominence to the long-lasting legacy and great contribution of Professor Yasir Suleiman to the field.Key FeaturesBrings together scholars from the fields of sociology, political science, Middle Eastern history, linguistics, sociolinguistics, political communication and media studiesIncludes chapters on identity changes via literary creations and word choice, code-switching and its importance in understanding political realities; Arabic studies in Jewish schools in Israel; the influence of the dominant Hebrew on Arabic spoken by Palestinians in Israel, and 'the language of the revolution' with case studies from Tunisia, Egypt and LibyaContributorsAshraf Abdelhay, Clare Hall College, CambridgeMariam Aboelezz, Lancaster UniversityMuhammad Amara, Beit Berl Academic CollegeReem Bassiouney, The American University of CairoMaisalon Dallashi, Tel Aviv UniversityEirlys E. Davies, King Fahd School of Translation, Tangier Carole Hillenbrand, University of St Andrews and University of EdinburghRana Issa, University of OsloJohn E. Joseph, University of Edinburgh Chaoqun Lian, Peking University and University of CambridgeSinfree Makoni, Pennsylvania State UniversityKarin Christina Ryding, Georgetown UniversitySonia Shiri, University of Arizona