The Modern Middle East: People, Culture, and Everyday Life introduces readers to the history and cultures of the peoples of the contemporary Middle East. It deals with common misconceptions and stereotypes and provides in-depth perspectives of everyday life in the region. After addressing the history and geography of the region, the book supplies ethnographic accounts of social groups, family, gender and sexuality, religion, politics, and popular culture. This reader provides an opportunity to engage with topics that are new to most students such as family courts in Iran, the story of a woman traveling in her hijab, and the life of a transgendered Muslim woman. Rather than rendering dry information or relying on outdated examples, this reader offers contemporary, relevant, and ethnographic account of the Middle East and contributes to larger debates about modernity, globalization, power, and knowledge. The reader can be used in courses on the history of the region, Middle Eastern anthropology, and introductory ethnic studies.

Based on his own field research and the ethnographic reports of other scholars, anthropologist Salzman presents an analysis of Middle Eastern culture that goes a long way toward explaining the gulf between Western and Middle Eastern cultural perspectives

selected cultural dimensions. Volume Two presents a relatively adequate representation of the three major sociological types found in the region: “Cities,” “Towns,” and “Countryside.” It is in this volume that Iran and Afghanistan, by far the most appropriate representatives of the Central Asian cultural zone, come into the picture.

Focusing on one of the world's most important and volatile regions, this series provides the background and context students need to understand today's headlines. A wealth of maps, charts, time lines, and primary-source quotations enhance the text and expose students to the variety of ways information is presented in nonfiction text. Correlated to key themes in the social studies curriculum, including global connections, current issues, and conflict and cooperation, this collection is a rich source of information and ideal for student reports.