The Changing Consumer Cultures of Modern Egypt ― Cairo's Urban Reshaping

Having studied consumerism in Singapore and Kuala Lampur, Abaza (sociology, American U., Cairo) returned to Cairo to find similar developments there. She began making observations in malls and interviewing managers, workers, and public but soon realized that consumer culture thrived away from the glitter as well, in coffee houses, cuisines, and other mundane matters. Among her findings is that consumerism does not necessarily equate with homogenization because Egyptians do it differently than, for example, Indonesians and Chinese. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Mona Abaza, Ph.D (1990) in sociology, University of Bielefeld, teaches currently at the American University in Cairo. Her research interests are religious and cultural networks between the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the Hadhrami diaspora in Southeast Asia and Consumer culture in Egypt.