Browsing by Subject "Egypt"

The study of Christian asceticism in late antiquity has traditionally been anthropocentric, meaning there is a pervasive focus on ascetic practice as experienced and undertaken by humans in pursuit of a more holy self. More recent scholarly efforts have begun to examine the role non-human agents in this process, a methodological turn consonant with larger “Post-Humanist” trends in scholarship which seek to redefine humanity’s place in the world as merely one life form among many. To date, however, the majority of these works have been limited in scope and have dealt primarily with the ways in which non-humans, such as angels and animals, were participants in the ascetic lives of humans in various capacities (e.g. as companions, guardians, exemplars, food, etc.), to the neglect of how they were also portrayed as beneficiaries of their involvement.

This dissertation more fully situates non-humans within scholarly narratives of Christian asceticism by investigating the ways in which late ancient Christian authors implicated non-humans—specifically angels and animals—as beneficiaries of their involvement in the lives of human ascetics. I limit my analysis to literary works associated with the Egyptian ascetic tradition, meaning those which espouse ascetic ideals, inculcate ascetic practices, or model the ascetic lives of Christians living in Egypt during approximately the third through sixth centuries C.E. I make a historical argument which 1) articulates the most prominent discourses relating to non-human benefaction, 2) places these discourses within their social and theological contexts, and 3) attends to the possible reasons for their similarities and particularities across time and space. I argue that ascetic life was understood by some ancient Christians to provide a context in which both humans and non-humans could advance toward a more ideal state of being. By tracing how authors depict positive changes in the nature and circumstances of non-humans in ascetic contexts, a portrait of early Christian ascetic life emerges in which humans are neither the sole practitioners nor beneficiaries.

This dissertation research explores the practices and aspirations to national belonging among Evangelical Egyptians, converts to a distinctively Euro-American form of Protestant Christianity through the proselytizing efforts of European and American missionaries between the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Although Evangelical Egyptians have historically been known as politically quietist, in the wake of the January 25 Revolution, leading Evangelicals began to adjust their practices of public engagement with the revolution, civil society, and political activism. Through participant observation, in-depth person centered interviews, and archival research, this dissertation argues that far from severing Evangelical Egyptian imaginations, desires for, and practices of national belonging, conversion from the historic Coptic Orthodox church and to a more internationally connected form of Christian community, in fact provides Evangelicals with some of their most potent tools for articulating their historical and contemporary place in the nation-state of Egypt. This dissertation aims to bring timely and productive debates on the anthropology of religion to bear on the shape of global evangelicalism in the global south as a key shape of politics and sociality. Indeed, this dissertation argues that it is precisely the ‘will to the global’ as the future imagined community of ‘God’s kingdom’ that paradoxically roots Evangelical Egyptians in a robust nationalistic articulation of their faith.

The dissertation explores the artistic and cultural histories behind Egyptian national monuments and museums that were built and renovated by North Korean artists and architects. Archival materials from the American University in Cairo, Seoul National University, and the North Korean Research Center are used to contextualize these cultural sites within the broader history of diplomatic exchanges between the two nations. Such exchanges are framed as part of the international Cold War and inter-Korean competition. By piecing together resources such as government documents, artworks, and media coverage, the dissertation provides a history of exchanged aesthetics, ideologies, and methods of memorialization connecting the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East. The dissertation attends to questions of representation and national identity as they pertain to national monuments, museums, and cultural sites.

The dissertation begins by outlining the cultural and political developments between Egypt with North and South Korea from 1956 to present, complicating Cold War as a concept and extending beyond outdated geographic and temporal limitations. Then the dissertation uses Egyptian news coverage to trace the history of three buildings resulting from Hosni Mubarak’s 1983 diplomatic tour in Asia; the Japanese-funded Cairo Opera House (1988), the North Korean-designed October War Panorama (1989), and the Chinese-built Cairo Conference Center (1989). Next, the study theorizes the function of North Korean museums in Egypt and questions the implications of importing nationalistic aesthetics. Subsequent analysis addresses paintings by North Korean artists in the Egyptian National Military Museum that take inspiration from international films set in Egypt through the ages, from antiquity to the colonial era. The dissertation concludes with an exploration of the relationship between North Korean Juche ideology and the display of diplomatic gifts at the International Friendship Exhibition.

My dissertation explores how constructions of memory, space, and violence intersected in the history of early Christianity. It analyzes the crucial roles of memory and space/place in the formation, practice, and understanding of late ancient asceticism in Egypt's northwestern desert (Scetis, Kellia, Nitria, and Pherme). After a "barbarian" raid of Scetis in the early fifth century supposedly exiled Christian monks from the desert, Egypt came to be remembered as the birthplace of ascetic practice. Interpreting texts (in Coptic, Latin, Greek, Syriac, and Classical Arabic) and archaeological remains associated with the northwestern Egyptian desert, my dissertation investigates ascetic ideas about the relationship between memories and places: memory-acts as preserved in the liturgical and literary texts, memory in the liturgical contexts of church and cell, the ascetic use of Scriptural interpretation to thwart "worldly" recollection caused by demonic incitement to abandon the desert, and remembrance of a past moment through the perceived loss of Scetis. Wedding textual evidence, material culture, and theoretical insights, I highlight how the memorialization of a particular moment in the history of early Christian asceticism overshadowed other, contemporary late ancient asceticisms. My dissertation produces a new understanding of the negotiations between memory and space, often a process of contestation, and sheds new light not only on how violence was performed in late antiquity, but also on modern struggles over memorialized locales.

Social interactions with civil society are an essential component of the refugee experience, actively shaping humanitarian aid as well as policies towards refugee needs (Barnes, 2011; Van der Leun & Bouter, 2015). However, material needs are frequently depicted as the main endeavor for refugee support. This overlooks the moral components of the refugee experience, through the need for dignity (del Soto, 2008), mental health resources (Silove et al., 2017) and a sense of security (Eby et al., 2011) which are essential support structures if refugees are to, even temporarily, live in the new communities they join. Notably, current research on existing systems emphasizes material refugee provisions with little focus on mental health (Weine, 2011) or the cultural implications of integration (Esses et al., 2017). This thesis explores refugees’ perceptions of integration in host countries with an emphasis on the lack of support structures beyond material humanitarian response in Egypt and Jordan as a secondary data analysis project. It is based on 108 qualitative life-story interviews with Iraqi refugees conducted by the Kenan Refugee Project of Duke University between 2012 and 2019 primarily in Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan. Through this analysis, I determined a pressing need for a temporary, informal integration process with much needed social support and mental health resources beyond the current legal standards in place. I further argue that the multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary nature of refugee needs are frequently overlooked and underestimated and that a new approach beyond materialprovisions at the global decision-making table is long overdue for the dignity, human rights and quality of life refugees deserve across the globe.

Background: Human Resource for Health (HRH) is one of the most important building blocks of the health system. The performance of the health systems is substantially impacted by the performance of health workers. Egypt has a highly fragmented health care system. Health services in Egypt are currently managed, financed, and provided by agencies in both public and private sectors. Egypt's health system has limited government oversight of the private sector and more open-ended healthcare market, which has contributed to a complexity of Public Private Mix (PPM). Since 1996, Egypt has been undergoing the Health Sector Reform Program (HSRP) with the aim of achieving universal healthcare coverage of the country. This study was conducted to contribute to the evidence in understanding the PPM of HRH in Egypt, towards contributing to the national dialogue to address related issue with its governance and development. Methods: This study uses qualitative method and literature review to approach the research topic. We visited 4 public hospitals and 3 private hospitals in Cairo, Benha and Fayoum in May to July, 2014. We conducted 45 in-depth interviews with health workers and 5 key-informant interviews with health policy experts. Document reviews were conducted from December 2013 to February 2015. Documents relevant to the country context and health profile were retrieved through PubMed and Google Scholar. Government activity and statistics were retrieved through openly published government report and reports from international organizations. An interview guide was developed and pretested. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data analysis began while data collection was still ongoing. Using a grounded theory approach, we reviewed the transcripts of interviews and coded with a table of key words. Codes and transcripts were double-checked for accuracy, based on which relevant themes were decided. We also compared the codes and transcripts among different stakeholders. Results: Egypt has a highly fragmented health care system. Health services in Egypt are currently financed and provided by a mix of agencies in both public and private sectors. The uncontrolled growth of private sector has impacted the performance of health workers. Dual practice, the practice of a health worker simultaneously engaging in both the public and private sector, is a prevailing phenomenon in the health workforce in Egypt. Dissatisfaction with the public salary is considered as the main reason which drives health workers to private sector. While pursuing private practice, most people still hold their position in public sector for a variety of reasons. Perceived as a mechanism to compensate the low salary in public sector, dual practice is accepted in the current Egyptian health system despite well-recognized negative impacts on the quality of care. Conclusions: A vast majority of doctors in Egypt has been involved in dual practice, while the prevalence of dual practice is much lower in nurses than in doctors. Financial concerns drive Egyptian doctors to conduct private practice. Meanwhile, most of them still hold their public posts, with various reasons including to gain clinical experience, academic titles, professional reputation, etc. Comparing with doctors, smaller proportion of nurses engage in dual practice as nurses tend to have longer shift time, less significant difference between public and private salaries, and more family responsibility. Dual practice helps to compensate the low salary in public sector although it is considered to negatively impact the quality of care in public sector. However, there is lack of rigorous regulations being implemented to govern the dual practice in Egypt. The weakness in health workforce management in public sector, especially in retention and performance evaluation, is interacting with the regulation and impact of dual practice in the country. The international experience indicates that definitive answer to cope with dual practice is not available and there is no uniform recipe to deal with the issue of dual practice. Further research is needed for the design of the approach to break the vicious circle of weak public capacity and unregulated dual practice, and to make use of HRH as a potential component to bridge public and private sector. It is also necessary to quantify and evaluate the impact of dual practice on social welfare from the perspectives of different stakeholders. Additionally, structural interventions are sorely needed in strengthening public sector and integrating private sector into the overall health system reform.