University of Pennsylvania Press
Women of Fes: Ambiguities of Urban Life in Morocco
Key Metrics
- Rachel Newcomb
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- Paperback
- 9780812221312
- 9 X 6 X 0.7 inches
- 0.9 pounds
- Social Science > Anthropology - Cultural & Social
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
Throughout its history, Morocco has maintained a distinctive sense of identity. Its name conjures up visions of carpets and Casablanca, mint tea and the Marrakech Express, associations that are not entirely dispelled by visits to the country. However, in recent years Morocco has faced challenges to its stability. The advent of new technologies, such as satellite communications and the Internet, has enhanced the public's access to information and led to greater demands for human rights and government accountability. At the same time, Islamist influences are on the rise, with criticism from some that current structures of governance are not Islamic enough.
As different factions assert competing visions for the identity of the Moroccan state, the status of women is frequently invoked as a barometer of the country's progress. The nation-state has characterized the Moroccan female citizen as simultaneously modern, secular, and Islamic, while religious discourse has framed the nationalist vision as hopelessly enslaved to Western secularism, suggesting that the Moroccan woman needs to return to an authentic Muslim identity.
Based on two years of fieldwork conducted in the city of Fes, Rachel Newcomb's Women of Fes offers valuable insights into the everyday lives of Moroccan women. Newcomb evokes the struggles middle-class women face as they challenge and modify competing ideologies to create new forms of identity in work, family, and urban space. Simultaneously, the book situates women's lives within larger processes, such as globalization, human rights, and the construction of national identity.
Author Bio
I hold the Diane and Michael Maher Distinguished Professor of Teaching and Learning chair and am Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Rollins College. I earned my Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2004, and I also hold an MA from Johns Hopkins in The Writing Seminars.
I teach a broad range of courses in Anthropology and in the Middle Eastern and North African Studies Program, including Middle East Culture, Gender and Globalization, Women and Gender in the Middle East and North Africa, Middle Eastern Film, and Food, Culture, and Social Justice.
My research focuses on issues related to globalization, particularly in Morocco. I'm currently working on research locally and in Spain about how food cultures change in response to globalization, and during the immigration process.
My most recent book is Everyday Life in Global Morocco, published by Indiana University Press in 2017. I am also the author of Women of Fes: Ambiguities of Life in Urban Morocco (2009, University of Pennsylvania Press) and co-editor with David Crawford of Encountering Morocco: Fieldwork and Cultural Understanding, published 2013 by Indiana University Press.
I am also a frequent contributor to the Washington Post Book World.
Source: Rollins College
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