Author: Sherifa Zuhur File Type: pdf In this comprehensive introduction to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, author Sherifa Zuhur reveals the fascinating people, culture, politics, and economic development of the largest Arab country of the Middle East.The book provides a detailed summary of Arabian history from the earliest settlements on the Arabian peninsula to the present day, with a focus on the rise of the current Saudi regime. It provides essential background on the oil politics of the Kingdom dating back to the discovery of oil in the late 1930s, an account of Saudi Arabias subsequent economic advancement, and explanations of emerging societal issues such as labor importation and the changing roles of women. Saudi Arabia also details the KingdoMs cultural and religious milieu, including its music, poetry, architecture, legal system, and prominence in the Islamic world.ReviewZuhur (director, Institute of Middle Eastern, Islamic and Strategic Studies), an internationally recognized academicand national security expert on the Middle East, here offers excellent insights on the most relevant and studied aspectsof Saudi Arabia, including its government, economy, society, and culture.ullulChoiceBook DescriptionSaudi Arabia is a country characterized by a unique coexistence of the traditional and the modern. Known as the Land of the Two Holy Mosques because of the sacred sites at Mecca and Medinaconsidered the two holiest places in IslamSaudi Arabia holds a central position in the Muslim world. Known also for its oil reservesthe largest in the worldSaudi Arabia is positioned at the heart of the global economy, and oil money has brought rapid development and change to a largely traditional society.

Author: Jennifer Gabrys File Type: pdf This is a study of the material life of information and its devices of electronic waste in its physical and electronic incarnations a cultural and material mapping of the spaces where electronics in the form of both hardware and information accumulate, break down, or are stowed away. Electronic waste occurs not just in the form of discarded computers but also as a scatter of information devices, software, and systems that are rendered obsolete and fail. Where other studies have addressed digital technology through a focus on its immateriality or virtual qualities, Gabrys traces the material, spatial, cultural, and political infrastructures that enable the emergence and dissolution of these technologies. In the course of her book, she explores five interrelated spaces where electronics fall apart from Silicon Valley to Nasdaq, from containers bound for China to museums and archives that preserve obsolete electronics as cultural artifacts, to the landfill as material repository. All together, these sites stack up into a sedimentary record that forms the natural history of this study.Digital Rubbish A Natural History of Electronics describes the materiality of electronics from a unique perspective, examining the multiple forms of waste that electronics create as evidence of the resources, labor, and imaginaries that are bundled into these machines. By drawing on the material analysis developed by Walter Benjamin, this natural history method allows for an inquiry into electronics that focuses neither on technological progression nor on great inventors but rather considers the ways in which electronic technologies fail and decay. Ranging across studies of media and technology, as well as environments, geography, and design, Jennifer Gabrys pulls together the far-reaching material and cultural processes that enable the making and breaking of these technologies.Jennifer Gabrys is Senior Lecturer in Design and Convener of the Masters in Design and Environment in the Department of Design, Goldsmiths, University of London.Jacket image Computer dump iStockphotoLya_Cattel.digitalculturebooksis an imprint of the University of Michigan Press and the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library dedicated to publishing innovative and accessible work exploring new media andtheir impact on society, culture, and scholarly communication. Visit the website at www.digitalculture.org. **