Ian's post on Egypt made me think about the continuing echoes of ideas we saw in "Patterns of Culture". I'm especially interested in how legal systems give weight to conceptions of culture-- consider for example this story reported in the Israeli news in 2004, "Court Erupts Over Expert's Testimony on 'Arab Mentality'":
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/court-erupts-over-expert-s-testimony-on-arab-mentality-1.144943
In this case, a Middle East studies professor serving as an expert witness for the prosecution during a trial described the "Arab mentality", which he explained is characterized by a victim mentality and low standards of cleanliness (as evidence, he noted that "Arab" villages are "dirtier", apparently with little discussion of whether this could be due to economic inequalities and discrimination in the provision of state services...) My Palestinian relatives (especially my very tidy aunts!) would reject this description of the Arab mentality, but I wonder if they would dispute the very existence of an "Arab mentality" at all - would they defend its existence, but just define it differently (e.g. saying it tends to include a love for children, elaborate poetry and syrupy desserts?) Or would they reframe so-called cultural characteristics as merely a rational response to a particular political environment (e.g. is it irrational conspiracy thinking to speculate that the CIA might be involved in certain events when it does in fact have a notorious track record of involvement in coups, assassination attempts, etc.) Questions for my next family reunion...
Your comments here remind me of a book that the first year religion students read for their pro-seminar last term: " We have a religion" by Tisa Wenger. The book explores the development of a notion of religious/ cultural self for a community of native americans in the face of the American legal system. From what I vaguely recall of the book, a religious/cultural tradition needed to be invented, articulated, and considered legitimate for its adherents to receive rights under US law. This issue leads me to the curious topic of culture and law, the extent to which cultures need to be created, defined, and described for the operation of law. I raise this in order to reflect on the practical consequences of deconstructing a notion of culture. Culture is well integrated into the legal system and its eradication may create problems for minority communities who depend on its existence. How could a legal system operate with a more realistic account of culture while continuing to protect those who are intended to be protected? Are totalities like "culture" or "mentality" necessary and inevitable?
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