PEOPLES OF THE MIDDLE EAST: PAPER PROJECT
Anthropology 142
Winter 2004
Prof. Suad Joseph
Paper Project
News media shapes our knowledge of “other cultures” in profound ways. How the news media represents “the other” is not only a matter of “reporting events” but also of interpretation of events and construction of structures of knowledge. This project will give you an opportunity to explore your own ideas about a specific Middle Eastern country and compare your ideas with those represented in leading national print news media. The paper project will be done in stages to give you an opportunity to create a dialogue between yourself and the news media. All assignments are due IN CLASS on the date noted below.
1. January 8. This is worth 2 bonus points. In class, write one page on your ideas about one country in the Middle East. Write whatever you know about that country off the top of your head: Its population size, its territorial size, its form of government, its current head of state, its exports; what empire/government it was under in the 19th or early 20th century; its date of independence. Write whatever you know about its culture, its people, its economy, its political system, its religion, its history. Explain from where you obtained the information that lead to these ideas. Turn the papers in IN CLASS.
2. January 13. This is worth 5 points. Look up the country you chose Jan 8 on the internet or in the library. Answer the same questions, include your source of information.
3. January 13. Choose a country from one of the Middle Eastern countries listed below. It need not be the same country that you took the first day of class. You need to stay with the country for the duration of the project.
January 13. Select a newspaper and a time period. You need to stay with the newspaper and the time period for duration of the project.
4. February 5. This is worth 5 points: Read through back issues of the newspaper for the time period you chose and find 10 articles about the country you chose. If you cannot find 10 articles, choose another newspaper (check with me or your TA Razzan Zahra), but not one of the newspapers listed below. Find articles about that country for the SAME TIME period for which you signed up. Write a very brief summary of each article, totally no more than 600 words for the 10 summaries. Turn in a copy of the articles and summaries. KEEP TWO copies of the articles.
5. March 4. This is worth 20 points Write a critical evaluation of the 10 articles by looking at the journalist’s approach, the assumptions the journalists makes, the biases they may have, the political or theoretical or cultural lens through which they are looking. Discuss the effect of the journal’s approach on the way in which that country is represented. You may find 2, 3 or more approaches among the different articles. Describe them and discuss the similarities and differences and how the differences in approach affects the way the country is represented. Finally, in the last paragraph of your essay, discuss the steps you would take to teach a fellow student to read newspapers from a critical perspective. The paper must be 1,500 words, 12 point font, New Times Roman. Turn in paper AND a copy of the articles together IN CLASS. ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF YOUR PAPER.
PAPER POINTS = 30 + 2 BONUS POINTS:
#1 = 2 bonus points; #2 = 5 points; #4 = 5 points; #5 = 20points
LATE ASSIGNMENTS: Assignments not turned in on the due date IN CLASS, will lose 50% of the points allocated, and then 1 point for each day late after the first day late.
List of Middle Eastern countries
1. Algeria
2. Bahrein
3. Egypt
4. Iran
5. Iraq
6. Israel
7. Jordan
8. Kuwait
9. Lebanon
10. Libya
11. Mauritania
12. Morocco
13. Oman
14. Palestine
15. Qatar
16. Saudi Arabia
17. Sudan
18. Syria
19. Tunisia
20. Turkey
21. United Arab Emirates
22. Yemen
Newspapers
New York Times
Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
Chicago Tribune
Boston Globe
Christian Science Monitor
Wall Street Journal
Your Name ______________________________ Date: January 13, 2004
Anthro 142 Winter 2004 Peoples of the Middle East
Using the same country you chose January 8, answer these questions
1. Country _________________________
2. Population size _________________________
3. Territory size _________________________
4. Form of government _________________________
5. Head of state _________________________
6. Main economy _________________________
7. Capital city _________________________
8. Under which empire in 19th or 20th c _________________________
9. Independence date _________________________
10. Describe its culture and people
11. Identify key moments of its history
12. Describe the religions of the people
13. Describe the form of government
14. Describe the family system and gender system
15. What are the sources for this information about this country?
16. How close were you to these answers on January 8?
MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Your Name ______________________________ Date: January 8, 2004
Anthro 142 Winter 2004 Peoples of the Middle East
Choose a country in the Middle East and answer the following questions, based on your own ideas of that country
1. Country _________________________
2. Population size _________________________
3. Territory size _________________________
4. Form of government _________________________
5. Head of state _________________________
6. Main economy _________________________
7. Capital city _________________________
8. Under which empire in 19th or 20th c _________________________
9. Independence date _________________________
10. Discuss your ideas about its culture and people
11. Discuss your ideas about its history
12. Discuss your ideas about its religion
13. Discuss your ideas about its form of government
14. Discuss your ideas about its family system and gender system
15. What are the sources for your ideas about this country?
MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Choose one of the Following countries. No more than three students per country
1. Algeria
2. Bahrein
3. Egypt
4. Iran
5. Iraq
6. Israel
7. Jordan
8. Kuwait
9. Lebanon
10. Libya
11. Mauritania
12. Morocco
13. Oman
14. Palestine
15. Qatar
16. Saudi Arabia
17. Sudan
18. Syria
19. Tunisia
20. Turkey
21. United Arab Emirates
22. Yemen
Newspapers New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal. Put your name and country. Only ONE NAME per box
NYT WP LAT CT BG CSM WSJ
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1975-79
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1980-84
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1985-89
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1990-91
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1992-93
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1994-95
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1996-97
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1998-99
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2000-01
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2002-03
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