When Princeton anthropologist John Borneman arrived in Syria's second-largest city in 2004 as a visiting Fulbright professor, he took up residence in what many consider a "rogue state" on the frontline of a "clash of civilizations" between the Orient and the West. Hoping to understand intimate interactions of religious, political, and familial authority in this secular republic, Borneman spent much time among different men, observing and becoming part of their everyday lives. Syrian Episodes is the striking result. Recounting his experience of living and lecturing in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, John Borneman offers deft, first-person stories of the longings and discontents expressed by Syrian sons and fathers, as well as a prescient analysis of the precarious power held by the regime, its relation to domestic authority, and the conditions of its demise. Combining literary imagination and anthropological insight, the book's discrete narratives converge in an unforgettable portrait of contemporary culture in Aleppo. We read of romantic seductions, rumors of spying, the play of light in rooms, the bargaining of tourists in bazaars, and an attack of wild dogs. With unflinching honesty and frequent humor, Borneman describes his encounters with students and teachers, customers and merchants, and women and families, many of whom are as intrigued with the anthropologist as he is with them. Refusing to patronize those he meets or to minimize his differences with them, Borneman provokes his interlocutors, teasing out unexpected confidences, comic responses, and mutual misunderstandings. He engages the curiosity and desire of encounter and the possibility of ethical conduct that is willing to expose cultural differences. Combining literary imagination and anthropological insight, Syrian Episodes offers an unforgettable portrait of contemporary culture in Aleppo.

List of Illustrations viiPreface ix
Acknowledgments xxix


Chapter I: P Aleppo 1
"Prayer is better than sleep" 1
Imad's Japanese Girlfriend 7
Farce 11
"I would rather have children than fly" 13
"Once you love deeply, you never forget" 21
"My father says he saves for me" 23
"As long as she gets along with me, she will have no problems with my mother" 26
"Do you desire your mother?" 29
Traffic, or the Normal Order of Things 31
Preparing to Teach 42
Administrative Pleasantries 43
"But we are homophobic!" 52
"So, what do you think of Muslims?" 62
"I'd like to be the next president" 68
"The religious people see this and hate it, but they cannot turn it off" 74
"God will tell us when we have to do something" 84
"Kiss Daddy! Kiss Daddy!" 88


Chapter II: P The Souk 96
"Come into my shop and let me take you" 96
"Do you have a brother?" 100
"Ossi oder NorMAL?" 103
The Souk's Logic of Exchange 107
Fathers, Sons, Brothers, and Inheritance 112
Dream Collector 115
Dream of the Mistress 117
"How great is my disappointment when I see my dreams breaking down" 119
"Every woman thinks I only want to sleep with her" 123
Cell Phone, Cassettes, String Underwear 127
"That is fieldwork!" 128
"A father, perhaps a brother" 130
Fathers and Sons 145
"It is a blessing" 149
The Rumor 153


Chapter III: P Syria 156
"These are my children" 156
Aleppian Food, in Public 162
Obtaining an Exit Visa 166
The Ba'ath Party 169
Student Radicals 175
Teaching Anthropology and American Culture 178
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 187
Wild Dog Attack 190


Chapter IV: P Reflections on Teaching and Learning in Syria 192
Pedagogy 192
Lectures 194
Films 196


Coda: January 2006 200
Further Reading 225
Index 233