Comments on: In Memoriam: Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

By: Christine Gish Zomorodian

Christine Gish Zomorodian — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:44:54 +0000

Being a tad out of touch these days, I learned about BJ’s passing today. As an undergraduate at CMES in the early 80’s, she was a key influence in my development as a student and, most importantly, as a thinker.
She always pushed me to the next level of my abilities and taught me to think through my writing. As a recovering orphan of the sixties radical world, she challenged my jaded perspective and showed me how look at feminism and women’s politics from a truly new place.
At the pinnacle of my academic prowess (won for Best in Persian), I made some supercillious, self-effacing remark. She replied with: “Just take the complement like a woman! We wouldn’t have given it to you, if we didn’t think you deserved it!”
Even though I went into an entirely different field than MES, I still think of her often and remember many of her wise counsel and sometimes pithy comments. BJ will truly live on in the hearts and minds of so many.

By: MOHAMED BEN-MADANI

MOHAMED BEN-MADANI — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:51:31 +0000

I was very saddened to hear of BJ’s death. She was on the Editorial Board of The Maghreb Review, and was always a great supporter and the last I saw her was at the 50th anniversary of AMIDEAST in Marrakech. She will be greatly missed.

Mohamed Ben-Madani.

By: April Hinds

April Hinds — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:57:29 +0000

It is because of this incredible woman that a spark was ignited in me to study the Mddle East. “Guests of The Sheik” is what led me to minor in Middle Eastern Studies (my Univ. did not offer an official degree in the subject). I read this book a few months before 9/11 and it allowed me to approach this tragic event with an educated and informed mind. While I have read almost everything else she has written or edited, this book has a very special place in my heart. Her courage and intelligence on first journey to Iraq inspired me so much, it’s hard to find the right words to express it. When people ask me why I studied and obtained a degree having to do with w/ Middle Eastern studies, my response is, “I read an incredible book by an amazing woman.” My world is a little sadder knowing that she is gone. My sincerest and most heartfelt condolences to her amazing family.

By: Sarah Lehmann

Sarah Lehmann — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:55:56 +0000

I too, did not know Mrs. Fernea personally, but I was emotionally and academically touched by her ethnography Guests of the Sheik. Reading it for the first time in 1994, I found myself continually returning to it while exploring women’s issues in the Middle East. In 2004, I finally did enroll in a graduate program much to the chagrin of my husband, who was established in a career and fearful of travel in the Middle East. Last Valentine’s Day I presented him with a copy of Guests, and I believe it saved our marriage. Her work has touched my in ways I never thought possible. My condolences to her family.

By: Carolyn M. Appleton, CFRE

Carolyn M. Appleton, CFRE — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:55:38 +0000

I was exceedingly fortunate to study with Dr. Fernea in the mid-1970s, and I can say without a doubt that she changed my life. I did eventually major in Middle Eastern Studies for my B.A., and I suspect that if I had not had her as a mentor (she engaged me so completely in my studies), that I would not have succeeded half as well. I am eternally grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Ferna. – Carolyn M. Appleton, CFRE

By: Jeffrey Boyce

Jeffrey Boyce — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:11:29 +0000

Though I only knew her through her writing, Professor Fernea was a very special woman. I came across Street in Marrakesh while studying Morocco, my wife’s home country. She gentle spirit shone through. My condolences to her family.

By: Naella Masud

Naella Masud — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:01:48 +0000

I never met Professor Fernea but was introduced to her literary works while take a course on the Middle East back in 1986. Through her books, so beautifully written, I came to appreciate and value what she had experienced during her stay in the Arab world in a time that was so different. For that I am grateful to have had her part of my life. My condolences to the family.

By: Anne R. Johnson

Anne R. Johnson — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:12:52 +0000

I too am learning late about the loss of such an inspriational friend. BJ was both a wonderful teacher and mentor for me as I worked at the Center for Middle East Studies in the mid 1980s. She helped inspire a love for the Arab world that has never faded. Her visits when I was working on development projects in Egypt and Jerusalem in the 90s were cherished times, and she will be sorely missed. Fortunately her books help keep her memory alive and vivid and will be an important legacy for generations of students.

By: Michael C. Dunn

Michael C. Dunn — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:07:14 +0000

While I can’t claim to have known BJ well, we crossed paths many times during our careers. As a young graduate student I first read her books; I think I first met her in Egypt sometime in the 70s or early 80s, or perhaps in the US at MESA or other conferences. We had many friends in common though never knew each other all that well. After I became Editor of THe Middle East Journal in 1998 I published a keynote speech she had given to the Middle East Institute, and we worked together, by phone and E-mail, to edit it. She played a pioneering and important role in our field, and though I didnt know her well, I’m glad I knew her to the degree I did.

Michael Collins Dunn
Editor
Middle East Journal

By: Jane Hathaway

Jane Hathaway — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:44:21 +0000

I learned of B.J.’s death only on Dec. 15. I really can’t believe she’s gone. She was always such a fixture at UT’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, where I met her many years ago, when I was a teen-aged undergraduate. She was always unfailingly kind and generous to me. I remember her at a CMES reception for some important visiting speaker during those days. Rather than ignoring me, she introduced me to the speaker as “one of our better students.” This was typical of her down-to-earth personality; she was never overawed by rank or hierarchy.

My deepest condolences to her family. Her contributions to the field and her personal warmth and generosity will always be remembered.