Another Arabesque: Syrian-Lebanese Ethnicity in Neoliberal Brazil

By John Tofik Karam

Book Overview

Offering a novel approach to the study of ethnicity in the neoliberal market, "Another Arabesque "is the first full-length book in English to focus on the estimated seven million Arabs in Brazil. With insights gained from interviews and fieldwork, John Tofik Karam examines how Brazilians of Syrian-Lebanese descent have gained greater visibility and prominence as the country has embraced its globalizing economy, particularly its relations with Arab Gulf nations. At the same time, he recounts how Syrian-Lebanese descendents have increasingly self-identified as Arabs. Karam demonstrates how Syrian-Lebanese ethnicity in Brazil has intensified through market liberalization, government transparency, and consumer diversification. Utilizing an ethnographic approach, he employs current social and business phenomena as springboards for investigation and discussion. Uncovering how Arabness appears in places far from the Middle East, "Another Arabesque "makes a new and valuable contribution to the study of how identity is formed and shaped in the modern world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592135390
• ISBN13: 9781592135394
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A triumph for the human spirit

It is refreshing to read a book like Another Arabesque in a time when the words Arab and Middle-East are associated with conflict, failure and destruction. Professor Tofik Karam succeeds in capturing one of the most inspiring examples of the human ability to adapt, exchange culture and overcome conflict. The Arab emigration to Brazil provides hope and an example for a future resolution of the tensions that permeate the relations between the West and Arab countries. Professor Karam writes in a sensible and sympathetic manner, while retaining objectivity. This book is an instant classic. It is rare for such an scholarly work to be written in such a pleasant and elegant style.