Different Culture in Guest of the Sheik by Elizabeth...

There are many countries in the world and every country is unique and individualistic with many exclusive qualities. Everyone in the world has a culture but it is not easy to accept or agree with other people’s culture. The ethnography, â€Å"Guests of the Sheik†, written by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea really captures what it is like to live and to be immersed into another culture. Ethnography is â€Å"comprised of the writings of the anthropologist, detailing the life ways of a particular culture, investigated by means of direct fieldwork† (Arenson, and Miller-Thayer 1). Elizabeth Fernea lived in a small village of El Nahra in southern Iraq for two years to gather data for her anthropologist husband Bob. In the beginning, she had limited knowledge of Iraq, its religion or culture, but as she started connecting with the women of the society, she came to learn both about this foreign country and about herself. Acculturation is â€Å"the process of acceptance result ing for the contact between two cultures, or an individual interacting in at least two cultures† (517). As she builds relationships with the woman’s, she is acculturated. As Elizabeth Fernea first arrived at Diwaniya station, she was the only woman without an abayah. She said, â€Å"I began to be self-conscious. This is ridiculous, I told myself. Why should I have to war that ugly thing-it’s not my custom; the arguments with Bob about the abayah returned in a rush† (Fernea 5). This shows that she could not accept wearing something thatShow MoreRelatedGuest of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnok Fernea814 Words   |  3 PagesMiller-Thayer 520). Most of the cultures are used to seeing only female and male getting married but looking deeper into the society; we can see there are more to it. There are many different types of marriages. In an ethnography called, Guest of the Sheik, by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, she talks about her experiences in a small rural villag e of El Nahra in southern Iraq. Ethnography is â€Å"comprised of the writings of the anthropologist, detailing the life ways of a particular culture, investigated by meansRead More Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Essay1010 Words   |  5 PagesGuests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Elizabeth Fernea entered El Nahra, Iraq as an innocent bystander. However, through her stay in the small Muslim village, she gained cultural insight to be passed on about not only El Nahra, but all foreign culture. As Fernea entered the village, she was viewed with a critical eye, ?It seemed to me that many times the women were talking about me, and not in a particularly friendly manner; (70). The women of El Nahra could not understand why she was notRead MoreThe Roles of Rituals in Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea717 Words   |  3 PagesEvery Culture has a set of rituals that they partake in, that are often constructed over a long period of time. Simple Actions, and special moments contain so much meaning and make everlasting memories. All rituals despite the locations they originate from, or the location they are carried out in contain the same components, they are repetitive, symbolic, remind a certain group of people about their values and beliefs, and these ri tuals commemorate a significant moment. For example christians commemorateRead MoreEssay on What Is Anthropology? How Is It Done?2374 Words   |  10 Pagesshe transferred from Robert College in Istanbul, she changed her major to art history (Bass 1991:64). She visited the Roman ruins, but it wasnt the artifacts above ground that she was interested in (Bass 1991:64). She was interested in the earlier cultures buried underground (Bass 1991:64). When she completed her doctorate at Columbia in New York, she originally planned to apply atomic bomb techniques to archaeology by using atomic tracers, like lead isotopes, to map the global economy of theRead MoreGuests of the Sheik Essay1544 Words   |  7 PagesEastern Cultures Through its ethnocentric tales and family based beliefs, Elizabeth Warnock Fernea’s Guests of the Sheik suggests that to find the true representation of Islamic culture, one must leave ethnocentrism behind. Not only will we discuss ethnocentrism and the cultural differences between Western and Middle Eastern societies, we will also take a look at the women of El Nahra and family within the differing societies. Fernea entered El Nahra naà ¯ve to the culture. HoweverRead MoreGuests of the Sheik2095 Words   |  9 PagesGuests of the Sheik 10/27/10 Anthropology Ciara Schultz Out of all the many countries in the world, each one is unique and individualistic with many exclusive qualities to each one. Many times, the countries get compared to the Western civilization of the United States. The book Guests of the Sheik is just that, but more. An American woman, (Elizabeth Fernea) travels to a completely foreign land, not known at all to her and experiences the culture first hand. She is at first willing, sinceRead MoreThe Gypsies Case Study Answers1376 Words   |  6 Pageswho are boys are properly trained before entering adulthood. Although the women and men are separated for the majority of the day, they come together to eat and share stories. Even though the genders have different responsibilities, they all work together for survival and to preserve their culture. In the text, â€Å"Picturing the Past: Gender in National Geographic†, women in early history, prehistoric times, are viewed in a similar way to the Gypsie woman. In fact, both are often overlooked in comparison