Reference no: EM133192009 , Length: 2 pages.
Problem: Anthropology Essay
Choose one of the options below. In your answers, remember to analyze and evaluate the author's evidence and conclusions, and place those conclusions within the larger context suggested by Said concerning Orientalism and Middle East Studies.
Islam in the News: Said argues that usually, whenever Islam is given very much attention in the mainstream media, the framework within which it is discussed is "created by passion, prejudice, and political interest." In your own words, review Said's evidence and conclusions. Then explain what, if anything, has changed over the past 30 years-if so, what has changed in the coverage of the Arab Spring, or Yemeni, Egyptian, or Moroccan society, and why? If not, why not? Is anthropology free from passion, prejudice, and political interest? Find several examples to illustrate your point rom recent media-either selections we read and watched in class, or news stories or opinion pieces that you have read, or interviews, etc. you saw on TV or on the Internet.
OR
Knowledge and Power: Said argues that two conditions are necessary for knowing another culture: (i) uncoercive contact with an alien culture through real exchange, and (ii) self-consciousness about the interpretive project itself. In your own words, what does he mean? Is it possible for an American to have uncoercive contact with a Middle Easterner? If so, under what conditions must the contact take place? If it is impossible, why is this the case? What does he mean by "self-consciousness about the interpretive project"? In your own words, explain what Said means when he distinguishes between scientific knowledge and historical knowledge. What are the relationships between knowledge and "interest"? What does he mean by "the interpretive circle"? To illustrate your arguments, give examples from the readings on the Arab Spring, other texts that we have read in class or outside, and/or videos and movies you have watched.