Vast social change has occurred in the Middle East since the oil boom of the mid-1970s. As the first anthropological study of an urban community in Saudi Arabia since that oil boom, Arabian Oasis City is also the first to document those changes. Based on extensive interviews and participant observation with both men and women, the authors record and analyze the transformation that has occurred in this ancient oasis city throughout the twentieth century: the creation of the present Saudi Arabian state and of a new national economy based on the export of oil and the economic boom brought about by the dramatic increases in the price of oil following the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. In addition, the authors reveal the changes brought about by the fall in the price of oil beginning in 1982 and analyze the problems confronting ‘Unayzah in its aftermath. By demonstrating that the area was not exclusively dominated by tribalism and Bedouin nomads, this empirical case study destroys stereotypical views about Saudi Arabia. Indeed, it proves the existence—prior to the coming of the modern Saudi Arabian state— of surplus agricultural and craft production and the full development of local, regional, and long-distance trade networks. It shows that women, although veiled, played active roles in work outside the household. The social impact of change over the years is, however, profound—especially the gradual replacement of the extended family by the nuclear family, changing patterns of husband-wife relationships, the impact of self-earned income on the status of women, and the emergence of a new middle class of employees and entrepreneurs. Because of the high degree of gender segregation in this area of research, Altorki and Cole give us a fortunate collaboration between a Saudi Arabian female scholar and an American male scholar experienced in research in the Middle East.

Arabian Oasis City: The Transformation of 'Unayzah (Modern Middle East Series)

Altorki, Soraya

Cole, Donald P.

Business & Money

University of Texas Press

Vast social change has occurred in the Middle East since the oil boom of the mid-1970s. As the first anthropological study of an urban community in Saudi Arabia since that oil boom, Arabian Oasis City is also the first to document those changes. Based on extensive interviews and participant observation with both men and women, the authors record and analyze the transformation that has occurred in this ancient oasis city throughout the twentieth century: the creation of the present Saudi Arabian state and of a new national economy based on the export of oil and the economic boom brought about by the dramatic increases in the price of oil following the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. In addition, the authors reveal the changes brought about by the fall in the price of oil beginning in 1982 and analyze the problems confronting ‘Unayzah in its aftermath. By demonstrating that the area was not exclusively dominated by tribalism and Bedouin nomads, this empirical case study destroys stereotypical views about Saudi Arabia. Indeed, it proves the existence—prior to the coming of the modern Saudi Arabian state— of surplus agricultural and craft production and the full development of local, regional, and long-distance trade networks. It shows that women, although veiled, played active roles in work outside the household. The social impact of change over the years is, however, profound—especially the gradual replacement of the extended family by the nuclear family, changing patterns of husband-wife relationships, the impact of self-earned income on the status of women, and the emergence of a new middle class of employees and entrepreneurs. Because of the high degree of gender segregation in this area of research, Altorki and Cole give us a fortunate collaboration between a Saudi Arabian female scholar and an American male scholar experienced in research in the Middle East.

Arabian Oasis City: The Transformation of 'Unayzah (CMES Modern Middle East Series)

This series of brief ethnographies, intended primarily for supplementary use in undergraduate courses, focuses on the ways in which human life is shaped by factors in the external environment for those who must wrest a livelihood from it and face the vicissitudes it contains. Each book concentrates on particular settings and circumstances of human life, describing the interaction between people and their social and physical environment.

Nomads of the Nomads: The Al Murrah Bedouin of the Empty Quarter

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Harlan Davidson

Forces imposed by the twentieth century--modernization, globalization, the politics and economics of nation--have become so great that major changes in the old ways have had to take place for the sake of survival. The arid regions impose strict limits upon human existence and activity. And yet by respecting those limits, the flourishing and stable culture of these regions has for centuries been sustained. In the last thirty years, however, the forces imposed by the twentieth century--modernization, globalization, the politics and economics of nation--have become so great that major changes in the old ways have had to take place for the sake of survival. Egypt's northwest coast, where meager coastal rains have supported a sparse but thriving population of Bedouin, has recently seen the arrival of settlers from the Nile Valley, accustomed to a very different way of life and production, and hordes of tourists whose "empty, silent structures" have effectively turned the most productive strip of the coastal range into an artificial desert. This study documents the great accommodations that have taken place to ensure the arid rangelands of the northwest coast continue to be viable for the demands of human existence imposed on them. "A main thesis of this study," the authors write, "is that change in the northwest coast of Egypt has strong parallels in other arid regions of the wider Arab world; and specific comparisons are made to change underway elsewhere--especially regarding the transformation of Arab nomadic pastoralist production to a new form of ranching, and the related changes of sedentarization and the monetization of most aspects of livelihood."

Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers: Egypt's Changing Northwest Coast

Economics

The American University in Cairo Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cole, Donald P.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Cole, Donald P.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cole, Donald P.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Arabian Oasis City: The Transformation of 'Unayzah (Modern Middle East Series)

Arabian Oasis City: The Transformation of 'Unayzah (CMES Modern Middle East Series)

Nomads of the Nomads: The Al Murrah Bedouin of the Empty Quarter

Bedouin, Settlers, and Holiday-Makers: Egypt's Changing Northwest Coast