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The political economy of religious commodities in Cairo

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Starrett, G. (1995). The political economy of religious commodities in Cairo. American Anthropologist (Online). https://doi.org/doi:10.1525/aa.1995.97.1.02a00090
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Description

Anthropology’s rediscovery of material culture has emphasized the centrality of objects and their production in constituting human experience. In Egypt, the design, mass production and marketing of different classes of religious objects-from prayer beads and bumper stickers to children’s board games and jigsaw puzzles-not only construct boundaries between social groups but create alternative ways of understanding and participating in the Islamic tradition. This article explores the distribution and consumption of Islamic paraphernalia, examining how the development of a mass market in religious consumer goods, brought on in part by Egypt’s shifting place in the global market, has transformed the urban religious consciousness.

Details
Title

The political economy of religious commodities in Cairo

Author(s)

Starrett, Gregory, 1961-

UNC Charlotte Affiliate Type

Faculty

Publisher

Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropolog

Extent

1 online resource

Date Published

1995-03

Material Type

Journal article

Genre

articles

Resource Type

text

Abstract

Anthropology’s rediscovery of material culture has emphasized the centrality of objects and their production in constituting human experience. In Egypt, the design, mass production and marketing of different classes of religious objects-from prayer beads and bumper stickers to children’s board games and jigsaw puzzles-not only construct boundaries between social groups but create alternative ways of understanding and participating in the Islamic tradition. This article explores the distribution and consumption of Islamic paraphernalia, examining how the development of a mass market in religious consumer goods, brought on in part by Egypt’s shifting place in the global market, has transformed the urban religious consciousness.

Subjects--Topics

Islam
Semiotics
Material culture

Subjects--Geographic

Egypt--Cairo

Is Part Of

American anthropologist (Online)

Volume

97

Issue

1

ISSN

1548-1433

Beginning Page Number

51

Ending Page Number

68

Language

English

Published Version (Please cite this version)

doi:10.1525/aa.1995.97.1.02a00090

Publisher's Version

https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1995.97.1.02a00090

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/work:88

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