Addresses the practical and theoretical issues faced by researchers working in and on the Middle East and North Africa
Researching the Middle East is a challenge for both new and seasoned researchers. Ensuring rigour, providing a theoretical grounding and accommodating the Middle Eastern perspective are all essential when it comes to avoiding orientalist perspectives and maintaining an inclusive attitude towards all experiences of research in the area.
The core mission of this textbook is to help and support both new and established scholars looking to expand their research down different and possibly challenging avenues, navigating issues that relate to positionality, ethics and ethnocentric biases. 16 researchers share their invaluable first-hand experiences and examine the cultural, conceptual, methodological and practical challenges of working on and in MENA region.
Key Features
¿ Divided into 4 sections covering core themes: researching political dynamics; identity and positionality in research; conducting ethnographic research; and research through text, symbols and technology
¿ Focuses on methodology, combining researchers' experiences with theoretical and conceptual analysis
¿ 14 case studies explore specific, frequently encountered issues: from the challenges of doing research in conflict zones to working with interpreters and navigating the problems of researching 'terrorism'
¿ Includes a variety of perspectives to allow a critical understanding of the methodological challenges in Middle East studies
Lorraine Charles is a Research Associate at the Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Ilan Pappé is Professor of History and Director for the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. Monica Ronchi is a social entrepreneur working in the education sector in Europe and the Middle East.

Lorraine Charles is Head of Research at Angela M Solomon Communications, and a PhD candidate at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. She has published articles in the Journal of International Women's Studies.

Ilan Pappé is Professor of History and Director for the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. He is author of numerous books, the most recent being The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine (Oneworld, 2015), The Idea of Israel (Verso, 2014) and The Modern Middle East; A Social and Cultural History (Routledge, 2014).

Monica Ronchi is a postgraduate teaching assistant and PhD candidate at the University of Exeter.

Introduction

Part I: Researching Political Dynamics in the Middle East

1. The Past is Here: Reflections on modern Middle Eastern Historiography
Ilan Pappé

2. Doing research in conflict and post-conflict contexts
Irene Costantini and Sansom Milton

3. Researching (and deconstructing) Sectarianism in Lebanon and Beyond
Ana Almuedo-Castillo

4. Researching Livelihoods for Syrian Refugees in Protectionist Labour Markets: The Cases of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey
Lorraine Charles

Part II: Identity and Positionality in Research

5. Sensitivities of researching 'identity' among national populations of the Gulf States: a case study from Dubai
Idil Akinci

6. 'Here be Dragons: Navigating the Problems of Researching 'Terrorism' and Critical Terrorism Studies
Richard McNeil-Willson

7. Positionality and Access: Doing Surveys and Empirical Research in the Middle East
Bethany Shockley

Part III: Conducting Ethnographic Research

8. Women, Conflict and the Everyday: Feminist Ethnographies in Palestine and Kurdistan
Sophie Richter-Devroe and Veronica Buffon

9. From the ethical to the practical: cases of working with interpreters in Middle East Studies
Alex Mahoudeau & Yves Mirman

10. Conducting Research in Arabic: challenges and new perspectives
Giorgia Ferrari

Part IV: Research through Text, Symbols and Technology

11. Problems of Method: Applying 'Western Literary Theory' to Arabic Texts
Hannah Scott Deuchar

12. YouTube and Ethnography in the Middle East: Creative Access in Difficult Places
Kenneth H. Schmitt

13. Reading the Signs: Toward a Semiotic Approach in Islamic Studies
Pierre Hecker