Mass Culture and Modernism in Egypt
Mass Culture and Modernism in Egypt
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This path-breaking study of Egyptian popular culture provides fresh and vital insights into the long struggle of modern Egypt to define its identity. Walter Armbrust examines Egyptian television, recorded music, the press, and the cinema, revealing the delicate balance between conservative nationalist imagery and a modernist ethic. However, this balance has been put in question both by producers and consumers of the media, reflecting a sense that the way modern Egypt is represented does not reflect the real experience of Egyptians.
- Uses much material never studied before in European-language literature
- Highly readable, since most technical detail is restricted to footnotes
- Very relevant to the current political situation in Egypt
Reviews & endorsements
"Mass Culture and Modernism in Egypt is a refreshing initiative that is bound to stir up controversy amongst modernist anthropologists, just as the belly-dancing Zuzu did amongst straight-laced scholars at Cairo University." William Washabaugh, American Anthropologist
"The creativity and intellectual sharpness of Armbrust's book will come as a relief to readers who had begun to suspect that 'popular culture' and 'thin enthnography' were made for each other." Anthropological Quarterly
Product details
July 1996Paperback
9780521484923
292 pages
228 × 152 × 21 mm
0.425kg
15 b/w illus. 1 table
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. The white flag
- 3. The split vernacular
- 4. The gifted musician
- 5. Classic, clunker, national narrative
- 6. Popular commentary, real lives
- 7. 'Vulgarity'.
