Sect, Difference, and Interreligious Marriage in Lebanon, by Lara Deeb

In this talk, Deeb will share insights from her research on social responses to interreligious and intersectarian marriage in Lebanon. Based on interviews with over 150 Lebanese in mixed marriages and many of their family members, Deeb aims to challenge the predominance of sect as the primary discourse of social difference in Lebanon by looking at its intersections with other forms of difference. At the same time, she addresses sectarianism – always taken as historically constructed -- by exploring the incorporation of sectarian language and ideas in parents’ oppositional responses to mixed marriage.

Lara Deeb is a Professor of Anthropology at Scripps College.