Contemporary Arab thought : cultural critique in comparative perspective / Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kassab, Elizabeth Suzanne, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civilization, Arab--20th century.

Civilization, Arab.

Criticism (Philosophy).

Criticism--Arab countries.

Criticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (cii, 496 pages)

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"In the last third of the twentieth century, the Arab intellectual and political scene polarized between totalizing doctrines - nationalist, Marxist, and religious - and radical critique. Arab thinkers were reacting to the disenchanting experience of postindependence and a widespread sense of malaise, as well as to authoritarianism, intolerance, injustice, failed development, and successive defeats by Israel. The foundational account of these responses, Contemporary Arab Thought illuminates the relationship between cultural and political critique in the work of major Arab thinkers. Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab also connects Arab debates to the postcolonial issues of Latin America and Africa, revealing the shared struggles of different regions. Since its first publication in 2009, this book has stood as the foremost account of contemporary Arab debates on culture, philosophy, modernity, tradition, identity, and liberation. It is widely used in Middle Eastern studies courses, and it has become a classic in the field of Arab intellectual history. Contemporary Arab Thought now features an extensive new introduction that reconsiders post-1967 Arab intellectual history in light of the 2011 uprisings and the upheavals that have occurred over the intervening years. Kassab critically reflects on the book's arguments and the responses it has provoked, and she surveys the new preoccupations that have emerged in Arab debates since 2011. As crises again overtake the Middle East, this landmark work continues to offer indispensable insight into the richness of contemporary Arab thought."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction to the second edition : the deferred dream explodes

Introduction : cultural malaise and cultural identity in Twentieth- Century Western, Postcolonial, and Arab debates

The first modern Arab cultural Re nais sance, or Nahda : from the mid– Nineteenth Century to the mid– Twentieth Century

Critique after the 1967 defeat

Marxist, epistemological, and psychological readings of major conferences on cultural decline, renewal, and authenticity

Critique in Islamic theology

Secular critique

Breaking the Postcolonial solitude : Arab motifs in comparative perspective

Conclusion : the new Nahda impulses, reclaiming the right to freedom and life.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed October 20, 2025).

Other Format:

Print version: Kassab, Elizabeth Suzanne. Contemporary Arab thought.

ISBN:

9780231559027

023155902X

OCLC:

1522781680

Publisher Number:

CIPO000213770

CIPO000217168

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license