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Dr. Marielle Risse
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Dr. M. Risse
Recent and forthcoming research
Biography
CV
Contact
How NOT to Describe People Who Are Foreign to You: Exoticizing Omanis
Geography is Destiny: Growing up in Columbia, Maryland
Research on Oman
How NOT to Describe People Who Are Foreign to You: Exoticizing Omanis
Practicalities of Moving to the Arabian Peninsula
Bibliography for ‘Researching and Working on the Arabian Peninsula’ (2025, Palgrave Macmillan)
Practicalities of Moving to the Arabian Peninsula: How to Sit, Not Wear Shoes and Use Your Hands
Practicalities of Moving to the Arabian Peninsula: Getting and Sending Mail/ Packages
Practicalities of Moving to the Arabian Peninsula: Navigating Public Spaces
Practicalities of Moving to the Arabian Peninsula: Dealing with Loss
Houseways in Southern Oman
Foodways in Southern Oman
Foodways – Overview and Images
Short Essays on Aspects of Foodways – What to Eat Where When and How
Selected References – Foodways in Southern Oman (Routledge, 2021)
Research on Fishing in Dhofar
Chapter published – “Lifeways of Traditional Fishermen in Dhofar, Oman”
Reflections on Ethnographic Work: Mental Maps and Wayfinding Apps in Dhofar, Oman
Research on Travelers and Tourists in Dhofar
Accounts from the Journeys of the ‘Palinurus’ – 2018
Wilfred Thesiger as Traveler and Anthropologist – 2013
Tourism in the Dhofar Region of Oman – 2009
Travel Writing, Anthropology and Fiction & the Culture of Southern Arabia – 2009
“Treachery in the Kitchen”: Traveling Foreign, Eating Familiar – 2008
Research on Aspects of Dhofari Cultures
Reflections/ Research on Teaching Cultural Studies and Literature
Excerpts from “Issues of Autonomy in Southern Oman” – 2017
Generosity, Gift-Giving, and Gift-Avoiding in Southern Oman – 2015
Cultural Refraction: Using Travel Writing, Anthropology and Fiction to Understand the Culture of Southern Arabia – 2009
The Conception of Self-Respect in Southern Oman – 2013
Understanding the Impact of Culture on the TESOL Classroom – 2011
Research on Dhofari Folk and Fairy Tales
An Ethnographic Discussion of Folk Tales from Southern Oman – 2019
“Reader’s Guide” for the English version of Khadija bint Alawi al-Thahab’s My Grandmother’s Stories: Folk Tales from Dhofar – 2012
Bibliographies
Selected References – Creating Effective Interactions: Researching, Teaching and Working on the Arabian Peninsula (2025, Palgrave MacMillan)
General Bibliography for Research about Dhofar, Oman (updated spring 2023)
Selected References – Houseways in Southern Oman (2023, Routledge)
General Bibliography for Research about Dhofar, Oman (2019)
Annotated Bibliography – Texts Pertaining to Dhofar, Oman
Selected References – Books on Dhofar in Arabic
Pedagogy
Reflections/ Research on Teaching Cultural Studies and Literature
Using Creative Writing Prompts in Language Learning
Antigone and Ismene – Making Difficult Choices
Teaching “Aurora Leigh” in Oman – 2014
“Cloistered Virtue”: Choosing Literary Texts in a ME University – 2013
Teaching Middle Eastern and Western Literature in Tandem
Selected Fiction (Novels and Short Stories) – Arabian Peninsula
Conference presentation: Bringing Language Teaching into Literature Classrooms
Using Local Voices in ME Literature Classrooms – 2012
John Clare Looks Good in a Dishdash: Linking John Clare to Middle Eastern Poetry – 2011
Western/ Middle Eastern Conceptions of “Nature” – 2009
Marlowe in Salalah: Making English Poetry Relevant – 2008
Uncertainty while Teaching Literature in the Middle East – 2007
Al Hakim’s Princess Sunshine – 2007
Suggestions for Literature Teachers in the Middle East
Teaching Paired Literary Texts
Suggested Literature Texts – 2018
Writing Prompts to Facilitate Creativity – 2016
Poems
“What He Thought,” Heather McHugh
Two poems for spring: “Dear March – Come in” by Emily Dickinson and “March” by Goethe
Two poems for courage: “Against Hesitation” by Charles Rafferty and “Thalassa” by Louis MacNeice
Two poems about nature and rest: “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry and “Sleeping in The Forest,” Mary Oliver
A good poem for hard times – “Atlas” by U. A. Fanthorpe
Poems – “Finding Poems for my Students” by Mohja Kahf
Poems – “Locals” by James Lasdun
Poems – “Small Comfort” by Katha Pollitt
Poems – “God Says Yes To Me” by Kaylin Haught
Poems – “Did I Miss Anything?” by Tom Wayman
Poems – “Football” by Louis Jenkin
“If You Get There Before I Do” by Dick Allen
“The Function of Poetry” by Billy Collins
Essays
Predator Anthropologists, Anthropologist Predators: Anthropological Metaphors in Popular Movies
Reflections on ethnographic research in Dhofar Oman
Ethnography – Finding the Middle Ground, part 1 of Discussing Photographs
Ethnography – Staying Calm
Ethnography – Navigating Shaking Hands on the Arabian Peninsula
Ethnography – Whatever You Do, Don’t Smile, part 2 of Discussing Photographs
Reflections on Ethnographic Work: The Grasshopper
Reflections on Ethnographic Work – Trying to Make Sense of Words and Actions
Ethnography: Conversations about Men/ Masculinity, part 1
Reflections on Ethnographic Research: Making Adjustments for Positive Multi-Cultural Exchanges/ Events
Reflections on Ethnographic Research: Changes within Cultures
Reflections on Ethnographic Research: (Not) Asking Questions
Reflections on Ethnographic Work: Behaving Badly and Defending Grandpa
Ethnographic Work and Pop Songs, updated
Communication in Dhofar: Getting Information and (not) Giving Compliments
Intercultural Exchanges
To Learn Arabic, You Have to Walk the Walk – 2012
Throwing Children in the Street: Culture Shock Omani Style
Bringing Theory Home in Oman – 2011
Travel Writing
The Importance of Not Being Earnest When Writing Travel Literature – 2010
“Treachery in the Kitchen”: Traveling Foreign, Eating Familiar – Dr. Traci Kelly and Dr. Marielle Risse – 2008
Back from Ubar or What to Read if You Insist on Staying Home – 2004
Your Zimbabwe Stories – 2012
Living Expat
Living Expat on the Arabian Peninsula – 2018
Reading Alone: E-Readers Arrive in a Small Town in the Middle East – 2014
Perfume: The Great Healer – 2011
The Case of the Missing Mango – 2011
Literature and Ethnography
Differences/ Hierarchies
Images
Photographs by A. Jaboob
Photographs by W. Jaboob
Photographs by Salim Al Amri: Dhofari Wildlife (birds and mammals)
Photographs by Salim Al Amri: Dhofari Wildlife (camels, gazelles and ibex)
Camels and Camel-Owners
Images – Oman Facing Corona
Keeping safe in Dhofar during the Khareef (monsoon) season
Oman vs. Covid-19, 2021 graphics
New Covid-19 graphics
Corona, Curfew and Dinner (and good graphics)
New curfew – New (good) graphics
Images – “Made in Oman” symbol, Women’s Day and “Facing Corona”
Images from Oman’s 50th National Day
Photographs of Dhofar, Oman by S. B.
Frankincense in Dhofar, Oman
A Sense of Place – Everyday Images of Food and Plants in Dhofar
A Sense of Place – Everyday Images of Animals and Landscapes in Dhofar
Images Celebrating Sultan Qaboos, National Day and Omani Women’ Day
Photographs – Hussein BaOmar
Images of Dhofar – Various Photographers
Photos of Dhofar – Historical
Images of Oman – unknown photographers
Musing
Culture Shock – Returning to USA
Leaving Oman: Grief, Grandeur, Museums and Bringley’s ‘All the Beauty in The World’
Culture Shock – Adjusting to American Hand Shakes
Navigating Working in USA without Speaking English, part 2
Culture Shock: The Basics
Culture Shock: The Land of Detachment and Toolboxes
Culture Shock: (Not) Being Under Observation
Culture Shock – Drugs, Medicines, Choices and Chances
Culture Shock – Communication is Always the Worst Part, part 1
Culture Shock – Communication is Always the Worst Part (Don’t Lie), part 2
Culture Shock: Bumpy Reentry and Moral Dilemmas
Omani Writers and Texts about Southern Arabia
Recent publications on important archeological sites in the Dhofar region, updated April 10, 2024
New Publication on the Archaeology of Dhofar
Donaldson’s article on “Units of Counting” in Oman
A new book has been published by Omani author, Huda Hamed: I Saw Her in my Dreams.
New Publication on the Archaeology of Dhofar
New Research Pertaining to Dhofar
New book about Al Baleed
Research Updates
New book – Researching and Working on the Arabian Peninsula: Creating Effective Interactions
Chapter published – “Lifeways of Traditional Fishermen in Dhofar, Oman”
“Yemen with Yul,” travel essay published
Conference presentation about conducting research on the Arabian Peninsula
Presentation – “Windguru and Other Gurus: Fishing off the Coast of Dhofar, Oman”
Conference presentation on fishing off the coast of Dhofar, Oman
Houseways: Podcast, a discussion with Ahmed Almaazmi and Ayesha Mualla
I will be presenting my talk “Good Governance and Open Spaces in Dhofar, Oman” hosted by AnthroState Talks, for the European Association of Social Anthropologists Network on Anthropologies of the State
I will be talking about “Changing Kitchens in Southern Oman” at the annual conference of The Association for the Study of Food and Society & The Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society
I am happy to announce that I will talking about Interior Home Design in Dhofar at the Home/Making Symposium at Concordia University, Montreal
I am happy to announce that I will be presenting “Bringing Language Teaching into Literature Classrooms”
I will be presenting ”Private Lives in Public Spaces: Perceptions of Space-Usage in Southern Oman” on Dec. 2 at the MESA annual meeting
Photos for my presentation “The Costs and Benefits of Fishing in Southern Oman,” Sept. 1, ‘Fish as Food’ conference, International Comm. on the Anthro. of Food and Nutrition
Data for my presentation “The Costs and Benefits of Fishing in Southern Oman,” Sept. 1, ‘Fish as Food’ conference, International Comm. on the Anthro. of Food and Nutrition
I will be presenting about Dhofari Fishermen at the ‘Fish as Food’ conference organized by the ICAF, hosted by the Univ. of Liverpool
Today I will be presenting my talk “Ethical Eating in Southern Oman” for the Just Food conference, hosted by the Culinary Institute of America and New York University.
I am pleased to announce that I will be presenting at the Middle East Studies Association’s annual meeting in October 2021
I am pleased to be asked to present on my work at the International College of Engineering and Management, Muscat
I will be presenting “Ethical Eating in Southern Oman” at the annual convention of the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, June 2021.
I am pleased to announce that I will be presenting at the American Comparative Literature Association Annual Conference
‘Foodways’ at AAA annual conference
I was honored to be asked to speak about “Poetry and the Nobel Tradition”
I am pleased to announce that I will be presenting about my ‘Foodways in Southern Oman’ project at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting
I am pleased to announce that my article “An Ethnographic Discussion of Fairy Tales and Folktales from Southern Oman” has been published in _Fabula_
Copies of Jokha Al Harthi’s prize winning book on display in Switzerland!
I am happy to announce that my article “مناقشة إثنوغرافية للحكايات الشعبية من جنوب عمان” [An Ethnographic Discussion of Folk Tales from Southern Oman] has been published in the journal Al Sha’ar (Alaan Publishers, Amman).
Foodways and Society presentation – BRISMES 2019
Keye Tersmette and I will be presenting “Ghurba at Home – Views from Oman” at the ‘Arab World as Ghurba: Citizenship, Identity and Belonging in Literature and Popular Culture’; conference at the University of Warwick, 21 June 2019
My article “An Ethnographic Discussion of Fairy Tales and Folktales from Southern Oman” will be published in Fabula
My short collection of essays “Living Expat” will be published in the forthcoming Emanations 7
“Accounts from the Journeys of the Brig ‘Palinurus’ along the Dhofar Coast Oman in the mid-1800s” – presentation at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Sept. 15, 2018
“I Came to You for Good”: An Ethnographic Discussion of Folk Tales from Southern Oman. RAI, London, October 26, 2017
Bibliographies: Research on Dhofar, Food & Anthropology, and Teaching Literature
Houseways – short essays
Reflections on Ethnographic Work: Shopping, Safety and Maneval’s New Islamic Urbanism (2019)
Reflections on Houseways Research
Houseways: Including/ Excluding Expats in Discussions about Housing
Houseways is published and more examples of houseplans
Updated bibliography for Houseways in Southern Oman, June 2022
Photos of houses in the Salalah area
Houseways in Dhofar: Placement of Furniture and Sightlines
Houseways: ‘Homespaces’ Away from Home
Houseways: House construction, part 1
Houseways: House Construction, part 2
Houseways: Dhofari/ non-Dhofari house plans
Houseways: How to “Read” a House for Information about the Occupants
Houseways – Types of Apartments Buildings (Family/ Public)
Houseways – Cultural Perspectives and Movement within an Apartment: The Practicalities of Having Guests
Houseways – Balancing Privacy and Hospitality within an Apartment
Houseways – Rental Apartments in Dhofar, Khareef and Dhofari/ Non-Dhofari Designs
Houseways – Roofs (how one aspect of house design affects other aspects)
Houseways – Windows/ Sightlines
Pre-historical and Historical Houseways in the Dhofar Region: Selected References
Houseways in Southern Dhofar: Selected References
Foodways – Kitchens, General Discussion and Changes
Foodways – Where to Eat: Kitchen, Salle, Majlis
Foodways – Images of Interiors with Food: “We are Ready” and “Good Words”
Foodways – Images of Kitchens
Foodways – Images of Galley Kitchens
Foodways – short essays
Foodways: Researching Fishing Practices in Dhofar and Selected Bibliographies
Research on fishing in Dhofar
Photo of fishing boats
– طرق الطعام : بحث في ممارسات الصيد في ظفار وببليوجرافيات مختارة – Foodways: Researching Fishing Practices in Dhofar (in Arabic) and Selected Bibliographies
Foodways: Fishing from or near the Shore – Sardines
Foodways: Fishing from or near the Shore – Sardines (in Arabic) – السردين – طرق الغذاء
Foodways: Fishing from or near the Shore – Boxes
Foodways: Fishing from or near the Shore – Boxes (in Arabic) – الصيد من او بقرب الشاطئ
Foodways: Catching Lobsters and Diving for Abalone
Foodways: Catching Lobsters and Diving for Abalone (in Arabic) – طرق الغذاء: صيد الكركن والغوص لأذن البحر طرق الغذاء: صيد الشارخة والغوص للصفيلح
Foodways: Fish traps
Foodways: Fish traps (in Arabic) – مصائد الأسماك
Foodways: Cultures, Food Selfishness and “Could I Have a Little Bite?”
Foodways: Thinking about Uses of Plastic Bags and Bottles in Dhofar
Foodways: Cultural Issues Pertaining to Litter
You Have Nothing to Fear from Sheep’s Eyes but Beware the Carrot Sweet: Researching Foodways in Southern Oman
Foodways: Cultures, Food Selfishness and “Could I Have a Little Bite?”
Foodways – Thoughts on Iftars, Food and Cultures
Foodways – Iftars in Ramadan
Foodways and Living Expat
Foodways and Living Expat on the Arabian Peninsula – part 2
Foodways and Teaching Culture
Foodways – Perceptions of “Old”/ “Fresh” Food
Foodways in Southern Oman – Historical Sources
Foodways – a few remarks about camels
Foodways – a few remarks about cows and goats
Cookbook, Coffee and and the “Omani Sandwich”
Dugar/ Cowpeas
Common Food Terms in Dhofar, Oman (updated)
A Sense of Place – Everyday Images of Food and Plants in Dhofar
Food Research/ Corona Virus in Oman
Corona, Curfew and Dinner (and good graphics)
Foodways and Literature – Animal Poems
Foodways and Literature – Food Stories and Poems
Selected Bibliography: Animals, Birds and Fish in Southern Oman
Foodways – other avenues of research
Food Photos by Salwa Hubais
May Bsisu’s The Arab Table – Reading Recipes for Cultural Understandings
Food Here and There/ Missing Food
Cognitive Dissonance and Food Identification
Cooking in a Chair?!? – Abductive Reasoning and Foodways in Khareef
‘Little c’ Culture: Flooded Roads and Cheese Triangles
Food Tastes Better in the Rain – Khareef in Salalah
Foodways Images – Humor, Disseminating Information, and the Instagram Food/ Money Connection
Ramadan and Foodways – Images of food in connection to greetings and good behavior, Vimto and selling food
Food Terminology: Life is not Life, Curry is not Curry, Chutney is not Chutney
Food Perceptions – Honey
Food Often Served at Weddings in Dhofar
Breakfast is ready!
Lunch is ready!
Snack is ready!
quote on entertaining from Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford (1853)
“Arabic Coffee,” a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye
Fighting Corona in Oman – Graphics and Short Essays
Eid mubarak from the Covid-response graphics team
Covid warning for Ramadan
New Covid Warning Images
New Covid-19 graphics
Getting ready for Ramadan (the new curfew and VAT)
Oman facing Covid – business curfew starting tonight (8pm – 5am)
Time to get the vaccine!
Oman vs. Covid-19, 2021 graphics
Good news – the first doses of vaccine have arrived!
Food Research/ Corona Virus in Oman
Back to School!
Images – “Made in Oman” symbol, Women’s Day and “Facing Corona”
New curfew – New (good) graphics
Corona, Curfew and Dinner (and good graphics)
Images about Keeping Safe in Oman: Coivd-19 and Rain Storm
Safety in Difficult Times
Let’s stay home and stay safe: the Corona virus in Oman
Dreaming of Dhofari Picnics
Remembrances
Steve Cass
Steve Cass, teacher and friend
Remembering Steve Cass
Aunt Alice
2023
Hurricane Luban
October 12, 2018
November 2, 2018
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Photo – Hussein BaOmar
Foodways and Society in Oman – Food and Culture
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