| ID | 139904 |
| Title Proper | Narrating a pnding calamity |
| Other Title Information | artisanal crisis in the media of Fes, Morocco |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Ouaknine-Yekutieli , Orit |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | A crisis narrative dominates current public discourse about the artisanal sector in Fes, Morocco. Through historical and ethnographic research on Fessi crafts and craftspeople, this article elucidates the rise of the crisis narrative and its relationship to modernity and moral and political economy. Sustained analysis of the dialectical relationship between craftspeople's practical knowledge and public narratives highlights the existence of a “pool” of multiple and cross-cutting storylines from which the artisans draw to depict their profession. These storylines are marked by intertextual reverberations of precolonial Islamic philosophy, colonial Orientalist discourses, modern governance, and liberal and neoliberal economic policies. This article claims that the current, widespread crisis narrative took precedence over other storylines with the arrival of colonialism and modernity in Morocco. Drawing on the analytical framework of colonial modernity, it argues that from the colonial period to the postcolonial present, rulers and ruled alike have produced, maintained, and enhanced the crisis narrative, which is deeply rooted in modernity. |
| `In' analytical Note | International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol. 47, No.1; Feb 2015: p.109-129 |
| Journal Source | International Journal of Middle East Studies 2015-03 47, 1 |
| Key Words | Media ; Morocco ; Ethnographic Research ; Pending Calamity ; Artisanal Crisis ; Fes ; Fessi Crafts and Craftspeople |