Arabic-L:New Book:World of Obituaries

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 30 May 2002
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1) Subject:New Book:World of Obituaries

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1)
Date:  30 May 2002
From:Renee Tambeau <Renee.Tambeau at wayne.edu>
Subject:New Book:World of Obituaries

The World
of Obituaries
Gender across Cultures and over Time
Mushira A. Eid

This unusual book, The World of Obituaries, looks at obituaries as a rich
source of information on cultural representations of gender. It examines
obituaries published from 1938 to 1998 in three cultures-Egypt, Iran, and
the United States-to analyze how women and men are represented in their
death notices and how these representations have changed over time. It
also
shows how obituaries, viewed as texts, at times converge with but often
diverge from expected norms.
Mushira Eid has applied quantitative and qualitative analytical
techniques
to 4,400 obituaries, using names, titles, and occupations as linguistic
symbols of identity. Data were collected for a month at ten-year
intervals
to measure change. From them, she demonstrates differences within the
world
of obituaries, relates this world to the world at large, and constructs a
model based on this comparison. Resulting facts are placed within the
context of women's movements in the three cultures and are related to
other
sociocultural and political events that may have influenced perceptions
of
gender roles.
The World of Obituaries offers a unique synthesis of information on
women,
men, and public space in three cultures. It opens a new window on
gender-related differences in language, both cross-culturally and
historically, and invites readers to view obituaries in a new light.

Mushira A. Eid has had a life-long fascination with obituaries. She is a
professor of Arabic and linguistics at the University of Utah.

Publication Date:
May 30, 2002

336 pages,
ISBN 0-8143-2775-9,
cloth: $39.95

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End of Arabic-L:  30 May 2002