History and Development of Anthropology in the Arab World

Abstract

This study documents the context of Anthropology as an academic enterprise in the Arab world, and the nature of its development over the last fifty years. It does not consider Anthropological studies conducted by foreign or non-Arab researchers about the Arab area. It aims to record the historical development of Anthropology in the Arab world by looking at the endeavors of its Arab pioneers, whether on the academic or on research level. This study focuses on the following questions: What did Anthropology represent in Arab societies? What was it expected to offer? How did Anthropology develop in the Arab world? What is the nature of the research contributions made by Arab Anthropologists? What impacts has Anthropology had on the structure of Arab society? What is the role of Anthropology in the new millennium? What role will Anthropology play in the Arab world in the coming years? This study was conducted using critical, historical, and descriptive methodologies, and this paper is organized into five sections. The first one discusses the origin and history of Anthropology in Arab countries. The second section explores the nature of the Anthropological inquiry and thematic foci in the Arab world while the third one discusses the impact Anthropology has had on the cultural and social structure of Arab society. Forth segment examines how Anthropology has developed in the Arab world, and the final one reflects the future of evolvement of Anthropology in the Arab world in the future.

The Birth and Development of Anthropology in Arab Countries: A still Controversial and Marginalised Knowledge?

“…4 The few reviews of anthropological literature in the Arab world are written in English and include only works in this language, leaving aside not only works written in other European languages, but also those written in Arabic (Abu Lughod, 1989;Deeb & Winegar, 2012). Whereas production in Arabic is for now limited and consists in many cases of university manuals for student use (al-Zuabi, 2019;Hanafi, 2011;Hanafi & Arvanitis, 2014;Roussillon, 2002;Shami, 1989), Anglo-Saxon anthropologists' lack of consideration for French-language ethnological literature seems problematic. Indeed, one must consider not only the rich historical corpus of works in French (e.g., Berque, 1956;Rachik, 2012), but also the lively and prolific scholarly activity that French research centres based in Arab countries nurture mostly in this language (Hanafi, 2010).…”