Amazon.com: An Invitation to Laughter: A Lebanese Anthropologist in the Arab World: Fuad I. Khuri, Sonia Jalbout Khuri, Richard Antoun: Books

Review
"Fuad Khuri was one of the most thoughtful and insightful anthropologists working on the Middle East. His published work always exhibited two very special qualities: he chose bold issues and he had an extraordinary eye for the small yet revealing detail. No one should be surprised that An Invitation to Laughter captures and extends those traits so well."-Lawrence Rosen, Princeton University (Lawrence Rosen 20070708)

"Fuad Khuri's An Invitation to Laughter is a riveting account of life as a Christian Lebanese anthropologist in the Middle East. In consistently engaging and lively prose, Khuri depicts his experiences along the sectarian divide in Lebanon, elsewhere in the Middle East, and in West Africa with humor, compassion, and insight. This unique and timely book is destined to be a must-read for scholars of the Middle East, students of the social sciences, or anyone seeking an understanding of how anthropology continues to make a difference by bridging dangerous divides."-Dale Eickelman, Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations, Dartmouth College (Dale Eickelman )

"A professional autobiography, yet it is also a superb prologue to the structure of interaction in the Arab world, as well as a salient introduction to anthropological research." (Au Bulletin )

"Winning. . . . The title refers to Khuri''s disarming use of humor to recount his frustrating yet rewarding experiences working in West Africa, Lebanon, Bahrain and Yemen. The reader is also treated to charming observations of life in Oregon, where he pursued graduate studies, and England, where he settled in 1985."-St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg Times )

Product Description

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 an anthropologist in the Middle East.

A Christian Lebanese, Khuri offers up in this unusual autobiography both an insider’s and an outsider’s perspective on life in Lebanon, elsewhere in the Middle East, and in West Africa. Khuri entertains and informs with clever insights into such issues as the mentality of Arabs toward women, eating habits of the Arab world, the impact of Islam on West Africa, and the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy Arabs, and even offers a vision for a type of democracy that could succeed in the Middle East. In his life and work, as these astonishing essays make evident, Khuri demonstrated how the discipline of anthropology continues to make a difference in bridging dangerous divides.

(20061005)

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Product Details

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (May 15, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0226434788
ISBN-13: 978-0226434780
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,006 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
studying anthropology, cephalic index

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
West Africa, Middle East, World Bank, American University of Beirut, United States, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia, University of Oregon, Being Lebanese, Great Britain, Burkina Faso, Shaikh Khalid, New York, Ras Beirut, Student Union, Department of Sociology, Professor Cressman, Alimami Suri, Queen Elizabeth, Van Dyck, Imam Hussain, The Yemenis, Shaikh Ibrahim, San Francisco, Yamba Lako

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gentle man sheds light on a troubled part of the world. , June 20, 2007

By	Gregory Mills "Greg" (Berkeley) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here is a slender memoir of a Lebanese-American anthropologist's experiences plying his trade throughout the Levant and Middle East, studying power structures throughout the region. The reason behind the title as explained by Khuri is that whenever he explained what he did for a living, his friends and relatives back home in Lebanon would laugh uproariously at the thought of such an oddly named profession.

Khuri, who received his PhD from the University of Oregon, is charmingly self-deprecating in the telling of his story, obscuring the fact that his work was groundbreaking (his book Emirs and Imans is essential for understanding the differences between the region's various Islamic sects, including how their theology informs their politics). Even in this book, there are little, almost throw-away insights that forced me to reconsider some of my notions about the Middle East.

It's also apparent that Khouri was a decent and gentle soul, someone who saw worth of experience in everyone. Couldn't recommend this book more highly.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of a good man, June 9, 2007

By	TheCapitol.Net - See all my reviews

Very enjoyable. A collection of Mr. Khuri's writings, the title and cover image accurately reflect the content. And a Lebanese man I know laughed and agreed when he heard Khuri's description of "Lebanese:" "It is a profession, not a nationality."

Also worthwhile for dispelling notions that there is no humor in the Middle East.

After reading this book, I wish I'd known Faud Khuri, a generous and good man who had a life well lived.

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