Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Education, Food Studies, History, Literature and Political Science on the Arabian Peninsula

Dr. Marielle Risse has lived and taught at the university level in Oman for over eighteen years and in the United Arab Emirates for two years. Her research areas are Arabian Peninsula cultures and intercultural communication. She has published three books: Houseways in Southern Oman (2023, Routledge), Foodways in Southern Oman (Routledge, 2021) and Community and Autonomy in Southern Oman (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).  Her current project is a book which explains how to effectively navigate the Arabian Peninsula as a non-local business professional, government employee, anthropologist, researcher or teacher. Using first-person accounts, as well as scholarly research from the fields of anthropology, history, literature, political science and travel writing, this text gives clear advice so long- and short-term visitors can create successful interactions with people from Arabian Peninsula societies.

She has presented papers at the annual conferences of the International Association for the Study of Arabia, Middle East Studies Association, American Anthropological Association, Royal Geographical Society, British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, Folklore Society, Royal Anthropological Institute, American Comparative Literature Association Conference and Modern Language Association, as well as at the National Maritime Museum (Greenwich) and the German Maritime Museum. Her work has been published (newspapers) The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Washington Post; (proceedings of the) Seminar for Arabian Studies and 15th & 16th Oman International ELT Conferences; (website) Anthropology News; (books) Travel Culture, Advancing English Language Education, Emanations (Praeger) and (journals) Al Sha’ar, Ariel: A Review of International English Literature, Interdisciplinary Humanities, Journeys: The International Journal of Travel & Travel Writing and Pedagogy.

photo by M. A. Al Awaid