The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach

I. INTRODUCTION. 1. Anthropology, the Middle East, and Central Asia. 2. Intellectual Predecessors: East and West. II. LOCATIONS: REGION, ECONOMY, AND SOCIETY. 3. Village and Community. 4. Pastoral Nomadism. 5. Cities in Their Place. III. CONSTRUCTED MEANINGS. 6. What Is a Tribe? 7. Personal and Family Relationships. 8. Change in Practical Ideologies: Self, Gender, and Ethnicity. 9. The Cultural Order of Complex Societies. IV. RELIGION AND EXPERIENCE. 10. Islam and the "Religions of the Book." V. THE SHAPE OF CHANGE. 11. State Authority and Society. Appendix: Internet Resources for the Middle East and Central Asia. Glossary. Index.