THE CALLIGRAPHIC STATE: Textual Domination and History in a Muslim Society (Volume 16) (Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies)

MESSICK, Brinkley

ISBN 10: 0520205154 / ISBN 13: 9780520205154

Published by University of California Press, Berkely, CA, 1996

About this Item

Grey background softcover with white print on spine and front cover. Red title box with white print on front, Black print on spine and graphic on frnt, Previous owner in ink at top edge of front fly leaf. Slight flair at two foredge tips p on front cover. Otherwise tight, sound and unmarked.527 pages including index. Seller Inventory # 015718

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE CALLIGRAPHIC STATE: Textual Domination ...

Publisher: University of California Press, Berkely, CA

Publication Date: 1996

Binding: Trade Paperback

Illustrator: illustrated

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

In this innovative combination of anthropology, history, and postmodern theory, Brinkley Messick examines the changing relation of writing and authority in a Muslim society from the late nineteenth century to the present. The creation and interpretation of texts, from sacred scriptures to administrative and legal contracts, are among the fundamental ways that authority is established and maintained in a complex state. Yet few scholars have explored this process and the ways in which it changes, especially outside the Western world.

Messick brings together intensive ethnography and textual analysis from a wealth of material: Islamic jurisprudence, Yemeni histories, local documents. In exploring the structure and transformation of literacy, law, and statecraft in Yemen, he raises important issues that are of comparative significance for understanding political life in other Muslim and nonwestern states as well.

About the Author:

Brinkley Messick is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.