Culture and dignity

This book explores the roots of the complex connections that link the East and the West. Laura Nader employs ethnography to distinguish between the stereotypical image of the relationship between the East and the West and the reality of this relationship, also utilizing Arabic documents, from the Crusades to contemporary Arab ethnographic literature; in order to eliminate the perspective that sees the East and the West as mutually hostile. Through studying the historical exchanges between the East and the West, the author explains how the differences that distinguish one side from the other often lead to violence and habituation to it; where she depicts — with her vivid historical examples and analysis of current events — a detailed picture of the numerous insults and false assumptions that cloak Western dealings with Arabs and Muslims. This enjoyable study, presented by an influential author in the world of contemporary anthropology, relies on the idea that self-reflection is an essential necessity for understanding what is happening today, especially regarding the fundamentalist ideologies shared by both the East and the West — whether religious, economic, or political — and regarding dignity; our dignity and the dignity of others. The book offers a personal and professional experience spanning over half a century, enriching us with insights into the East and West’s perspectives of each other, and with insightful opinions on the relations between the East and the West in the twenty-first century.