Bibliography
Burnett, G.W.; Rair Naim al Baqain; Dirksen, Murl.
1999 The Situation of the Bedouin of Jordan's Karak Plateau, Journal of Third World Studies, v16 i2 p121(1)
Abstract: The Karak Plateau in central Jordan is now visited by the Bedouin between April and August to graze livestock. Bedouin women process dairy products such as butter and cheese for sale locally. The main ecological difficulties facing the Bedouin who travel to the Karak Plateau are water availability and the conditions of the range. The Bedouin are now dependent on government-subsidized feed and water because of range depletion. It is clear that the Bedouin lifestyle is becoming anachronistic, but there are no viable alternatives to Bedouinism for these people.
Genkin, Stephanie.
1991 Bedouin, Historical Dictionary of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Metuchen, N.J. and London. pp. 24-25
Abstract: The women in the Bedouin tribe living in the slopes of Jordan's Jebel Beni Hamida have begun to support their community through the establishment of a weaving industry in their communities. The Women's Weaving Project was initiated by Queen Noor with the help of the UNICEF Save the Children project, Jordan's Ministry of Social Development and a grant from USAID. The project was based on a revival of weaving traditions among the community's women, and has already resulted in a higher standard of living for the Bedouin tribe.
Gubser, Peter.
1999 The Situation of the Bedouin of Jordan's Karak Plateau, Journal of Third World Studies, v16 i2 p121(1)
Description: Jordan has been at the crossroads of Middle East events since Biblical times. In contemporary times, the recent Persian Gulf crisis and the long-simmering Arab-Israeli conflict have thrust Jordan into a troublesome but crucial role. But despite its unstable setting, it has experienced remarkably stable leadership--since 1953, King Hussein has steered the country through the difficulties of internal strife, Middle East wars, and international pressure. This new historical dictionary provides in a convenient format a broad array of data and descriptive material on this crucial state. With the most comprehensive bibliography available on Jordan. (Amazon.com)
Layne, Linda L.
1989 The Dialogics of Tribal Self-Representation in Jordan, American Ethnologist, v16 n1 p24(16)
Author's Abstract: COPYRIGHT 1989 American Anthropological Association Bedouin tribes have come to symbolize Jordan's national identity. The symbolization of tribes and the tribalism discourse of which it is a part have dialogically influenced tribal self-presentations. In response to the denigration of tribal culture by its critics and the appropriation of tribal culture by the State as the keystone of Jordan's national heritage, the tribes of Jordan are reconceiving and reevaluating their culture. Two examples from the tribes of the Jordan Valley--the changing meaning associated with traditional Bedouin dresses and a local exhibition of tribal culture--illustrate the dialogic process by which the tribes of Jordan are constituting themselves in a changing world. [Jordan, tribes, nationalism, representation, dialogism]
Nyerges, A. Endre.
1982 Pastoralist, Flocks and Vegetation: Processes of Co-adaptation,
Desertification and Development: Dryland Ecology in Social Perspective. New York: Academic Press. This chapter calls for a re-evaluation of the evolutionary ecology model of pastoral development and environmental degradation. Using regional comparisons with Africa and the Middle East, the author cautions us against the common assumptions of mismanagement of livestock and vegetation by traditional pastoralists. Conservation by the experts is mainly responsible for desertification. This is an excellent article that supports need to have the Bedouin themselves manage their own affairs.
Simms, Steven R.; Russell, Kenneth W.
1997 Bedouin Hand Harvesting of Wheat and Barley: Implications for Early Cultivation in Southwestern Asia, Current Anthropology, v38 n4 p696(7)
Abstract: Research was conducted on the constraints placed upon wheat and barley foragers by different factors among the Bedul Bedouin in Jordan. The efficiency of hand harvesting was compared with harvesting utilizing early sickles. The return rates for wild wheat, hand-tilled and hand-harvested cultivated wheat were found to be similar. Results indicated that harvesting cereals by hand is the oldest and most enduring method throughout the Old World. It is also suggested that there is no link between the appearance of sickles in the archaeological record and the earliest cereal cultivation.
Young, W. C.
2000 “The Bedouin”: Discursive Identity or Sociological Category? A Case Study from Jordan. Journal of Mediterranean Studies 9/2:275-99.
Abstract: In both common speech and scholarly works the term ‘Bedouin’ designates Arab societies that depend economically on nomadic pastoralism. But scholars often assume that ‘Bedouin’ also have many non-economic (cultural, political, and religious) characteristics in common. This paper questions this assumption, arguing that the term does not identify a coherent analytical category. It derives its meaning largely from folk-ideological models of society, through which competing groups make claims to historical significance and rank. Data from Jordan show how the term is used discursively to legitimize and contest social identity. If social scientists wish to use ‘Bedouin’ for cross-cultural comparison or analysis, they must first define it theoretically.