Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism: 3 (The Contemporary Middle East, Series Number 3) - Softcover

Lockman, Zachary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521133076 ISBN 13: 9780521133074

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Zachary Lockman's informed and thoughtful history of European Orientalism and US Middle East studies, the 'clash of civilizations' debate and America's involvement in the region has become a highly recommended and widely used text since its publication in 2004. The second edition of Professor Lockman's book brings his analysis up to date by considering how the study of the Middle East has evolved in the intervening years, in the context of the US occupation of Iraq and the 'global war on terror'.

About this title

Review

'Lockman's book will be widely read. There can be no doubt that the subject is an important one, not just to those in the field of Middle East Studies, but to the academic community and to a segment of the general public as well. As the book argues, a knowledge of the history of Middle East Studies is vital in assessing arguments put forward by academics, pundits and politicians.' Edmund Burke III, University of California, Santa Cruz

'Orientalism is the story of Western wonderings about the East. Zachary Lockman's book is an accessible précis of that story. ... this is a lively, passionate and important book - a splendidly researched indictment of the tendency to shabby reductionism. It is a call to look inside ourselves and our societies for the roots of chauvinist pastiche and a chilling demonstration of the fact that unless we go out and grapple with complexity, complexity will come in and smother us.' Contemporary Reviews

'... offers a highly thought-out analysis of the historical, political and cultural features of the main western academic trends that have shaped our perceptions of the Middle East and Islam ... This is an essential study for anyone interested in the politics of the region and foreign involvement in it.' International Affairs

'The author skilfully traces ... the ... reactions to the rise of Islamism (it is good to have done with the term 'fundamentalism') and, most recently, terrorism, with a lucid style with a praiseworthy absence of the leaden prose and jargon that disfigured so much American political and social science writing.' The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

The second edition of Professor Lockman's book brings his original analysis up to date by considering how the study of the Middle East has evolved in the intervening years, in the context of the US occupation of Iraq and the 'global war on terror'.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0521133076
• ISBN 13: 9780521133074
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 344