Lebanon Adrift: From Battleground to Playground

by Samir Khalaf

Overview

Lebanon today is at a fateful crossroads in its eventful socio-cultural and political history. Imperiled by unsettling transformations, from postwar reconstruction and rehabilitation to the forces of postmodernity and globalism, it remains adrift.

In this landmark study, Samir Khalaf explores how ordinary citizens, burdened by the consequences of war, persisting regional rivalries, mounting economic deprivation, and diminishing prospects for well-being, find meaning and coherence in a society that has not only lost its moorings and direction, but also its sense of control.

Samir Khalaf is professor of sociology at the American University of Beirut. He has held academic positions at Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and New York University.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780863564345
Publisher:	Saqi Books
Publication date:	10/02/2012
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Samir Khalaf is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Behavioral Research, American University of Beirut. He has held academic positions at Harvard University, Princeton University, MIT and New York University. His other books include Cultural Resistance, Heart of Beirut, Sexuality in the Arab World (co-edited with John H. Gagnon), Arab Society and Culture and Arab Youth (both titles co-edited with Roseanne Saad Khalaf), all published by Saqi Books.

Table of Contents

Preface Ghassan Hage 7

Prologue 13

1 On Protracted and Displaced Collective Violence 31

2 The Spaces of War and Postwar: Reflections on Collective Memory, Identity and Nostalgia 75

3 Consumerism in a Traumatized Society 115

4 Touting Luxury, Sensuality and Image 161

5 The Allure of the Spectacle and Kitsch 210

6 Prospects for Transforming Consumers Into Citizens 240

Epilogue 267

Bibliography 275

Acknowledgments 287

Index 289