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

Dr. Risse taught cultural studies, literature and pedagogy for 21 years on the Arabian Peninsula at the American University of Sharjah (UAE), the University of Sharjah-Woman’s (UAE) and Dhofar University (Oman). Her research areas are Arabian Peninsula cultures and intercultural communication. She has written Community and Autonomy in Southern Oman (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Foodways in Southern Oman (Routledge, 2021) and Houseways in Southern Oman (Routledge, 2023). An interview about Houseways in Southern Oman can be found here.

Her book Researching and Working on the Arabian Peninsula: Creating Effective Interactions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025) outlines strategies for current or soon-to-be expat business professionals, government employees, anthropologists, researchers and teachers to communicate, study and work effectively on the Arabian Peninsula. 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. By discussing how the practicalities of work and research intersect with cultural norms, this book fills the gap between guides aimed at the casual tourists and academic texts on narrowly defined topics.

Her most recent work is Ethnographic Reflections on Marriage in Dhofar, Oman (Anthem Press, 2026). This book examines the choices middle-class, Muslim, tribal Dhofari men and women make when creating a life together. Based on 19 years observations of and discussions about Omani marriages, the book shows all the steps of marriage, including how people decide to get married, the wedding invitations and parties are arranged, the newlyweds’ home is organized, the work within a marriage is delineated and a marriage succeeds or falls apart. Unlike many texts about family life on the Arabian Peninsula, Risse spoke extensively with both Dhofari men and women, so the book is rich with examples of Omanis explaining their personal decisions. An interview about this book can be found here.

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