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William O Beeman

Anthropology 395 HHH 301 - 19th Ave South
Curriculum Vitae

Department Affiliations

University Affiliations

  • Liberal Arts: Program in Second Language Studies [Website]
  • Liberal Arts: Center for Cognitive Sciences [Website]

Narrative

Professor Beeman's scholarly interests and research include sociolinguistics and the semantics of interaction; cross-cultural comparison of theatrical and performance genres; opera; paralinguistic and nonlinguistic semiotics; action anthropology; philosophic anthropology; peasant and nomadic societies. His research in recent years has explored neuroscience and cognition in conjunction with music and theatrical performance.

He is an internationally known expert on the Middle East and the Islamic World, particularly Iran, the Gulf Region and Central Asia. He has also conducted research in Japan, India, Nepal, China and Europe. From 1996-1999 he sang professionally in Europe as an operatic bass. He continues his musical career.


Specialties

  • peasant and nomadic societies
  • philosophic anthropology
  • action anthropology
  • paralinguistic and nonlinguistic semiotics
  • sociolinguistics and the semantics of interaction
  • cross-cultural comparison of theatrical and performance genres
  • opera
  • Middle East
  • Islamic world
  • Iran
  • South Asia
  • Japan

Educational Background

  • Ph.D.: Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1976.

Publications

  • Iranian Performance Traditions. Beeman, William, Mazda Publications, Author, 2011. Link Image
  • The “Great Satan“ vs. the “Mad Mullahs“: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other. Beeman, William, University of Chicago Press, Author, 2008. Link Image
  • Language, Status and Power in Iran. Beeman, William, Indiana University Press, Author, 1986. Link Image
  • U.S.-Iran Relations: Mutually Assured Estrangement: Beeman, William, Thomas Juneau and Sam Razavi, Routledge, Iran Foreign Policy since 2001: Alone in the World, 196-207, 2013. Link Download
  • “The U.S.-Shi’ite Relationship in a New Iraq: Better than the British?“: Beeman, William, Strategic Insights, 3/5 1-8, 2004. Download
  • The Performance Hypothesis: Practicing Emotions in Protected Frames.: Beeman, William, Helena Wulff, editor, Berg Publishers, The Emotions, 273-298, 2007. Link Download
  • Making Grown Men Weep: Beeman, William, Angela Hobart and Bruce Kapferer, eds., Berghahn Books, Aesthetics in performance : formations of symbolic construction and experience, 23-42, 2005. Link Download
  • Silence in Music: Beeman, William, Maria-Luisa Achino-Loeb, ed., Berghahn Books, Silence: The Currency of Power, 23-34, 2005. Link Download
  • Classical Persian Music, Islam and Ta'ziyeh: Beeman, William, Soussie Restegar and Anna Vanzan, eds., AIEP Editore, Muraqqa'e Sharqi: Studies in Honor of Peter Chelkowski, 43-56, 2007. Link
  • “Elections and Governmental Structures in Iran: Reform Lurks under the Flaws.“: Beeman, William, Brown Journal of World Affairs, XI: 1 [Summer/Fall] 55-68. Download
  • Los tropos de la musica=The tropes of music: Beeman, William, Revista de antropologí­a social., 15 265-71, 2006. Download
  • The Elusive Butterfly : Beeman, William, Iconicity in Language (peer-reviewed online journal), September , 2001. Link Download
  • Anthropology and Linguistics: Beeman, William, Ruth Kempson, Tim Fernando and Nicholas Asher (Editors), Elsevier, Philosophy of Linguistics, 531-551, 2012. Download
  • War and Peace and Margaret Mead: Anthropology's 20th-Century Contributions to the Reduction of International Violence. William O. Beeman. In Kehoe, Alice B and Paul Doughty, eds., Expanding American Anthropology 1945-1980: A Generation Reflects. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. 2012, pp. 199-204.
  • Iran: Beeman, William, Ember, Melvin and Carol R. Ember, eds. , Countries and Their Cultures. New York: Macmillan Reference USA., Countries and their Cultures, 1057-1076, 2001. Link
  • U.S.-Iran Relations: Mutually Assured Estrangement. Beeman, William, Thomas Juneau and Sam Razavi, Routledge, Author, 2013. Download
  • The Neurobiology of Opera: Beeman, William, Culture Teatrali, 129-148, Spring 2007. Download

Research Activities

  • Culture and Performance in Central Asia: Field work, 2007 - 2009

Professional Activities

  • Chair: Department of Anthropology , January 2007
  • President, Middle East Section, American Anthropological Association: 2005 - 2008

Courses Taught

  • Biology, Evolution and Cultural Development of Language
  • Middle East Anthropology
  • Anthropological Linguistics
  • Performance Theory
  • Sociolinguistics and Discourse Analysis
  • Japanese Culture and Scoety
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