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Good books / Documentaries on the Middle East?

happydude123 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:09:58 -0800

Good books or documentaries about the middle east Hi all,

I am planning to do an independant research project for my political science class on the middle east. I need a topic and a general direction so that I can start researching for a thesis. I was wondering if you guys could recommend any good documentaries, books, or anything that would help me get started. I would like to talk about some aspect of the effects of US presence / policy in the region. Maybe some clash of civilizations, but any suggestions would be helpful

Thanks

Looking for books on building military castles (ca. Middle Ages-era)

noztran — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:11:09 -0800

I am looking for resources (preferably books) on how castles were built, say, why stairs are spiralled in one direction and not the other, or what are the pros&cons of circular towers vs. octagonal ones, or the considerations for putting internal and external defence rings, the height and thickness of walls, or the differences between how the castles were built in different countries, etc. Thanks in advance!

Middle School book club for adults!

koselig — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:46:32 -0800

Middle School book club for adults! A group of friends and I have recently started a book club featuring middle school literature. The first book we read was The Giver and the resulting discussion was amazing. I am looking for more books like this - young adult literature with larger themes. We have also considered Island of the Blue Dolphins and A Wrinkle in Time. What other books would you recommend?

Amo Amas Awhat?

The Whelk — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:23:36 -0800

Is there a Medieval Linguist in the house? I need a very short conversation between Cistercian nuns in Saxony translated into Medieval Latin. Any help so I don't sound like a complete idiot warmly welcomed. Background, it's 1301 in Lower Saxony at Wienhausen Abbey

"He wishes in all humbleness to adore the relic."

"Impossible."

"But abbess, he has brought a wonder! He says it is a gift. He only wants a moment with it."

"Bring him to me."

Total Side Question: I can't figure out if the nuns wouldn't used Old German or Latin when speaking to each other rather than writing religious texts. Some sources say Old French, even.

working in Qatar for young women

whatzit — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:37:13 -0800

Expat life in Doha, Qatar: I am likely to relocate in two weeks to a country I have never been to. My biggest concerns are 1) the work environment in general and specifically for a young American woman trying to get things done in an industrial, engineering position and 2) the social life for said young women, who are used to having a lot of guy friends. I am not concerned about alcohol or pork. I am concerned about the seasons, lots of driving, and being surrounded by people who came to get rich (see threads on the Emirates, e.g.). Based on the responses in other AskMes, I am a bit concerned about boredom.

If there is anything like an (international) community of researchers or graduate students, I do want to know about that.

Kids Gone Wild.

dzaz — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:51:15 -0800

teacherfites: I've been a pretty decent middle school special educator for a few years now, working with all kinds of disabilities but most of my kids have behavioral issues. Not to be overconfident, but want to mention I've been nominated as Teacher of the Year in my state, but more importantly, I've become the go-to confidante for almost all of my students. So far, so good. The problem began with this school year.

Basically, due to budget cuts my class size has more than doubled, and at any given moment in my Resource Room (the special education room), I've got over 14 kids.

And I can't deal with it. It's too many kids with special issues and they're not getting the help they need. At any given moment, several kids are being pretty naughty. Pulling their pants up, throwing things, making faces, etc.

It's a fairly structured class in general: the kids have specific work they need to do, they can usually do some of it, but because of the sheer number of kids (which is definitely a behavioral trigger for the majority of them), they start acting up.

The admins want me to deal with it because they're also short staffed and don't want these kids in the office.

We've done role playing and games about respect. We've done quiet 1:1 chats. We've done reward systems (work for 10 minutes, get a break). Nothing is sticking for me this year.

If it helps, these are 8th graders who without exception are supposed to be on meds for various things (ADD, psychosis, ODD, OCD, etc.) They're not always on their meds, though.

Any ideas?

Skirts and Rushes: a Medieval Mystery

taz — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:59:19 -0800

Drafty castles, stone construction, floors strewn with rushes, noble ladies' trailing gowns... Anyone who's read any historical fiction set in the Middle Ages is familiar with these popular Medieval motifs, but I have been troubled by a number of questions about these items. Perhaps we have some period history mavens who can ease my confusion? (Warning: Long! Strewn! Possibly moldy.) I was completely fascinated to find this page of notes about real life for the upper classes in the Middle Ages, and it addresses one of the things I've always wondered about. In fact, I came upon it while specifically searching for information about rushes as floor covering. In this piece, the author rejects the idea of loosely strewn straw-like rushes (in rich households), because of the impracticality of the ladies of the house, with their sweeping gowns, navigating such domestic terrain. She opines that what was actually used were woven mats made of rushes, which seems to make more sense, especially since woven/braided rush mats have been in existence since at least 4000 BC (scroll to the bottom) - and so why wouldn't these wealthy families have these instead of scattered rushes, at least in all the areas where the family members were likely to frequent?

Could "rushes" just have been shorthand for "rush mats" in some cases where we have recorded references to this practice?

Yet, Erasmus (1466-1536) wrote this about Medieval floors in England:

"The doors are, in general, laid with white clay, and are covered with rushes, occasionally renewed, but so imperfectly that the bottom layer is left undisturbed, sometimes for twenty years, harbouring expectoration, vomiting, the leakage of dogs and men, ale droppings, scraps of fish, and other abominations not fit to be mentioned. Whenever the weather changes a vapour is exhaled, which I consider very detrimental to health. I may add that England is not only everywhere surrounded by sea, but is, in many places, swampy and marshy, intersected by salt rivers, to say nothing of salt provisions, in which the common people take so much delight I am confident the island would be much more salubrious if the use of rushes were abandoned, and if the rooms were built in such a way as to be exposed to the sky on two or three sides, and all the windows so built as to be opened or closed at once, and so completely closed as not to admit the foul air through chinks; for as it is beneficial to health to admit the air, so it is equally beneficial at times to exclude it".

(I'm assuming "doors" is just a typo here, and should have been "floors.") Was he speaking of more common dwellings, instead of rich families who had the manpower to have the rushes at least changed quite regularly, if not replaced by much more practical woven mats that could be removed, shaken out and/or washed, allowing for the floor beneath to be cleaned?... not to mention solving the problem of "strewn rushes" being plowed through by trailing gowns, capes and cloaks?

But perhaps those lavish gowns and outer garments were rarely worn, for significant events and high social occasions only? Did even the most aristocratic ladies wear far more practical, floor-escaping dress in their day-to-day lives?

I've also wondered about dried rushes as flooring in castles where candles and lamps were the nighttime light sources, in combination with tapestries hung over the walls, curtained beds, etc... the stone floors and walls wouldn't have burned, but it seems like the inhabitants of those rooms would certainly have been at great risk.

And... of course, it doesn't take a modern mind to recognize that insects and vermin will quickly infest aging/moldy straw/rush debris. For poor people who spent every waking moment struggling to merely insure their basic survival, this is perhaps simply one of the many things that they didn't have the luxury to address, but what about the luckier few... what were their floors & rushes practices?

Also, I do understand we are talking about a period that spans centuries, and significant geographical and cultural differences - in a time when few were literate, so precise Best Practices manuals addressing something so mundane cannot be expected, but if you have more info, well... I'm oddly curious, and welcome any insights and/or links.

Best books on the middle ages?

fire&wings — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:04:57 -0800

I'm looking for the best books about life in the middle ages. I am keeping the question as open as possible but I do have a few areas of specific interest. I am interested in the day to day thought processes and beliefs of people of any nationality in the middle ages. Specifically their reactions to things like illness, death, weather/nature, the hunt/harvest, strangers and the belief systems and rituals involved in those reactions. Ideally the subject would be the uneducated peasant. Serious works of wider scope on medieval life are also welcomed if there are elements of sociology etc. I'm not interested in books focussing on cookery, costumes etc alone.

Multi-tasking in the Middle East.

milkdropcoronet — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:16:07 -0800

Multi-tasking in the Middle East -- planning a trip to the region and have a few goals to accomplish. Besides being a vacation, this trip is also equal parts family reunion and cultural diaspora study (personal, not academic). Looking for tips on this kind of trip! Most people asking questions about travel to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, etc. tend to be contractors, workers, people looking to follow the money trail at an emerging center of the global economy.

Me? I'm trying to meet long-lost relatives from the Philippines -- cousins my age (late 20's) who moved to Saudi Arabia and the UAE because they found opportunities there that were more attractive than the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Ultimately, I'm interested in the macro story of Filipinos working abroad, and how our culture evolves and adapts to the countries we work in.

There are a lot of moving parts to a trip like this, so I'm in a research-gathering stage.

- At the minimum, I need to find a place to stay for 3-4 weeks. Staying with my relatives may not be an option. Are there any long-term stay arrangements? Rent a condo? Couch-surfing? Craigslist?
- Something "structured" would be helpful too -- it can be anything from a volunteer abroad program to an internship. Besides absorbing the culture, I'd like to be actively helping in a service organization, or learning something in a structured environment. (Universities are being built at a rapid pace there, and big institutions like NYU are opening campuses in Dubai.)
- Any professional events are also cool to attend. Media conferences, world expos, etc. Anything geeky, techy actually. Not sure if that kind of stuff has made it to the Middle East yet, but I'm sure there are at least a few in 2009. Knowing about these events could help me time when I plan to visit.

My questions are pretty broad, but any info is appreciated as I shape this itinerary.

I promise to be a better father.

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:35:21 -0800

FamilyFilter: My family’s problems over the past 20+ years culminated into one huge fight over Christmas. I need to know where to go from here. This may not be the venue for a problem of this magnitude, and let me start off by saying I know you are not a psychiatrist or a doctor. I’m just lost right now and feel like I don’t quite understand what I should do. I may seek professional counseling in the coming weeks. I’ll get to what happened this Christmas in a bit, but first let me set you up with some family history:

I am a very sensitive male in my mid-twenties who grew up in the Midwest. I’m married and live over 2,000 miles from my family now. My parents are still married (more on that later) and I have four siblings. I am the fourth child, so the birth order goes as follows (from oldest to youngest): Sister 1, Sister 2, Brother 1, Me, Brother 2. I mention birth order because I feel like a lot of my frustration arises out of me being the middle of three boys. My father’s side of the family has a history of severe mental illness (manic depression), and it is my opinion that my dad has had some form of mental illness throughout my entire life. This is affecting our family and may result in my parents getting divorced soon (overheard my Mom telling this to my sister this Christmas). My dad always appears to be depressed and only has negative things to say. He’s emotionally abused my Mom for as long as I can remember and it has significantly affected my personality. I’m ridden with social anxiety and have noticeable anger management problems – I’m also very self conscious. I don’t take any medication. Growing up, my biggest enemy in our family was my older brother (Brother 1). I don’t recall a single day from my childhood where he didn’t either beat me up or emotionally abuse me. Occasionally he was punished by my father, but most of the time it was he and I who were pitted against each other to see who was the “stronger” son. The beatings stopped when he left for college, but the emotional abuse continued at each and every family gathering to this day. For the record, he’s told my wife that he’s regretted the way he’s treated me over the course of my life (not that it makes it any less painful to remember) and he wishes he was a better brother.

After I moved away, I continued to come home to see my family, because I truly love spending time with my younger brother, mother, and grandparents, and a part of me wants to give everyone a second chance at having a happy family. I don’t want to be the only sibling that doesn’t come home for Christmas, etc. and I’ve been willing to go through the abuse to be able to spend time with the family members that I enjoy being around.

Now on to this Christmas. I recently stopped eating meat, and never once brought it up on my own over the course of this vacation. In my opinion, it is a controversial issue because I come from a family of hunters who live in the Midwest and obviously love meat. I tried my best to avoid talking about this subject because I have social anxiety (even around family) and just don’t like debating in anything other than a one-on-one setting. At each and every meal this Christmas, my brother or Dad brought up the issue and I tried to politely say “Can we talk about this later?” because I wanted to enjoy dinner with people that I loved. They couldn’t leave the issue alone and I felt as if I was being attacked. Later on in the evening, I confronted my older brother about the way he treated me at dinner (this was after he ‘attacked’ me at three separate meals). His excuse was he was only trying to make conversation. Words were exchanged for about five minutes (between me, Sister 2, Mom, Brother 1, Brother 2), and it ended with Brother 1 saying he never wanted to talk to me again. My dad didn’t know about the argument until the next day when he found a handwritten note from Brother 1 who took off in the night. The note basically said that he didn’t want to come home next Christmas and that he felt like he wasn’t a part of the family.

I’m frustrated because I have sympathy for my brother because he’s endured emotional and physical abuse from my dad, which is probably why he’s done it to me. I feel like my dad and my brother are poisons who suck the life out of me. My relationship with my dad turned me to a very serious drug problem about three years ago (bordering on suicidal). Now that I’m living on my own, I’m clean – but I still have to drink heavily around family, which worries me.

Basically, I just want some guidance on what I should do. Should I just cut off ties with all of my family? I only make it back to the Midwest about once a year (for 4-5 days) and, other than that, I don’t see any family members. I would feel so incredibly guilty if I had to tell my dad or brother that I didn’t want them in my life anymore because family is so important to me – but I also can’t take the pain anymore.

Like I said, counseling is in my near future, but I just need some immediate advice on the subject so I can sleep at night. I haven’t even touched the surface of our family’s problems, so if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Thanks in advance!

Best SF Middle Schools?

asavage — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:07:54 -0800

SFMiddleSchoolFilter. Help me figure out which are the best and worst San Francisco middle schools Everyone in San Francisco with 8-9 year olds (I have twin 9 year old boys) has the same intel: there are 3 good public middle schools in SF, and if you don't get into those you pretty much gotta go private. SFUSD's site provides information but little context. (GOD I have government websites) and there's a lot of advertising driven sites like greatschools.net which have a lot of info, but they also have little context.
My kids currently attend Miraloma- lots of parental involvement, great school. My kids have done well there. I'm sure there are middle schools with lots of parental involvement. I'm not hung up on them going to a super academic school. Just want a good school, run by nice thoughtful people, who care, and have room to care. Anecdotal information is greatly appreciated, but context in the wider picture is also great.
I"m willing to think about private, and I'm also collating information about that too, but before I commit to that, I want to know the public landscape.

Victorian era travel journals and exploration books?

thewalrus — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:02:55 -0800

I'm looking for historical travel journals and books in the public domain. Specifically I'm interested in anything related to Victorian era exploration of the middle east and central Asia. About one month ago I came across the Project Gutenberg collection of books written by Arnold Henry Savage Landor, who seemed to delight in traveling "the hard way". As an example, in 1902 he decided to ride the train from Moscow to Baku, get on a Caspian lake steamer, travel to a port in Northern Iran and make his way over land through Iran to the western end of Balochistan, and from there to Quetta. In true Victorian era explorer fashion he brought a huge and unwieldy collection of scientific instruments, cameras, modern rifles, pistols and other things which baffled the local population. Reading any of his books one shifts between a sense of amusement (the guy believed in phrenology!) and genuine fascination at his observations of places and cultures that had rarely been explored or contacted by English speaking cultures. He goes into some detail about the historical, tribal and cultural background of the people in western Balochistan and southern / south-west Afghanistan.

Another example of a book in this genre is the Mark Twain non-fiction work Following the Equator in which he devotes a large section to describing his 1895 travels over-land throughout Australia, India and South Africa, with many amusing Twain-style anecdotes about the local cultures seen from the perspective of an American humor writer.

I'm looking for more public domain books in this style, although the Victorian era doesn't need to match exactly. Scientific observations aside, I found Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle to be a fascinating read. If it's something I can get from Project Gutenberg in plain TXT / HTML formats that would be a plus.

Middle School History Project

superduperfly — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:22:12 -0800

My 13 year old daughter asked for help in coming up with ideas for a paper she needs to write for her history class. She needs to write about any historical event or figure that can be used to illustrate both conflict and compromise. I am trying to come up with a topic that would be fun for her to research but not so common that 1/2 the class will be writing about the same thing. Any ideas?

Hello, I'll be your substitute teacher today. My Indian-name is He-who-breaths-erratically-into-paper-bag...

es_de_bah — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:20:01 -0800

How can I be a good substitute teacher for middle and high school kids? I've reviewed the excellent thread about elementary school teaching. Still, secondary ed requires largely different tactics/experience. I'd like to hear from middle and high school teachers. What works? How do I achieve discipline? How do i provide help? How do I judge the proper response to the many thorny "mandated reporter" issues i may face?

A pre/mid/post-pubescent classroom offers many unique challenges. I'd be terribly grateful for some insights into what works in the current setting.

I am just beginning my sub work for the following reasons:
1) I need some money, dammit.
2) I would like to go into secondary ed and I wanted to see if I could deal with the classroom setting.
3) Well, Hell! Public education is important and I've often felt that it is mismanaged and mis-implemented. As a prospective "progressive" teacher, any type of info is helpful as I embark on my first, skin deep foray into the world of public education.

Any input, from success stories to gripes, would be appreciated.

Translate my t-shirt; Farsi? Arabic?

wolfsleepy — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:36:48 -0800

Great graphic on this t-shirt, but we've curious as to what it actually says (if anything). It looks like farsi to me, but I could be wrong. The t-shirt in question

Going to Beirut

pranalaxmi — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:54:04 -0800

I'm considering a stop in Beirut for a few days in late April on my way back from Syria to the US. Any recommendations on things to see or places not to miss? On that note, things to be particularly careful about right now? Unfortunately my stay is limited to about 3 days.

I want amba sauce.

Foam Pants — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:46:46 -0800

I am craving a recipe for amba sauce. I have been getting into making food from the Middle East. Saveur magazine recently had a little blurb on amba sauce and, considering my love of tangy-sweet and fenugreek, I think I would love it. I looked for it on the source it mentioned but couldn't find it and I hesitate to buy it as I have run into references that say the jarred stuff can be too salty. I looked for a recipe online but no go. Anybody know how to make it? Going to a grocery store is out of the question as I live in the boondocks. Any recommendations for a cookbook are welcome as well.

Hygiene in the Middle Ages

victorashul — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:22:51 -0800

Hygiene in the Middle Ages to 19th century Any books, articles on this subject. Emphasis on hygiene in Europe. I've found a MetaFilter article here. Something along those lines but more comprehensive.

Calling all Middle Eastern music buffs...

anonymous78 — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 13:07:17 -0800

I'm looking for a Cheb Mami song which makes use, I think, of bagpipes. It's a very danceable song with a catchy chorus and was/is quite popular - I know I've heard it in NY and Cairo.

Identify this Middle Eastern song.

mykescipark — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 04:41:42 -0800

MidEastMusicFilter: Ethnomusicologists and Middle Eastern-music fans, can you identify this song? And, in any case, can you tell me more about the style of music to which it belongs?

Pop Song Analogies

ruwan — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:55:21 -0800

For a Friend: What are some songs about about people who used to see eye to eye, but now they hate each other and can't understand each other? Or about righteous people trying to smash down lower people? (For an essay about the history of the middle east... She's using modern pop songs as an analog (ideally bad pop songs, but all are fine). So any songs that can be seen as analogies for the Shiite/Sunni split, the Crusades, colonialism, globalization, etc. would be fantastic.) Thanks!

What is the deal with Santa Claus

Botunda — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 13:51:44 -0800

Does Santa have a middle name?