Trickster Humour in Randa Jarrar's A Map of Home: Negotiating Arab American Muslim Female Sexuality

Randa Jarrar’ s A Map of Home (2008), a major contemporary Arab American woman's novel, utilizes trickster humour as a way to resist the ideological manufacture of the Muslim female body propounded by US orientalism, Islamist orthodoxy and secular Arab patriarchy. Current scholarship on A Map of Home has not examined the relationship between humour and contemporary female sexuality. Focusing mostly on authorial tone, this article reads the novel's narrator-protagonist, Nidali Ammar, as a trickster figure, who resists being perceived as a cultural heroine and in doing so disrupts the sacredness of social conventions. The trickster A Map of Home celebrates, and Nidali enacts, prompts readers to laugh at key cultural norms shaping the Muslim female body in post-9/11 US sculpture. This inquiry examines a range of interconnected sexual themes—most notably, ‘proper’ sexual boundaries, orientations and codes of virginity—to illustrate how trickster humour fosters Arab American women's agency.     

Five years’ progress in Iraq

General

The Communist States and the West. Edited by Adam Bromke and Philip Uren. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. x + 242. Index. 42s.

Central Asia

The Formation of the Soviet Central Asian Republics. A Study in Soviet Nationalities Policy 1917–36. By R. Vaidyanath. New Delhi People's Publishing House, 1967. Pp. xiii + 297. Maps. Index. Rs.30.

Beyond the Urals. Economic Developments in Soviet Asia. By Violet Conolly. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xx + 420. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 75s.

South Asia

The Political System of Pakistan. By Khalid B. Sayeed. Boston, Houghton MifBin Company, 1967. Pp. 321. Bibliog. Index. No price.

India and Ceylon. Unity and Diversity. Edited by Philip Mason. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xi + 311. Maps. Index. 55s.

The Hindu Family in its Urban Setting. By Aileen D. Ross. Toronto University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 325. Bibliog. Index. 18s.

Under the Bo Tree. Studies in caste, kinship, and marriage in the interior of Ceylon. By N. Yalman. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1967. Pp. xii+406. Maps. Bibliog. Index. $8.50. 68s.

Morals and Merit. A Study of Values and Social Controls in South Asian Societies. By Christoph von Fürer‐Haimendorf. London, Weidenfeld and Nicol‐son, 1967. Pp. xii + 239. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

South‐West Asia

The Evolution of Oil Concessions in the Middle East and North Africa. By Henry Cattan. New York, Oceana Publications, Inc., 1967. Pp. xvi + 173. Maps. Index. $7.50.

Politics and the Military in Jordan. A Study of the Arab Legion 1921–57. By P. J. Vatikiotis. London, Frank Cass, 1967. Pp. xvi +169. Map. Index. 30s.

Modern Egypt. By Tom Little. London, Ernest Benn, 1967. Pp. xiii + 281. Map. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

South‐East Asia

The Southeast Asian City. A Social Geography of the Primate Cities of Southeast Asia. By T. G. McGhee. London, G. Bell and Sons, 1967. Pp. 204. Sketch‐maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 30s.

The Southeast Asian World. By Keith Buchanan. London, G. Bell and Sons, 1967. Pp. 176. Sketch‐maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 27s. 6d.

Government and Politics in Malaysia. By R. S. Milne. Boston, Houghton Mifflin; London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 259. Maps. Index. 22s.

Behind the Lines—Hanoi. By Harrison E. Salisbury. London, Secker and Warburg, 1967. Pp. 243. Maps. Illus. 30s.

Malaya: The Communist Insurgent War, 1948–1960. By Edgar O'Ballance. London, Faber, 1966. Pp. 188. Map. Index. 30s.

Hell in a Very Small Place. The Siege of Dien Bien Phu. By Bernard B. Fall. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 515. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 55s.

Far East

China. Ageless Land and Countless People. By Chiao‐Min Hsieh. London, D. van Nostrand Co. Inc., 1967. Pp. vi+138. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 14s.

China. Emerging World Power. By Victor P. Petrov. London, D. van Nostrand Co. Inc., 1967. Pp. vi + 138. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 14s.

China After Mao. With Selected Documents. By Doak A. Barnett. Princeton University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. vii+287. Cloth cover, 48s. Paper cover, 16s.

Defeat in the East. The Mark of Mao Tse‐tung on War. By Michael Elliott‐Bateman. London, Oxford University Press. Pp. 270. 40s.

Liang Ch'i‐ch'ao and the Mind of Modern China. By Joseph R. Levenson. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, 1967. Pp. 256. Appendix. Bibliography. Index. $1.50 (paperback).

Chinese Looking Glass. By Dennis Bloodworth. London, Seeker and Warburg, 1967. Pp. 379. Index. Bibliog. 36s.

Biography and Autobiography

Four Lamas of Dolpo. Tibetan Biographies. Edited and translated by D. L. Snell‐grove. Oxford, Bruno Cassirer, 1967. Pp. ix + 302. Maps. Illus. Index. 84s.

Morley and India 1906–1910. By Stanley A. Wolpert. University of California Press, 1967. Pp. 299. Bibliog. Index. 56s. $6.95.

British Baptist Missionaries in India 1793–1837: The History of Serampore and its Missions. By E. Daniel Potts. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 276. Bibliog. Index. 57s. 6d.

The Rebellious Rani. By Sir John Smyth, V.C., M.C. London, Frederick Muller, 1966. Pp. ii + 223. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Orphan with a Hoop. The Life of Emile Bustani. By Desmond Stewart. London, Chapman and Hall, 1967. Pp. 218. Index. 50s.

A Bedouin Boyhood. By Isaak Diqs. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 176. 21s.

Li Ta‐Chao and the Origins of Chinese Marxism. By Maurice Meisner. Harvard University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xvii + 326. Bibliog. Index. 40s.

The Japanese Miracle Men. By Ralph Hewins. London, Secker and Warburg, 1967. Pp. 476. Illus. 70s.

Culture and Civilization

Shilappadikaram (The Ankle Bracelet). By Prince Ilangô Adigal. Translated by Alain Daniélou. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. x + 210. 25s.

The Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayaam. A new translation with critical commentaries. By Robert Graves and Omar Ali‐Shah. London, Cassell, 1967. Pp. 86. Bibliog. 21s.

Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsün Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. Translated by Burton Watson. New York, London, Columbia University Press, 1967. Pp. 135. Index. 72s.

China's First Unifier. A study of the Ch'in Dynasty as seen in the life of Li Ssu. By Derk Bodde. London, Oxford University Press; Hong Kong University Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 270. Bibliog. Index. 60s.

An Anthology of Chinese Verse. Han Wei Chin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Translated by J. D. Frodsham, with the assistance of Ch'eng Hsi. London, Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xxxix+ 198. 35s.

A Collection of Chinese Lyrics. By A. Ayling and D. Mackintosh. London, Rout‐ledge and Kegan Paul, 1965. Pp. xv + 254. Index. 42s.

A Little Primer of Tu Fu. By David Hawkes. London, Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 243. Index. 55s.

The Tenth Man. By Wei Wu Wei. Hong Kong University Press; Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. xii + 234. Colophen. Index. 27s.

A Short History of Chinese Art. By Michael Sullivan. London, Faber, 1967. Pp. 279. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

The Indianization of China—and of South‐east Asia. By H. G. Quaritch Wales. London, Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 1967. Pp. 156. Maps. Illus. Index. 63s.

History

Tibet. A Political History. By Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 369. Map. Bibliog. Index. 72s.

Tibet. Considerations on Inner Asian History. By Nirmal Chandra Sinha. Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, Calcutta, 1967. Pp. 70. Rs.10.00.

The First Afghan War, 1838–1842. By J. A. Norris. London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. xvi + 500. Map. Bibliog. Index. 80s.

The Lost Centuries. From the Muslim Empires to the Renaissance of Europe 1145–1453. By Sir John Glubb. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1967. Pp. 511. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 45s.

Throne and Mandarins. China's Search for a Policy during the Sino‐French Controversy 1880–1885. By Lloyd E. Eastman. Harvard University Press; Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiii + 254. Bibliog. Index. 48s.

Sino‐Russian Relations in the 17th Century. By Vincent Ch'en. The Hague, Mar‐tinus Nijhoff, 1966. Pp. x +147. Bibliog. Index. 17 guilders.

Religion and Philosophy

The Islamic Law of Nations. Shaybani's Siyar. Translated by Majid Khadduri. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xviii + 311. Bibliog. Index. 64s.

A Pilgrimage to Lalish. By C. J. Edmonds. London, Royal Asiatic Society, 1967 (Prize Publication Fund Vol. XXI). Pp. xii + 88. Map. Illus. 35s.

Shinto. At the Fountainhead of Japan. By Jean Herbert. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 622. Map. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 70s.

Religion in Japanese History. By Joseph M. Kitagawa. New York and London, Columbia University Press, 1966. Pp. x + 475. Bibliog. Index. 72s.

Travel

Tracks of an Intruder. By Gordon Young. London, Souvenir Press, 1967. Pp. 191. Illus. 25s.

Turkey. A Traveller's Guide and History. By Gwyn Williams. London, Faber, 1967. Pp. 318. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 50s.

Castles and Churches of the Crusading Kingdom. By T. S. R. Boase, with colour photographs by Richard Cleave. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 121. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 75s.

Sail and Sweep in China. The History and Development of the Chinese Junk. By G. R. G. Worcester. London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1966. Pp. xv + 146. Map. Illus. Index. 28s. 6d.     

Alleviating rural poverty through agricultural growth

The article examines the role of agricultural GDP growth in alleviating rural poverty in LDCs. Cross‐sectional regression analysis indicates that GDP growth by itself takes a very long time to reduce poverty significantly. It suggests that decreases in land concentration could have a more immediate impact on reducing rural poverty; the budgetary and other costs of implementing such changes are not, however, considered. The preferred approach is a combination of equitable growth and redistributive measures.     

Improving Public Service Education Programs through Assessing the Performance of MPA Alumni

Educational outcomes assessment can improve public service education programs. This article applies the Model of Learning Outcomes for Public Service Education which suggest that enabling characteristics—factors that mediate the relationship among immediate, intermediate, and longer term outcomes—can improve our understanding of public service education. A survey was conducted of alumni at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and the American University in Cairo in Cairo, Egypt. The responses from the two groups of MPA program alumni were striking: curriculum understanding and application were markedly similar, suggesting that this model is appropriate for use in different contexts.     

Preparation of Disappearing Inks and Studying the Fading Time on Different Paper Surfaces

Abstract: Disappearing inks have been used in different fields, but it may be abused in forgery and counterfeiting. This research was conducted on the preparation of disappearing inks using different concentrations of thymolphthalein, phenolphthalein, and their mixture. The prepared inks were applied to different types of handwriting papers. It was found that the handwriting stability increased by increasing thymolphthalein, phenolphthalein, or alkali concentration, but in the case of using 4 mL of 1 normal (N) NaOH, the handwriting stability of phenolphthalein and its mixture inks decreased. Deciphering of the faded handwriting was evaluated by different methods; using optical deciphering, the faded handwriting did not respond to the different light sources. All the faded handwriting was visible when treated with alkaline solution. There was no change in the faded handwriting when heated to 100°C; phenolphthalein and mixture inks containing 0.5 mL of 1 N NaOH became red when only Azhar and Xerox papers were heated to 150°C.     

Parliamentary Elections Egypt 2011： A Multi-Stakeholder Groups Assessment

This study aimed at conducting a multi-stakeholder assessment of the recent Egyptian parliamentary elections that took place after the Egyptian January 25, 2011 revolution. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, it outlines the directions of different stakeholder groups＇ perceptions toward the elections. The qualitative analysis, based on a review of the literature and an examination of published and online media, emphasized the divergent opinions of the groups studied. The quantitative analysis focused on the results of an online survey distributed to a sample of 299 resident Egyptians representing the different demographic features of the eligible voting community. A valid and reliable scale was used to assess the perception of respondents to six different aspects of elections governance. The empirical study pointed to an overall negative perception of elections. The direction of respondents＇ perception was negative toward elections administration, information access, manipulation, and fairness. On the other hand, the respondents＇ perception tended to be neutral toward freedom and reference the new parliament＇s empowerment and tendency to complete its term. The study concluded with a number of proposed strategies for improving efficiency and enhancing fairness and freedom. Soon Egypt shall witness a new parliamentary election by 2014, and there will be an opportunity to learn from past mistakes.