Download Free The Wink Of The Mona Lisa And Other Stories From The Gulf Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online The Wink Of The Mona Lisa And Other Stories From The Gulf and write the review.

This book explores the historiography, ports, and peoples of the Persian Gulf over the past two centuries, offering a more inclusive history of the region than previously available. Restoring the history of minority communities which until now have been silenced, the book provides a corrective to the 'official story' put forward by modern states.
This book chronicles the florescence of architecture in the Arabian Gulf after the expulsion of the Portuguese in the early 1600's. It demonstrates how the power vacuum created by the collapse of Portuguese control over the trade routes in the Indian Ocean encouraged a growth in fortified architecture, especially in Oman, that radiated out to the surrounding region and was then slowly replaced by new patterns in domestic and public architecture and town planning throughout the Gulf as the trade lines were secured and the individual countries took the first steps towards the formation of today's modern nation-states.The book documents the buildings and crafts of this era and analyses them within the framework of the political, economic, and social information available through primary sources from the period in a way that is both intelligent and accessible. It considers the settlements as part of a larger-connected network of cities, towns and villages and focuses both on how the buildings provided innovative solutions to the demanding climate and yet incorporated new decorative and functional ideas. Topics are extensively and richly illustrated with colored photographs of the buildings as they are now, black and white and color historic photographs from archival and museum collections, line drawings, and computer-generated reconstructions.The book is therefore attractive to a number of audiences, including those who live in or travel to the Gulf as well as people with an interest in Arab and Islamic design, culture and society, vernacular architecture, and post-colonial approaches to colonial history.
Reading, a complex and multi-faceted skill, is essential for life and academic success. While its mysteries still baffle first-language research, the nature of reading in a foreign language presents an even greater puzzle. However, given reading’s importance for EFL students who study their specializations in English, and whose future employment may depend on their competence in it, researchers must continue to investigate foreign language reading and devise ways of improving students’ capacity for it. Hence, this book, with its thorough coverage of up-to-date theory, practice and research, will be of great value in today’s educational context. As they strive to understand reading and help EFL students to acquire it, researchers and language teachers will find much of value here.
A beguiling exploration of the joys of reading across boundaries, inspired by the author’s year-long journey through a book from every country. Ann Morgan writes in the opening of this delightful book, "I glanced up at my bookshelves, the proud record of more than twenty years of reading, and found a host of English and North American greats starting down at me…I had barely touched a work by a foreign language author in years…The awful truth dawned. I was a literary xenophobe." Prompted to read a book translated into English from each of the world's 195 UN-recognized countries (plus Taiwan and one extra), Ann sought out classics, folktales, current favorites and commercial triumphs, novels, short stories, memoirs, and countless mixtures of all these things. The world between two covers, the world to which Ann introduces us with affection and no small measure of wit, is a world rich in the kind of narratives that engage us passionately: we meet an irreverent junk food–obsessed heroine in Kuwait, an explorer from Togo who spent years among the Inuit in Greenland, and a former child circus performer of Roma background seeking sanctuary in Switzerland. Ann's quest explores issues that affect us all: personal, political, national, and global. What is cultural heritage? How do we define national identity? Is it possible to overcome censorship and propaganda? And, above all, why and how should we read from other cultures, languages, and traditions? Illuminating and inspiring, The World Between Two Covers welcomes us into the global community of stories.
This much-needed guide to translated literature offers readers the opportunity to hear from, learn about, and perhaps better understand our shrinking world from the perspective of insiders from many cultures and traditions. In a globalized world, knowledge about non-North American societies and cultures is a must. Contemporary World Fiction: A Guide to Literature in Translation provides an overview of the tremendous range and scope of translated world fiction available in English. In so doing, it will help readers get a sense of the vast world beyond North America that is conveyed by fiction titles from dozens of countries and language traditions. Within the guide, approximately 1,000 contemporary non-English-language fiction titles are fully annotated and thousands of others are listed. Organization is primarily by language, as language often reflects cultural cohesion better than national borders or geographies, but also by country and culture. In addition to contemporary titles, each chapter features a brief overview of earlier translated fiction from the group. The guide also provides in-depth bibliographic essays for each chapter that will enable librarians and library users to further explore the literature of numerous languages and cultural traditions.
This book explores how houses are created, maintained and conceptualized in southern Oman. Based on long-term research in the Dhofar region, it draws on anthropology, sociology, urban studies and architectural history. The chapters consider physical and functional aspects, including regulations governing land use, factors in siting houses, architectural styles and norms for interior and exterior decorating. The volume also reflects on cultural expectations regarding how and when rooms are used and issues such as safety, privacy, social connectedness and ease of movement. Houses and residential areas are situated within the fabric of towns, comparison is made with housing in other countries in the Arabian peninsula, and consideration is given to notions of the ‘Islamic city’ and the ‘Islamic house’. The book is valuable reading for scholars interested in the Middle East and the built environment.
This book presents a rare investigation of the media landscape and gender dynamics in Emirati newsrooms, with a socio-cultural focus on the influence of tribal patriarchalism in determining Emirati women’s role as newsmakers. Shedding light on the stories of 40 Emirati and Arab expat journalists, including pioneer Emirati women journalists, the book offers insight into how these journalists construct gender differences and identity and how this influences their everyday attitudes, conversations, routines, and journalistic practices. The empirical study is supplanted with ethnographic explanations of the newsroom norms and journalistic practices from the author, who used participant observation inside two major news centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to understand the socio-cultural factors that shape the lives of Emirati and Arab expat journalists, their thoughts and beliefs about the media environment in the Emirates, and their opinions on authoritarian political control, censorship, and outdated media law. This book will interest students and scholars of journalism and journalistic practice, media policy, international journalism, gender studies, and Middle East studies.
Names such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been emerging in the world's eye over the past decade as exotic hotspots, wealthy from oil production and advanced in the means of technology. However, at the same time, the Arab Gulf States have managed to maintain their traditional culture, adapting it to modern life. With complete coverage on Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, Culture and Customs of the Arab Gulf States is a must-have for every high school and public library shelf. Clear and vivid descriptions of contemporary life in the Arab Gulf help students discover how traditions of the past have evolved into customs today. This exhaustive volume covers topics such as religion, festivals, cuisine, fashion, family life, literature, the media, and music, among many others. Up-to-date and comprehensive, this volume offers a unique and contemporary depiction of culture in some of the world's wealthiest, up-and-coming nations.
Advancing English Language Education Edited by Wafa Zoghbor & Thomaï Alexiou This volume contains a selection of nineteen articles that focus on skills and strategies for advancing English language teacher education in several contexts where English is taught to speakers of other language. The volume focuses on the teachers and learners as the prime participants in the learning process. The papers selected for inclusion represent the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and research interests of EFL educators and showcase contribution that document theory, research and pedagogy. The volume comprises six sections: Teacher Education and Professional Development; Young Learners; Testing and Assessment; Teaching of Writing Skills; Context-Specic Issues in EFL; Teaching, Learning, and Pedagogy Contributors: Alessandro Ursic, Alison Larkin Koushki, Athanasios Karasimos, Daria Grits, David Rear, Irshat Madyarov, Ivan Ivanov, James Milton, Laila Khalil, Larysa Nikolayeva, Mariam Al Nasser, Marianthi Serafeim, Marielle Risse, Marta Tryzna, Mher Davtyan, Michael M. Parrish, Nikita Berezin, Nour Al Okla, Peter Davidson, Richard D. Miller, Syuzanna Torosyan, Talin Grigorian, Thomaï Alexiou, Wafa Zoghbor, Zainab Rashed Aldhanhani
This reference work covers the classical, transitional and modern periods. Editors and contributors cover an international scope of Arabic literature in many countries.