Yedida K. Stillman Bücher

This richly illustrated volume is a historical and ethnographic study of one important aspect of Arab and Islamic material culture - clothing. While in part descriptive, its principal focus is on the evolution and transformations of modes of dress over the past 1400 years throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and for the Middle Ages, Islamic Spain. Arab clothing is treated as part of an Islamic vestimentary system and is discussed within the context of the social, religious, esthetic, and political trends of each age. In addition to the five historical chapters, three chapters are devoted to major themes of Arab costume history - the dress code for non-Muslims, the important socio-economic and political institution of luxury fabrics and garments of honor, and the most well-known and frequently misunderstood institution of veiling.

This volume brings together a rich interdisciplinary selection of some of the best and most up-to-date research in the field of Sephardic Studies by scholars from all over the world. Covering both pre-Expulsion Iberia and the far flung Sephardi diaspora, the essays deal with social and intellectual history, literature, folklore, linguistics, musicology and art history. The volume concludes with an important discussion on education and the future of Sephardic Studies as a field. Most of the contributions in this volume are in English, and a few in French and Spanish.