Cairo Papers emerged in 1977, when a group of scholars in the School of Humanities and Social Science and the Social Research Center at AUC developed the idea of the journal. The aim was to produce a monograph series dedicated not only to demonstrate the relevance of Middle Eastern social science vis-à-vis Western theoretical orientations but also to share with dedicated Western scholars the fruits of indigenous research into issues and problems of differential development in the Middle East. The founding members of the Cairo Papers included Profs. Tim Sullivan, Ali Dessouki, Mark Kennedy, Nicholas Hopkins and Asaad Nadim.
Cairo Papers in Social Science is the American University in Cairo’s long-running English-language journal monograph, published by the American University in Cairo Press.
- A key feature of Cairo Papers is interdisciplinarity, best reflected in the diversity of the research published—spanning the fields of political science, economics, sociology, and anthropology, as well as history, journalism, media studies, gender studies, law, arts, and psychology.
- Located in Cairo, Egypt, Cairo Papers’ scope is the production of critical social science and humanities knowledge in and about the Middle East.
- Cairo Papers is committed to promoting emerging scholars in the region mainly through publications and workshops.
- One of Cairo Papers’ missions is to foster the international circulation of knowledge produced in the region by Arabic-speaking scholars and from outlets with limited access to international circuits of the print economy.
- Cairo Papers is dedicated to publishing and debating knowledge produced through original field-based research that is innovative in its methodologies, creative in its questions, and rigorous in its use of conceptual paradigms.
- Cairo Papers provides a critical venue for engaging with timely events emerging in the region from a critical academic and interdisciplinary perspective.
Book Chapters from 2008
A Film Exploration of Sanayeh, a Neighbothood of Beirut, Pascale Feghali
Doing Anthropology of Visual Culture and Doing Anthropology Visually: A Film Exploration of Sanayeh, a Neighborhood of Beirut, Pascale Feghali
Return Migration and the Burden of Borders, Sari Hanafi
Virtual and real returns, Sari Hanafi
Epistemology of Photographic Evidence: A Response, Angela Harutyunyan
Photographic Practices and the Egyptian Imaginary: Epistemology of Photographic Evidence: A Response, Angela Harutyunyan
Political and social protest in Egypt, Nicholas S. Hopkins
Past and Future Pathways of Culture: Cinematic Representations of Kurds and the Kurdish Issue in Turkish Media Worlds, Suncem Kocer
Judges as reform advocates: a lost battle?, Nathalie Bernard Maugiron
The Muslim Brotherhood: contradictions and transformations, Sameh Naguib
A Place Called Tahrir, Sabelo Narasimhan
January 25: Visual Knowledge of an Event - A Place Called Tahrir, Sabelo Narasimhan
Crossing borders, retaining boundaries, Cedric Parizot
Galilee vs. Jerusalem: Space and Temporality in Mark's Gospel, Michael Reimer
Beyond the Written: Visual Productions and Sensory Knowledge, Hanan Sabea and Mark R. Westmoreland
Beyond the Written: Visual Productions and Sensory Knowledge, Hanan Sabea and Mark R. Westmoreland
The Serpent and the Ship: Imaginatioin, Memory, and Rhetoric in Early Byzantine Constantinople, A.C.S. Saunders
The Features and Functions of Certain Tombs in Cairo, Medina, and Aswan, Mark Sedgwick
The radical turn of Coptic activism: Path to democracy or to sectarian politics?, Samer Soliman
Protest against a hybrid state: words without meaning?, Robert Springborg
The Resonance of the Sacred: Body, Dimenstionality, and Place, Robert Switzer
The negotiation of identity among Palestinian-American returnee youth, Tamara Tamimi
Changing realities and changing identities, Mary Totry
In this Field: Akram Zaatari's Ethnographic Excavations, Mark R. Westmoreland
Epistemological Intersections: Anthropology and Art - In This Field: Akram Zaatari’s Ethnographic Excavations, Mark R. Westmoreland
Imaging Memory': Conflations of Time and Space, and Contestations of Epistemological 'Truth,' in Visual Art and Ethnography, Elizabeth Wickett
Law as a Tool for Empowering Women within Marital Relations: A Case Study of Paternity Lawsuits in Egypt, Hind Ahmed Zaki
Books from 2007
The New York Egyptians: Voyages and Dreams, Yasmine M. Ahmed
Child Protection Policies in Egypt: A Rights-Based Approach, Adel Azer, Sohair Mehanna, Mulki al-Sharmani, and Essam Ali
For a Cultural Politics of Water, Amita Baviskar
Power Relations, Conflict, and Cooperation in the Eastern Nile River Basin, Ana Elisa Cascao
Chance Favors the Prepared Mind: Oil and Water Wars in the Middle East, Sharif S. Elmusa
Introduction, Sharif S. Elmusa
The Changing Hydraulics of Conflict and Cooperation in the Nile Basin: The Demise of Egyptian-Sudanese Bilateralism, Ibrahim Elnur
The Oil/Gas Reserces Problem, Robert Mabro
Fueling Conflict: The Role of Oil Policy in Violence in Iraq, Greg Muttitt
The War in Darfur: The Resource Dimension, Mohamed Suliman
Nile Basin Water Management: National Strategies and Prospects for Cooperation, Richard N. Tutwiler
"The Farthest Place": Social Boundaries in an Egyptian Desert Community, Joseph Viscomi
Books from 2005
Roses in Salty Soil: Women and Depression in Egypt Today, Dalia A. Mostafa
Pioneering Feminist Anthropology in Egypt: Selected Writings from Cynthis Nelson, Martina Rieker, Lila Abu-Lughod, and Judith E. Tucker
Creating Families across Boundaries: A Case Study of Romanian/Egyptian Mixed Marriages, Ana Vinea
Books from 2004
Beach Politics: Gender and Sexuality in Dahab, Mustafa Abdalla
Mulid Culture in Cairo: the Case of al-Sayyida 'Aisha, Maha Abdelrahman
Watch for the Devil: Israel in Egyptian Movies and Soap Operas, Maha Abdelrahman
Introduction, Maha Abdelrahman, Iman A. Hamdy, Malak Rouchdy, and Reem Saad
Staying Hungry: Food Politics in Egypt and the Near East, Ray Bush
Divine Consumption: "Islamic" Goods in Egypt, Madiha Doss
Truth Claims in the Cartoon World of Nagui Kamel, Iman A. Hamdy
The Role of Local Councils in Empowerment and Poverty Reduction in Egypt, Solava Ibrahim
Cultural Dynamics and Linguistic Practice in Contemporary Egypt, Lilia Labidi
Transforming the Meaning and Value of Traditional Crafts in Egypt, Huda Lutfi
Food Recipes and Kitchen Space: Constructing Social Identities and New Frontiers, Malak Rouchdy
A Culinary History of "National" Cuisine: Egypt and the Middle East, Sami Zubaida
Book Chapters from 2003
Introduction, Sharif S. Elmusa
The Ax of Gilgamesh: Splitting Naure and Culture, Sharif S. Elmusa
Nature in Egyptian Literature: Male versus Female Writers, Maysa Abou-Youssef Hayward
Street Children in Egypt: Group Dynamics and Subcultural Constituents, Nashaat Hussein
Forced Migrants and Host Societies in Egypt and Sudan, Fabienne le Houerou
A Historical Introduction to Glocal Enviormental Change: The Role of Ideas Since 1900, J.R. McNeill
IMF-Egyptian Debt Negotiations, Bessma Momani
The Place of Nature in Hayy Ibn Yaqzan and Robinson Crusoe, Robert Switzer
Books from 2002
The Employment Crisis of Female Graduates in Egypt, Ghada F. Barsoum
The Parliamentary Elections of Year 2000 in Egypt: A Lesson in Political Participation, Assia Boutaleb
Elections in Sudan, Curtis Francis Doebbler
Israel's 2001 Elections: Stability at Stake, Iman A. Hamdy
Introduction (Elections in the Middle East), Iman A. Hamdy
Democracy and/or Stability? The Lebanese Parliamentary Elections of 2000, Judith Harik
The 2000 Elections: New Rules, New Tactics, Maye Kassem
Elections in Egypt: Rumblings for Change, Mona Makram-Ebeid
1999 Elections in Turkey: Nationalists and Globalization, Baskin Oran
Transformation Without Transition: Electoral Politics, Network Ties, and the Persistence of the Shadow State, Christopher Parker
Palestinian and Israeli Nationalism: Identity Politics and Education in Jerusalem, Evan S. Weiss
Bouteflika: A Badly Elected President Looking for Peace? The 1999 Presidential Elections in Algeria, Sami Zemni
Book Chapters from 2001
The Absent Father, Josette Abdalla
Domestic Public Debt in Egypt: Magnitude, Structure, and Consequences, Gouda Abdel-Khalek
Sisterhood and Stewardship in sister-brother relations in Saudi Arabia, Soraya Altorki
Social Change and Parent Adolescent Dynamics in Egypt, Sahar El Tawila, Barbara Ibrahim, and Hind Wassef
Terminating Marriage, Philippe Fargues
The Terms of Empowerment: Islamic Women Activists in Egypt, Sherine Hafez
Introduction: The New Arab Family, Nicholas S. Hopkins
Among Brothers: Patriarchal Connectivity and Brotherly Deference in Lebanon, Suad Joseph
Families and Households: Headship and Co-Residence, Zeinab Khedr and Laila El Zeini
The Impact of Food Subsidy Policy on Low Income People and the Poor in Egypt, Karima Korayem
From Sexual Submission to Voluntary Commitment: The Transformationof Family Ties in Contemporary Tunisia, Lilia Labidi
Age-Discrepant marriages in Egypt, Magued I. Osman and Laila S. Shahd
Nuptiality in Arab countries: Changes and implications, Hoda Rashad and Magued Osman
An Investigation of the Phenomenon of Polygyny in Rural Egypt, Laila S. Shahd
Rationales for kin marriages in rural upper Egypt, Hania Sholkamy
The Costs of Marriage in Egypt: A Hidden Dimension in the New Arab Demography, Diane Singerman and Barbara Ibrahim
Frameworks for studying families in the 21st century, Carol B. Stack
Books from 2000
Fiscal Policy Measures in Egypt: Public Debt and Food Subsidy, Gouda Abdel-Khalek and Karima Korayem
Unveiling the Orient, Unmasking Orientalism: Sophia Poole's The Englishwoman in Egypt, Lisa Bernasek
Women's Perceptions of Environmental Change in Egypt, Eman el-Ramly
Medicine and Power: Towards a Social History of Medicine in the Nineteenth-Century Egypt, Khaled Fahmy
Masters of the trade: Crafts and craftspeople in Cairo, 1750-1850, Pascale Ghazaleh
Modern Middle East History Beyond Oriental Despotism, World History beyond Hegel: an Agenda Article, Peter Gran