This volume combines ethnographic accounts of fieldwork with overviews of recent anthropological literature about the region on topics such as Islam, gender, youth, and new media. It addresses contemporary debates about modernity, nation building, and the link between the ideology of power and the production of knowledge. Contributors include established and emerging scholars known for the depth and quality of their ethnographic writing and for their interventions in current theory.

Contributions by: Jon W. Anderson, Paul A. Silverstein, Nefissa Naguib, Susanne Dahlgren, Cortney L. Hughes, Emilio Spadola, Suad Joseph, Dawn Chatty, Sondra Hale, Kim Shively, Lara Deeb, Christine Hegel-Cantarella, Jessica Winegar, Sebastian Maisel, Charlotte Karagueuzian, Pamela Chrabieh Badine, Seteney Shami