Practicing Sectarianism

Lara Deeb is Professor of Anthropology at Scripps College.Tsolin Nalbantian is Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Leiden University.Nadya Sbaiti is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at the American University of Beirut.

• Introduction: Practicing Sectarianism in Lebanon-Lara Deeb, Tsolin Nalbantian, and Nadya Sbaiti1. No Room for This Story: Education and the Limits of Sectarianism during the Mandate Era-Nadya Sbaiti2. Negotiating Citizenship: Shi'i Families and the Ja'fari Shari'a Courts-Linda Sayed3. The Archive Is Burning: Law, Unknowability, and the Curation of History-Maya Mikdashi4. Donating in the Name of the Nation: Charity, Sectarianism, and the Mahjar-Reem Bailony5. Along and beyond Sect? Olfactory Aesthetics and Rum Orthodox Identity-Roxana Maria Arãs6. From Murder in New York to Salvation from Beirut: Armenian Intrasectarianism-Tsolin Nalbantian7. Inequality and Identity: Social Class, Urban Space, and Sect-Joanne Randa Nucho8. When Exposure Is Not Enough: Sectarianism as a Response to Mixed Marriage-Lara Deeb

"Bringing together a set of brilliant reflections on the landscapes of everyday sectarianism in Lebanon, Practicing Sectarianism will be an invaluable resource for anthropologists, historians, and all those interested in the making and meanings of community in the modern Middle East and beyond. A truly splendid book."—Andrew Arsan, University of Cambridge "This ambitious volume puzzles through the everyday lives of sectarianism to offer exciting, and at times counter-intuitive, findings about this complex discourse of power and identity. Bringing together top anthropologists and historians, Practicing Sectarianism draws on the best of both disciplines to reframe the question of sect and sectarianism in Lebanon and beyond."—Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Northwestern University "Practicing Sectarianism subtly kills the concept that won't die, situating sectarianism at once in material reality and in dynamic social construction. Provocative, incisive, grounded in lived realities, the book delivers a powerful antidote to those who see Lebanon simplistically through the lens of religion. A necessary read."—Suad Joseph, University of California, Davis "A crucial criticism of the everyday practices and discrepant experiences of sectarianism by a range of brilliant scholars."—Ussama Makdisi, Rice University "The volume as a whole is crucial for Middle East collections and highly beneficial for all study of contemporary sectarianism. Essential."—K. Tölölyan, CHOICE