Bedouin "abjection": World heritage, worldliness, and worthiness at the margins of Arabia

Nathalie Peutz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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 languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)338-360
Number of pages23
JournalAmerican Ethnologist
Volume38
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2011

Keywords

  • Abjection
  • Bedouin
  • Global hierarchy of value
  • Soqotra Archipelago.
  • World Heritage
  • Yemen

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anthropology

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