Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Westerners (Interact Series, 5) - Softcover

Margaret Kleffner Nydell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0933662653 ISBN 13: 9780933662650

Publisher: Intercultural Pr, 1987

Synopsis

Western contact with the Arab World has increased dramatically, yet perceptions of one another are steeped in old stereotypes. This text aims to dispel many of the Westerner's misconceptions regarding Arab perceptions and behaviour. It is not a political analysis and offers no easy answers. It does however provide an examination of Arab values, beliefs and social practices, especially as they contrast and affect interaction with Europeans and North Americans.

About this title

About the Author

Margaret Nydell is an experienced trainer and highly esteemed Arabist. She has directed Arabic language training at the Foreign Service Institute and its School of Arabic Language and Area Studies in Tunis. She currently teaches Arabic at Georgetown University and consults with public and private organisations.

Review

Understanding Arabs provides an objective examination of Arab values, beliefs, and perceptions and compares and contrasts them with those of Westerners. Margaret Nydell highlights the dynamic patterns of change that have influenced the Arab World in recent times and offers illuminating insights into the minds and hearts of Arabs, while avoiding the political quicksands that lay in the path of Arab-Western relationships. Understanding Arabs constitutes a kind of cross-cultural handbook. Succinct and written in simple, straightforward prose, it sheds light on those aspects of culture and thought which most critically affect cross-cultural interaction and suggest ways Westerners can be more effective in dealing with the Arabs they encounter. Understanding Arabs is=20 a rich resource for those who wish to better comprehend what they read and hear in the media and an invaluable guide for people who interact directly with Arabs and wish to do so with greater skill and understanding. Understanding Arabs is a perfect introduction into contemporary Arab-Western relations for both students of American middle-east policies, and the non- -specialist general reader with an interest in the understanding the background to today's national headlines and issues. -- Midwest Book Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Intercultural Pr
• Publication date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0933662653
• ISBN 13: 9780933662650
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 164