Abstract
In Yemen's Soqotra Archipelago, during the years immediately preceding and following its inscription in 2008 as a UNESCO World Heritage site-and at a time when "Bedouinness" in much of the Arab world had been or was being elevated to a marketable heritage-Soqotran pastoralists spoke frequently of being Bedouin as a form of categorical abjection. Examining the work of these iterations, I argue that "Bedouin abjection" is a form of dialogic critique of the "global hierarchy of value" and an ironic assessment of the Soqotran pastoral present. I further assert that anthropologists must be attentive to the universal resonances of these abject articulations.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 338-360 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | American Ethnologist |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2011 |
Keywords
- Abjection
- Bedouin
- Global hierarchy of value
- Soqotra Archipelago.
- World Heritage
- Yemen
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anthropology