Author ORCID Identifier
Emily McKee: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5494-4873
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Collaborative Anthropologies
Abstract
While conducting fieldwork with environmental justice activists in the Negev region of Israel, I faced a troubling dilemma regarding representations: Having observed strategic essentialism in activist publicity, how should I uphold both scholarly and socio-political responsibilities? In this article, I suggest that observations of strategic essentialism can help us unmask the power dynamics that shape the rules of public discussion in a society. Taking the example of romantic portrayals of Bedouins as indigenous farmers, I use this image as a springboard in my writing to consider why this essentialization holds rhetorical power in Israel. What does it say about the society within which these environmental justice campaigns take place? Through this analysis, I attempt to de-naturalize dominant discourses of Bedouins (and Jews) and the social inequalities these discourses perpetuate.
First Page
81
Last Page
92
DOI
10.1353/cla.2010.0003
Publication Date
2010
Recommended Citation
McKee, Emily. 2010. “Of Camels and ‘Ca-Mail’: Engaging Complex Representations of Bedouins in Activism.” Collaborative Anthropologies 3:81–92. https://doi.org/10.1353/cla.2010.0003
Original Citation
McKee, Emily. 2010. “Of Camels and ‘Ca-Mail’: Engaging Complex Representations of Bedouins in Activism.” Collaborative Anthropologies 3:81–92. https://doi.org/10.1353/cla.2010.0003
Department
Department of Anthropology
Sponsorship
The research upon which this paper is based was made possible by the financial support of the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of State and Institute of International Education's Fulbright Program, and the University of Michigan.
Comments
This is the preprint version of an article published by the University of Nebraska Press in Collaborative Anthropologies. The version of record, ©2010 University of Nebraska Press, is available at https://doi.org/10.1353/cla.2010.0003.