Join Claremont Discourse for a talk by Dr. Lara Deeb, Professor of Anthropology at Scripps College, titled "Love Across Difference: Mixed Marriage in Lebanon".

About Claremont Discourse
Established in 1998, the Claremont Discourse lecture series is a forum for faculty at The Claremont Colleges to present their current research, publications, and creative projects from a wide variety of disciplines. Please note that any views or opinions expressed by presenters in the course of a Claremont Discourse lecture do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, or values of The Claremont Colleges Services or The Claremont Colleges as a consortium or as individual institutions. For more information or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future Claremont Discourse lecture, please reach out to discourse@claremont.edu.

Lecture Description
Lebanon may be the most complicated place in the world to be a "mixed" couple. It has no civil marriage law, fifteen personal status laws, and a political system built on sectarianism. Still, Lebanon has the most interreligious marriages per capita in the Middle East. What constitutes a mixed marriage is in flux as social norms shift, and reactions to mixed marriage reveal underlying social categories of discrimination. Through stories of Lebanese couples, Dr. Deeb’s book Love Across Difference challenges readers to rethink categories of difference and imagine possibilities for social change.

Drawing on two decades of interviews and research, Dr. Deeb shows how mixed couples in Lebanon confront patriarchy, social difference, and sectarianism. In the drama that ensues as women and young men make their own marital choices, they push gender boundaries and reveal the ultimately empty nature of sect as a category of social difference. Dr. Deeb proposes that love won't end sectarianism, but it can contribute to reducing sect's social power. Through the example of Lebanon, you’ll learn about our own social worlds, about the assumptions we make around social difference, and about how people react when forced to change their ideas of who can be made kin through marriage.

About Dr. Lara Deeb
Dr. Lara Deeb holds the Laura Vausbinder Hockett Endowed Chair at Scripps College in Claremont, where she is Professor of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies. She is also a member of the board of the Middle East Studies Association of North American. In addition to numerous articles and chapters, Deeb is the author of four books, two of which are based on field research in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and co-editor of an additional volume. Her most recent book was published last fall, and is titled, Love Across Difference: Mixed Marriage in Lebanon. She also co-authored a recent primer on Lebanon with Middle East Report, written for policymakers and the general educated public, and available online.

Additional Event Information
Claremont Discourse lectures are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided starting at 4 p.m.