Learning more about Middle Eastern culture

['ts_me]

I was wondering if anyone was any good leads to good books, DVD/video tapes, websites to learn more about Middle Eastern culture, traditions etc.
I have read a little here and there but it is hard to find something reliable/good. I am tired of spending money and time just to find out the $30 book I just bought is more a soap box for the writer than something that actually give me good info.
I am mainly looking for culture stuff and then also some good stuff on Islam etc. to tie it all together.

Thanks an advance.

[Jimbo]

Fill out your profile.

Read cultural anthropology.

['ts_me]

Sorry about that guys (and gals), I completely forgot to do that properly when I signed up here a while back. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

[peter28]

Fill out your profile.

Read Edward Said.

Who are you and how'd you hack into Jimbo's account?

[0699]

I found the book "Understanding Iraq" by William Polk to be pretty helpful reading when I was over there.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Iraq-William-Polk/dp/1845111230/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-3906395-3948666?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183430622&sr=8-2

[BrooklynBen]

Can you be more specific in what you are interested in learning? The "Middle East" is a big place with many very different cultures and traditions.

[NightLandNav]

If you find a definitive book on the ME that "ties it all together"...let me know.

I don't care if it's over $30.

[LRS Guy]

Try :

1. The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai
2. Inside the Red Zone (I believe thats the title I loaned it out a couple months ago and have not got it back).

Thats a good start, but there are so many different tribes and sects its hard to get a big picture. If you can get a handle on the the whole Shi/Shite thing its a good start.

[Doc P]

I just finished a course, "History and Politics of the Middle East", and we used the book by Andersen, Seibert and Wagner, "Politics and Change in the Middle East: Sources of Conflict and Accommodation". My professor was a visiting Fulbright scholar from the Egyptian government and the University of Cairo. This is the text he chose.

[BrooklynBen]

I read "The Arab Mind" some 20+ years ago before going to play in some of the sand boxes, and I found it to be both helpful and accurate.

The problem is that I'm given to understand that it's now considered politically incorrect within the higher levels of academia and even held as insulting within Arab academia. Not withstanding; I personally found it amazingly accurate and valuable. Like many realities in the world; what's sometimes discussed by accepted 'experts' in the Press or Media (academia) is distinctly different from the realities found on the street.

[Spinner]

I don't know if you can pigeonhole the whole Middle East into one "culture", for every similarity you'll probably find 2 or 3 differences, depending on the country or region you're visiting or studying.

A lot of the customs/culture you'd encounter would shift, depending on such factors as the country's demographic, the age and background of the people you're dealing with, and of course your own biases...which may or may not be helped by trying to take a culture immersion bath through reading a book.

Bear in mind, also, that much of the ME is in a development stage. That always has a profound effect on any society. Read up on the various countries as much as you can, but don't be surprised when the culture you thought you had come to know through rigorous study confounds you when you brush up against it in person.

[the_hater]

Chapter entitled 'Hama Rules' in From Beirut to Jerusalem. The rest of the book is ok but that is the most relevant, in my opinion.

The Mantle of the Prophet-an excellent history of Shi'a political and intellectual thought.

Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger. To go with that, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence. Theyre both old, but you'd be surprised at how little the general mindset of many Bedouin-based societies like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Jordan have changed.

[Massgrunt]

Theyre both old, but you'd be surprised at how little the general mindset of many Bedouin-based societies like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Jordan have changed.No I wouldn't. :D

[navman]

I just finished the month long Arabic acquisition level course (Iraqi Dialect) in Utah, part of the course involves learning the history and various cultures of the Middle East, if that helps any.

However your best bet is to hit the library or book store and check out world history section for books on middle eastern cultures.

[the_hater]

Watching Arabic television would also be a good idea. Even if you don't understand a word they say, you'll pick up on some of the subtleties of Arab culture. Stay away from 'polished' stuff like al-Jazeera or al-Arabiya. Try for movies and television shows. Theyre dumber than dogshit, so in addition to any education you may receive you'll also laugh your ass off.

['ts_me]

A lot of great info, thanks everyone!

I will try and address everyone's questions and suggestions etc. I am looking at at the ME at this point as East of Egypt, West of Iran, South of Turkey and Sudan and up. I have to limit a bit.
I have been dabbling in Arabic for a while now and finally took 2 semesters at the local U. The problem is that since I have a "normal" day-time job so I can only take the evening courses at the U. The ME/Arab Director won't schedule evening courses at this point and my level. He will only schedule day time classes. I am trying to convince him otherwise though. He claims lack of funds and interest, however he is the only one in the state so he has the market cornered. If he does it right he can set up a kick as lesson plan for the business community, .mil, .gov and "normal" students.

I have the sat dish (with motor which I can't seem to get to run) and I found many ME channels. English AlJazeera seems to me to be another version of BBC. I was expecting something more Middle Eastern so to speak.
I like the English movies with Arabic subtitles because it allows me to listen and "read" along. Granted I am not understanding every word I read but I can recognize the grammar etc. and it allows me to pick up some new things.
Also there is a Koranic type channel where they read verses from the Koran and have the written text on the screen. This also allows me learn a bit more.
I have located some folks at work from the ME and I am working to get them to speak with me so I can practice.

The main problem I have is vocab, or the lack there of. At the U we used alif-baa and AlKitaab and it is a pain in the ass because the books seem to assume you already have a decent amount of vocab. Out of frustration I started my own Excel spreadsheet with Arab-English translation that I am trying to easily convert to printable flash cards. This way I learn my vocab AND I can distribute soft copy PDF versions of the flash cards for new students. I also get to learn the Arabic keyboard on the computer...
I will post on this board once the flash cards are ready.

As for ME studies, there is little I found at the local U. I have been searching the internet to find pod-casts etc. of ME/Anthro/Arabic stuff. I was hoping there would be some non-profit/U with some online stuff. I found very little though so anyone with good pod cast leads make sure to let me know what you found.
It is great to know the language but if you insult someone based on your lack of culture what good is knowing the language.
An example of a bad book, I read "Islam Today" because the author was on CSPAN and seemed to know his stuff. However as I read the book I ran into statements that ran counter to my own experience living over seas with certain cultures. By the end of the book I had to force myself to read it just so I could say I read it. I was painful.
I also have "a peace to end all peace" which was also recommended to me. I still need to start it though.

Anyway, I got my "little" list of books to read now, thanks a lot. You guys/gals are a great source of info!

[navman]

I'm not a linguist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night....


Recommend you seek out tapes vice a book for Arabic Language. Easier to learn pronunciation and vocab that way (just like many foreign languages, if you misspronounce a word you may insult someone, unintentionally.)

Youtube also has quite a few videos in Arabic either Lavant or Iraqi Dialect...give those a try.

[the_hater]

An excellent book is "al-Kitaab al Assasee". Thats my best transliteration. I hated al-Kitaab as well, if I remember correctly one of the first words you learn is "al amam al mutahida" (united nations). If that isn't a useless word I dont know what is. The book I mentioned above actually starts out with simple vocabulary with PICTURES of the stuff you're trying to learn. Maha from al-Kitaab may be pretty hot, but this book is way better.

http://www.amazon.com/AL-KITAB-AL-ASASI-V-1-El-Said-Badawi/dp/9774160371

[BrooklynBen]

'ts Me - I really applaud the effort you're making to learn. Back in the "old days" I was given a system/book called LAMP, which is a way to learn any language systematically. For instance; by roughly picking up only one new word per day a person can be fairly fluent within a year. The LAMP system lays out the details of how to do this.

I couldn't find the book at Amazon that I once used, but I was able to find this web site that seems to offer the same stuff now in various formats including audio.

http://www.ethnologue.com/LL_docs/index/Languagelearningcycle(LanguageLearning).asp

[Spinner]

Thesiger's The Marsh Arabs is also pretty decent. One of the last of the great British explorers, although some would argue the point.

My CWO brought a book when we deployed to Saudi entitled The Arab of the Desert: A Glimpse into Badawin Life in Kuwait and Sa'udi Arabia. First published in 1949, it's out of print, and the copies offered up for sale on Amazon usually run well over $100. You could probably get a copy through an interlibrary loan.

It was useful, to a point. I still get a chuckle about our first morning in the desert, when the Chief left camp for about an hour. He returned with enough camel dung for a fire that lasted long enough for everybody to get a lukewarm cup of coffee.:D

['ts_me]

The other thing they do at the U here is they use Rosetta Stone together with Al Kitaab. The problem is that the software and the book don't cover the same material at the same time. So you cover some e.g. counting/numbers in AlKitaab and then you don't cover numbers in Rosetta until the next semester or so.

I am sure there are a lot of folks here who went thru DLI for Arabic. I called DLI to see if I could by the program from them since I am kind of stuck now since I can't take day-time classes. I was hoping to buy the program get a native speaker as a tutor and take it from there. DLI said it wasn't a course that works well for self study, which is OK I was planning on getting a tutor anyway.
DLI was willing to sell me old material (from the '80's) but it would not be a complete course (plus is would be tapes and not CDs) but when I asked for the latest course they said they did not have any to sell "...there isn't much demand for Arabic so we don't them on-hand...". Now I am not a rocket scientist but that last statement seems odd to me.

I have 2 questions for ex-DLI students:
1- what are your thoughts on the DLI program? Do you think I could run the program with a tutor?
2- what is the inside scoop on DLI not wanting to sell me the latest program, supposedly because they were out of stock?

Thanks again everyone.