30 Oct 2008

Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America [free E-Book]
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington DC, US.
Self-description:
"Seven years ago this week, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy published my book [Martin S. Kramer, 2001] 'Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America' [137pp, ISBN: 0944029493 - ed.]. I'm pleased to announce that as of this morning [23 October 2008 - ed.], and for the first time, the entire book is available from the Institute as a free download (pdf). [...]

The book appeared six weeks after 9/11 (here's [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E7D61F30F930A35752C1A9679C8B63] the 'New York Times' report of its publication), and had a much greater impact than I imagined it would when I wrote it. The Institute and I hope that by making it freely available, 'Ivory Towers on Sand' will live yet another life, especially among today's university and college students. If you are a student or know a student, share the link. If you are in a Middle East course, send the link to your classmates and ask your professor to discuss the book in class. If you are a faculty member, it's now easy to include the book in your next syllabus. (It should definitely be in the syllabus of any course that assigns Zachary Lockman's 'Contending Visions of the Middle East' [Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism. 2004. Cambridge U. Press. ISBN: 0521629373) - ed.], where 'Ivory Towers' is critiqued over half a dozen pages. Students should be encouraged to read both books and form their own opinion.) [...]

For emailing convenience, here is the url: http://washingtoninstitute.org/download.php?file=IvoryTowers.pdf - Martin Kramer."
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments; Preface; Introduction; An American Invention; Said's Splash; Islam Obscured; Misstating the State; The Beltway Barrier; The Cultivation of Irrelevance; Conclusion: When Gods Fail; Appendix; Index.
URL http://sandbox.blog-city.com/ivory_towers_on_sand_download.htm
Internet Archive (web.archive.org) [the document was not archived at the time of this abstract]
Link reported by: T. Matthew Ciolek (tmciolek--at--coombs.anu.edu.au)
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