UPDATE: I've added Mohammad Ali Atassi's eloquent, heart-wrenching but hopeful New York Times (June 27, 2011) op-ed piece to the Resources.
INTRODUCTION
"Shu iktashaft?" (What was your big discovery?). My big discovery last week was Al Jadid, a gem I found online while searching for sources on Islam in Syria.
Al Jadid is a quarterly print magazine devoted to Arab culture and the arts. It contains much topical material relevant to courses in world literature, art history, world history, and global affairs–much of it available in a very generous online archive. Its scope spans the Arab world, including the Arab diaspora. It is an excellent source of information about Arab-Americans, their literature, and issues related to being Arab or Arab-American (while living in the US and trying to connect or re-connect with Arab culture and history). Author Amy Wilentz discovered here "a wealth of opinion and information that no one else is publishing in English."
Elie Chalala, the editor of Al Jadid, was born in Lebanon, where he lived in Beirut until he left for the US about 30 years ago. He is a widely respected academic, with a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California Los Angeles. If you Google him, you’ll find not only his syllabi but long lists resources he has put online for his courses (see his Santa Monica College page: http://homepage.smc.edu/chalala_elie/).
Each issue has been put together, intentionally, to challenge conventional ideas about Arab culture, arts, and intellectual trends. The editor and staff are proud that Al Jadid has "covered scores of Arab intellectuals and artists under fire from the state or extremists" and that it has featured "lively debates between secular and religious, traditional and modernist voices" (see "About" on the home page). Elie Chalala is keenly aware of how context, and in particular politics and geopolitics, shapes cultural expression:
"In the U.S. we’ve had the demonizing and marginalizing of Arabs; in the Arab world, we have censorship issues, wars, civil strife, the vestiges of the colonial mentality, and the endless peace process. All of these factors impact and shape culture, and often find their most poignant, elegant expression in the arts."For the current issue go to the home page (http://www.aljadid.com/). Running across the top is a menu from which you can access lists of essays and features, book reviews, interviews, and much more. Sample these lists and, thanks to serendipity, I bet you’ll find great material to consult as background when preparing lessons or that you can use directly with students (mostly high school and above). What’s most exciting (especially if you are unfamiliar with, for example, modern Arab literature in translation) is discovering the work of a new author or bumping into a fresh ideas. To entice you to explore Al Jadid, I’m going to present a few examples, but I won’t provide the URLs (so you’ll have to look for them on the site and, I hope, discover other useful items while you are there).
Essays and Features
When I printed the list (with a fairly small font), it ran to ten pages! There are numerous articles by Syrian writers, journalists, and academics. Scattered throughout the list are articles by Elie Chalala himself, a real boon since their peer-reviewed counterparts are mostly behind pay-walls or in JSTOR. (By the way, if you want to verify that Chalala is a real scholar, search Google Scholar.)
Another frequent contributor is Mohammad Ali Atassi, a Syrian journalist based in Beirut, whose comments on current events I’d already encountered in mainstream media (NPR, Los Angeles Times) and on the blog Syria Comment). Where did he fit into the spectrum of Middle East opinion? Curious to learn more about him, I searched the web and discovered that his family--prominent in Homs since the 16th century--included historical figures of major importance during much of the 20th century. (So I suggest sending students to do a similar search.)
The following articles give some sense of the variety of topics covered in Al Jadid:
1) Michael Teague’s "Syria Open Sesame?" is a timely piece for all of us who are current events buffs. Teague’s critique of four articles from the New York Times (a reputable newspaper despite its warts) reveals how media reaches out for a theme, ties it to a particular event or trend, and then adopts it as a framing device for a wild assortment of stories. This is a recurrent problem in US media, where reporters struggle to cast complex stories in terms that they imagine will make sense to ordinary Americans. Teague suggests that Kareem Fahim and other NYT journalists were so intrigued by signs that Syria was finally "opening up" that they ignored signs pointing in the opposite direction. Thus he finds Fahim’s reportage perceptive but out-of-balance. Only one of the four articles is properly described as "new analysis," however; the others are what we’d call human interest stories. Of course, when it comes to writing feature articles, journalists working for US media, must always ask themselves: What will catch the attention of American readers? In short, while I’d don’t entirely agree with Teague’s critique, I do think he raises very important issues, such as the influence of Washington and the US foreign policy establishment on media analysis of what’s happening in key regions or countries.
An additional benefit of using Teague’s article as a platform for a media literacy exercise (see Activities) is that it ties so directly into current events, especially the Fahim article about the Syrian government’s treatment of its resident Islamists.
2) An article of special interest to world literature and history instructors is Simone Fattal’s "The Passing of a Great Syrian Writer: Ilfat Idilbi, 1912-2007." Idilbi, born in Damascus and one of its beloved "cultural pillars," stands out as a pioneer among Arab women writers and as a nationalist and a feminist. Her novel Sabriya: Damascus Bitter Sweet is set during the revolt against the French in the 1920s (when Syria was a French mandate). The setting of her last book, The Story of My Grandfather, gives readers a vivid portrait of Ottoman Damascus during the late 19th century. I’m putting both books on my personal reading list, but I’ll start with Sabriya since it is easy to see how it would fit into a world history course (or a seminar in European imperialism), where it might be paired with a novel set in French Indochina or French West Africa. Both books are available in new and used copies from online vendors.
Interviews
1) For anyone wanting an introduction to Sufism, Sabah Zwein’s interview with Stefan Reichmuth is very informative. Reichmuth, a professor of Islamic Studies, gives a concise explanation of Sufi doctrine and clarifies the changing status of Sufism in the Ottoman Empire. What I found most valuable, however, was his brief discussion of Sufism as "a kind of civic organization" appealing to people outside the formal political structure but also serving as a bridging institution for immigrant communities. This approach to Sufism brings it into a broader analysis of civil society (where I now suspect it belongs).
2) Rebecca Joubin’s interview, "Syrian Artist Walid Agha Searches for the Spirit of the Letters," introduces the work of a fascinating artist. What intrigued me, as an instructor of world history, was Agha’s early exposure to a very deep tradition of Assyrian decorative art that, amazingly, he was exposed to as a child and his experimentation with Sumerian and Assyrian script in his highly original calligraphy. His work illustrates how cultural traditions are renewed through what Jan Vansina calls "repetition with difference."
Book Reviews
What makes this section invaluable are the reviews of books published in Arabic, whose content would otherwise be unavailable to many of us. In addition to the specialized information that we may glean from such reviews their true value lies in how they expose us the perspectives of books written for Arab audiences and thus shaped by concerns and issues that Arab writers and intellectuals deem important.
The list gives you the title of the review and its author--rather than title of the book under review and its author. So you’ll have to scan the lists and try to guess what the book may be about. This just makes exploring the list more enjoyable–though if pressed for time you might miss something good the first time around.
Here are three examples from the book review section:
1) Andrea Sahlal-Esa, "Rethinking the Mediterranean," reviews a book for all you world history fans (fanatics?). It was fairly easy to guess that the book itself might be a somewhat updated version of Breudel’s classic. Certainly, Iain Chambers's Mediterranean Crossings: The Politics of an Interrupted Modernity (Duke University Press, 2008) is a worthy companion and one with "a long overdue reclamation of the often hidden Arabic and Islamic history" of the region. If you haven’t already consulted this book, reading this review will convince you to put it high on your list.
2) In "Burdened Histories" Bhakati Shringarpure examines Anne Nivat’s The Wake of War: Encounters with the People of Iraq and Afghanistan (Beacon Press, 2005). Nivat is a reporter, as the reviewer puts it, "committed to long durations of travel and sustained conversations," which makes this book potentially a source of primary material for use in global studies as well as history classes. I also encourage language and reading teachers to take a look at this review and Nivat's book, where you’ll probably discover material adaptable to use in class. The review leaves the impression that Nivat is a masterful writer of vignettes so doing an analysis of her craftsmanship might find a place in composition classes.
3) What drew me to Michael Najjar’s "Embracing Inbetweenness" was the title’s implicit mystery. In between what? This is a review of Sarah M. A. Gualtieri’s amazing book, Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora (University of California Press, 2009).
Now I’m generally familiar with how genes have flowed from nearly all directions into the Arab gene pool (an Arab being anyone who self-identifies as Arab). When I see curly-haired, café au lait Libyans, Yemenis, and Iraqis I suspect that this may be due to a remote genetic infusion from the Bilad as-Sudan or the Zanj coast or even further afield. (The Syrian firebrand, red-headed and fair-skinned preacher, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, represents the other extreme of the continuum!) I was also generally aware of the racial conundrum that Middle Easterners and South Asians posed (still pose) in race conscious America. Yet this review refers briefly to an event in 1929 that I would not have imagined. Read the review and then get the book, where Gualtieri shares this and other horrifying stories.
ACTIVITIES
DISCUSS: Elie Chalala, when asked why he decided to make Arab literature and arts the focus of Al Jadid, gave this answer: "I think literature, anywhere in the world, provides an escape from political oppression. ... Literature remains the only area in society where individuals can escape the yoke of the state and express themselves." Use this quote to jump-start a discussion of any novel or short-story that reflects the experience of an author living in or writing about an authoritarian state.
MEDIA LITERACY PROJECT: First, assign Michael Teague’s article, "Syria Open Sesame?" DISCUSS the article to make sure that students understand Teague’s main points and can identify the issues he is raising. Then ask students to find and read the four NYT that he critiques (or three, if you want to omit Robert F. Worth’s article). If your students need to practice searching for specific items, send them to the NYT site to find and print the articles (rather than giving them the URLs, which are listed in Resources for your convenience). WRITE: After reading the NYT articles, students should evaluate Teague’s critique (that is, do a critique of the critique). Do they think Teague being fair in his analysis? Do they agree with Teague? Perhaps, they partly do, partly don’t. Ask students to write essays presenting their original analysis, stressing tha they must explain their points with specific reference to Teague and to the NYT articles. For advanced high school students this is a good exercise that will prepare them for critical reading and expository writing at the college-level.
RESEARCH: Explain to students that when evaluating online sources it is desirable to obtain background biographical information about the authors to have a better sense of what may be shaping their perspectives and opinions. Since Muhammad Ali Atassi is a frequent contributor to Al Jadid articles, send students to the Web to find out more about him and his family. Who was his father? Why is he based in Lebanon rather than Syria? What films has he made and what are they about?
I’d like to suggest that you PREVIEW/SELECT an excerpt from either of Atassi’s documentaries to show in class. However, a quick check online suggested that these are not (yet) readily available–though I suspect that a DVD of "Waiting for Abu Zayed" may soon appear (so keep checking).
DISCUSS: In "Waiting for Abu Zayd" Nasr Hamed Abu Zayd makes these provocative, insightful observations: "The intellectual who claims ownership of the Truth is the other leg of the dictator. When an intellectual claims to own the Truth he becomes the dictator’s servant." The quote is from Jim Quilty’s film review (see Resources). What a piquant quote to turn students’ attention to the predicament of intellectuals in societieties where the cost of "speaking out" is so high! ASK: What does Abu Zayd mean by "ownership of the Truth"? Can you think of instances today or in the past where people assert (have asserted) that "own" the only true ideas? What kinds of service to a dictator is Abu Zayd talking about? ASK for historical examples (what popped into my mind was the book Theologians under Hitler by Robert P. Ericksen). Where is this happening today? (Perhaps in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad’s spokesperson Boutheina Shabaan’s intentions may be good but the results may prove tragic.). And aren’t there also insidious relationships between intellectuals and politicians in "democratic" countries, too?
SEARCH online for more information about Syrian writer Ulfat Idilbi. Note that "Ulfat" (the spelling you will find online) is the transliteration used when her novels were translated and published in English. Students should find, rather easily, the obituary published in The Guardian. Ask them to read it to discover why, when she married at age 17, she decided to use her husband’s name. (Note that the Al Jadid article does not appear in a Google search unless you switch to the alternate spelling.)
FIND/EXAMINE closely online examples of the art work of Walid Agha. DISCUSS: What makes Agha’s art both traditional and modern at the same time? Refer to clues in the interview but try to connect these to visual elements in the examples.
RESOURCES
Al Jadid: A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Art: http://www.aljadid.com/
Gheytanchi, Elham. "More Than That." Interview with Elie Chalala. The Iranian (December 23, 2002): http://www.iranian.com/Opinion/2002/December/Chalala/index.html
Mohammad Ali Atassi
Atassi,Mohammad Ali. "My Syria, Awake Again After 40 Years." New York Times (June 27, 2011):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/opinion/27Atassi.html?scp=1&sq=mohammad%20atassi&st=cse
"Syria Steps Up Crackdown on Protesters." NPR (April 25, 2011): http://www.npr
- Michele Norris, speaking with Deborah Amos and Mohammed Ali Atassi about a letter signed by more than 100 Syrian journalists and intellectuals (both inside/outside the country) in which they condemn the violence in Syria
Atassi, Mohammad Ali. "What the People Want ..." Heinrich Böll Stiftung North America: Perspectives: http://www.boell-meo.org/downloads/Perspectives_02-04_Mohammed_Ali_Atassi.pdf
- Atassi discusses the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, putting these into a larger context and taking issue with certain conventional views about Arab politics, the potential for revolution, and the Islamist factor. Translated from Arabic.
- "We are a political non-profit organization striving to promote democracy, civil society, equality and a healthy environment internationally. Headquarterd in Berlin/Germany, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung has 28 offices worldwide and cooperates with more than 200 partners in more than 60 countries."
- Wright reveals that he is the son of Nurreddin al-Atassi, the president of Syria who was ousted by Hafez Assad in 1970 (p. 214)
"Atassi." Abitabout: http://www.abitabout.com/Atassi
- Family history based (apparently) on information from the Atassi family site; this family claims descent from Prophet Muhammad; their roots in Homs, where they were the recognized muftis, go back to the 16th century.
FILM: "Ibn al-Aam." A documentary by Mohammad Al Atassi, 2001.
- About Riad al-Turk, a Syrian communist turned social democrat, whose life of political dissent and years of imprisonment shed much light on decades of Syrian politics. (An online search will bring up his commentary on recent events in the Middle East.)
FILM: "Waiting for Abu Zayd." A documentary by Mohammad Al Atassi. 2010. Arabic with English subtitles. 82 minutes.
- Atassi’s "portrait of a liberal Islamic scholar who dared to challenge conservative Islamic trends from within Islam." After Abu Zayd was "condemned for apostasy in Egypt on the grounds of his rational writings on the Qur’an, in which he places the religious text in a historical and cultural context," he and his wife left for the Netherlands, where he taught at Leiden University. Using footage shot over six years, Atassi strove to capture both Abu Zayd’s ideas and his interaction with the media. Abu Zayd died suddenly in 2010, shortly after the film was completed.
- For a brief biographical note on Atassi and a photo: http://www.dox-box.org/2011/index.php?ang=2&&page=show&dir=items&ex=2&year=2011&cid=7&fid=57 (also the source of the info/quotes in previous bullet).
Articles Critiqued by Michael Teague
Fahim, Kareem. "Syria’s Solidarity With Islamists Ends at Home." New York Times (September 3, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/world/middleeast/04syria.html?scp=3&sq=kareem%20fahim%20syria%202010&st=cse
Fahim, Kareem, and Nawara Mafoud. "Damascus Journal: Evenings of Poetry Provide a Space for New Voices." New York Times (September 19, 2010): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/world/middleeast/20poetry.html?scp=2&sq=kareem%20fahim%20syria%202010&st=cse
Fahim, Kareem. "Doors Start to Open to Activists in Syria." New York Times (August 28, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/world/middleeast/29syria.html?scp=1&sq=kareem%20fahim%20syria%202010&st=cse
Worth, Robert F. "The Saturday Profile: Syrian Actress Tests Boundaries Again." New York Times (October 1, 2010): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/world/middleeast/02actress.html?scp=1&sq=robert%20worth%20syrian%20actress&st=cse
Ulfat Idilbi
Clark, Peter. "Ulfat Idilbi: Renowned Syrian Fiction Writer, Lecturer and Feminist." The Guardian (April 19, 2007): http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/apr/19/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries/print
Moubayed, Sami. "Farewell Sabriya." Mideast Views: http://mideastviews.com/print.php?art=196
McPhee, Jenny. Review of Sabriya: Damascus Bitter Sweet. New York Times (September 7, 1997): http://nytimes.com/books/97/09/07/bib/970907.rv104334.html
Mohja, Kahf. "The Silence of Contemporary Syrian Literature." World Literature Today (2001). URL: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/_/print/Print/Article.aspx?id=80500168
- For discussion of Idilbi’s work go to the section "The Poetics of Syrian Silence" (about half-way through the article).
- An article for teachers and advanced students.
Walid Agha
Albareh Art Gallery: Walid Agha. http://www.albareh.com/Albareh/Walid%20Agha.html
- For a detailed list of Agha’s numerous exhibitions and six examples of his work.
- Photo of the artist (list of exhibitions, same as above) and four examples of his work.
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