Culture and Dignity

* Outlines an anthropology for the 21st century that focuses on the myriad connections between peoples especially the critical intercultural dialogues between the cultures of the East and the West * Takes an historical and ethnographic approach to studying the intermingling of Arab peoples and the West.

Culture and Dignity explores the roots of the complex connections between the East and the West. Laura Nader uses ethnography to differentiate between the stereotype and reality of East-West relations and Arab documents, from the Crusades as well as contemporary Arab ethnography, to deconstruct the filters through which we see each other. By examining historical exchanges between East and West, Nader reveals how privileging difference has often led to violence and desensitization. In her vivid examples from history as well as analysis of ongoing events, she delineates the myriad indignities and false assumptions that surround Western dealings with Arabs and Muslims.

This highly readable treatise from an influential voice in contemporary anthropology is based on the premise that a look in the mirror is essential for understanding what is going on today – the fundamentalisms we share – religious, economic, and political – dignity – theirs and ours. Culture and Dignity offers more than a half-century of personal and professional experience in presenting Middle Eastern and Western perspectives on one another, and insights into relationships between East and West into the twenty-first century.

In Culture and Dignity - Dialogues between the Middle East and the West, renowned cultural anthropologist Laura Nader examines the historical and ethnographic roots of the complex relationship between the East and the West, revealing how cultural differences can lead to violence or a more peaceful co-existence.

• Outlines an anthropology for the 21st century that focuses on the myriad connections between peoples—especially the critical intercultural dialogues between the cultures of the East and the West
• Takes an historical and ethnographic approach to studying the intermingling of Arab peoples and the West.
• Demonstrates how cultural exchange between the East and West is a two-way process
• Presents an anthropological perspective on issues such as religious fundamentalism, the lives of women and children, notions of violence and order