An invitation to laughter : a Lebanese anthropologist in the Arab world / / Fuad I. Khuri ; edited by Sonia Jalbout Khuri

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910822885003321
• Autore: Khuri Fuad Ishaq
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, 2007
• ISBN: 1-281-95726-7; 0-226-43475-3; 9786611957261
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (223 p.)
• Altri autori (Persone): KhuriSonia Jalbout
• Disciplina: 305.80092; B
• Soggetti: Ethnologists - Lebanon; Ethnology - Fieldwork - Arab countries; Arab countries Social life and customs
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 182-187) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Prologue: The man himself -- Note on Arabic words -- Introduction. Why "laughter"? -- 1. Exploring origins. The choice of anthropology -- 2. Studying anthropology in Oregon. "How wonderful!" -- 3. Being Lebanese. A nationality or a profession? -- 4. Religious syncretism. "I offer sacrifices to my ancestors on Friday because I am a Muslim" -- 5. Lebanese traders in West Africa. Always ending the day in losses -- 6. Change as faith. The restless Americans -- 7. Teaching in Beirut. "Sir, keep this information to yourself " -- 8. Establishing an Arab association for the social sciences. The tyranny of consensus -- 9. The exotic in the suburbs of Beirut "It is written" -- 10. Alumni and 'ulama in Bahrain. "We all seek knowledge" -- 11. Open secrets Discussable but not publishable -- 12. Table manners in Yemen. Eat! Do not talk! -- 13. The official policy toward emigration in Lebanon. "We eat bread, not potatoes" -- 14. The Arab rich. "An ugly horse that wins the race is praised for its good looks" -- 15. Who wants to be a zaἵm? The agony of fame -- 16. Living in Great Britain. "The best in the world" -- Appendix 1: List of Research Projects -- Appendix 2: List of Publications -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: For the late Fuad I. Khuri, a distinguished career as an anthropologist began not because of typical concerns like accessibility, money, or status, but because the very idea of an occupation that baffled his countrymen made them-and him-laugh. "When I tell them that 'anthropology' is my profession . . . they think I am either speaking a strange language or referring to a new medicine." This profound appreciation for humor, especially in the contradictions inherent in the study of cultures, is a distinctive theme of An Invitation to Laughter, Khuri's astute memoir of life as