Paper short abstract:

'Tiptoeing in the lands of the minarets' is a narrative Italian book, born out of true experiences of life in the Muslim world. It is a tool to introduce and communicate anthropology in public settings and stimulate discussions and insights among adults and young people of living in another culture.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores how we can introduce anthropology in public settings, talking to people who are not anthropologists and involving various audiences of any age, opening debates and discussions on the main themes of anthropology.

“In punta di piedi nei Paesi dei minareti” (‘Tiptoeing in the lands of minarets’) by Giovanna Guslini, Nadia De Biagi, Rosanna Corda, Vita Activa 2022 is an educational tool, an Italian-language publication that was intentionally designed as a collection of attractive, engaging, appealing episodes set in a unitary narrative plot.

It tells about the experiences of life and the encounters of the three authors in Muslim Countries: its anthropological and educational insights were recently discussed during the last IUAES World Congress (Delhi, 14-20 October 2023).

The documentation is based on diaries, notes, letters, interviews, memories, newspapers, and personal photographic archives that produced 81 episodes, organised into 14 chapters, drawn in my case from field experiences, and for all three authors from autobiographical accounts of migration spanning a thirty-year period.

In its first year after the publication, the book has been tested in various public contexts: libraries, high schools, university attended by adults, academies, associations, cultural circles, reading clubs, and initiatives open to all, organized by the culture departments of different Italian municipalities,.

On all these occasions, it has aroused involvement and interest, raising public awareness of different anthropological issues.

The goal of the book is to show how enriching it can be to experience different cultures, despite the many difficulties that can still be overcome.