The Historian’s Toolkit—Tools of the Trade (Episode 3 of 3): The Book Review and Traditional Moroccan Dress
By: Claire Boyle / Arab America Contributing Writer
Introduction:
Welcome to The Historian’s Toolkit! This is a three-part series focusing on the tools of the trade that historians use to study the past as well as how we can use these tools to learn about a topic of history in the Arab World. The Historian’s Toolkit will feature three articles of which each focuses on the specific trade tool as well as applying it to some form of Arab world history. This series will focus on the historian’s tools of historiography, primary sources, and the book review. In this third and final installment, we are going to learn about what is a book review, what is its purpose in aiding scholarship, and how a book review is written about the history of traditional Moroccan dress.
What is a Book Review?
So, you might be asking, “what is a book review and how are they used to aid in studying history?” Well, you’re in the right place then! Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University define a book review as “a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, merit. [Additionally, they can be] a primary source, opinion piece, summary review, or scholarly review.” Book reviews are often found in newspapers, scholarly journals, magazines, or they can even be written as a school assignment for a class. Historians typically rely on book reviews written in academic and scholarly journals to help them select texts for their research projects. This is because the prevailing perspective amongst most historians is if an academic/scholarly journal and another historian took the time to review an article or text then they must have thought the work was important enough or pushed historical scholarship forward in some shape or form.
Historians as part of their own study also typically learn how to write book reviews themselves because they are so important to the field of history. As a student, you might be reading a review to help pick articles and/or books for a paper, but after graduation and armed with new expertise, you might be tasked to write one yourself as other historians value your opinion on a topic and work. So, what are the typical elements that go into writing a book review?
How Do Historians Write a Book Review?
When writing a book review themselves, historians typically examine a few different things. They usually write a summary of what the book is about, and the arguments posed. Additionally, they analyze the primary source base of the work. In episode 2 of 3 in The Historian’s Toolkit, primary sources were defined as “the evidence of history, original records or objects that were created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or after as memoirs or oral histories.” Oftentimes, historians will study what is the rationale for the book/article as in why the author chose to write the work and how the historian’s work relates to other scholars. In episode 1 of 3 in The Historian’s Toolkit, this idea of being in relation to other historians was called historiography which was defined as “the study of historical writing.” Finally, when writing an academic book review, historians analyze the methodology that was deployed and examine the work’s strengths and weaknesses.
Applying the Tool of the Book Review to Arab World History—Traditional Moroccan Dress Edition:
Morocco has many styles and types of clothing within the arena of traditional dress. The type of clothing also depends on what culture it comes from whether it is Moroccan Arab or Berber. Another defining characteristic is the influence of European cultures due to history and geopolitics such as the French, Spanish, and even the Germans.
There are two consistent types of traditional dress anyone will see in Morocco, and those are the Caftan as well as the Djellaba. The Caftan tends to be the fancier of the two types, and it is characterized by a loose, boxy shape with short or long-sleeves, and they can either be casual or formal attire. The Djellaba is a long, flowing ‘gown’ with a distinctly pointed hood, both men and women wear it in Morocco. Just like the Caftan, the Djellaba can be bedecked with designs and jewels for formal events, or it can have a simple design for casual wear. Finally, the other most famous piece of attire is the babouches, which are a type of open-backed shoe with a point in the front. These are often worn with the Djellabas themselves.
So, how would a historian use a book review to examine the history behind traditional and modern Moroccan dress? Well, first of all, they would want to research academic resources on the historical and cultural background of these clothes. Then they would probably converse with an anthropologist to understand the reasons why in human development were these clothes made such as culture, climate, or some other defining characteristic. Perhaps, they would want to consult an expert in Moroccan fashion to get a sense of the artistic and ornate details that go into creating these magnificent pieces. Finally, after conducting all this research, they would put all their newfound knowledge and book materials together to write a review of the books they consulted specifically. When writing a book review, historians do not always need to know the ins and outs of the field they are studying, but perhaps this background would be more beneficial if their review was being published in an academic journal since the reviewer also has to figure out how their work constitutes a contribution to the field of historical study.
Conclusion:
Thank you for joining this exciting journey to learn a little bit more about the beautiful field of history as we unravel the historian’s ‘tools of the trade’. Thank you for coming to explore the entire series of “The Historian’s Toolkit.” As a recap, in episode 1, historiography was explored and how it relates to Moroccan history, then in episode 2, we took a trip to Ancient Egypt to learn about primary sources, and finally, in episode 3, The Historian’s Toolkit returned to Morocco to educate on how a book review can be used to analyze traditional Moroccan dress. I hope you have enjoyed this excursion into the wonderful and exciting world of historical scholarship! Thank you again!
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