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[Image from the Royal Court Theatre website.]

After the Spring: Thoughts on Cultural Production and the Selling Power of Change

“After the Spring: New Short Plays from the Arab World.” Performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, August 2011. As part of their international “Rough Cuts” project, the Royal Court Theatre specially commissioned a series of four short plays from the Arab world in a program entitled “After the Spring,” in response to the uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa. All four writers had previously participated in the Royal Court project when it was first established ...

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Where the Truth Lies

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Turkey, 2011. Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Once Upon a Time in Anatolia opens with a scene in which the truth is buried; it is there in front of us but hidden. The first thing we see is an image that is shot from outside a ...

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Algeria's Impact on French Philosophy: Between Poststructuralist Theory and Colonial Practice

Pal Ahuluwalia. Out of Africa: Post-Structuralism’s Colonial Roots. New York: Routledge, 2010. Jane Goodman and Paul A. Silverstein (eds). Bourdieu in Algeria: Colonial Politics, Ethnographic Practices, Theoretical Developments. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009. ...

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New Texts Out Now: Maya Mikdashi, What is Settler Colonialism? and Sherene Seikaly, Return to the Present

Maya Mikdashi, “What Is Settler Colonialism?” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 37:2 (2013) Sherene Seikaly, “Return to the Present,” Elisabeth Weber, editor, Living Together: Jacques Derrida’s Communities of Violence and Peace. New York: Fordham University Press, 2012. Jadaliyya (J): ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Joel Beinin, Mixing, Separation, and Violence in Urban Spaces and the Rural Frontier in Palestine

Joel Beinin, “Mixing, Separation, and Violence in Urban Spaces and the Rural Frontier in Palestine.” Arab Studies Journal Vol. XXI No. 1 (Spring 2013). Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this article? Joel Beinin (JB): It grew out of a conference on late Ottoman Palestine at the University of Lausanne. I was invited ...  Read More »

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The Least of All Possible Evils: Humanitarian Violence from Arendt to Gaza

Eyal Weizman, The Least of All Possible Evils: Humanitarian Violence from Arendt to Gaza. New York: Verso, 2011. [This review was originally published in the most recent issue of Arab Studies Journal. For more information on the issue, or to subscribe to ASJ, click here.] In that historical moment after the ...  Read More »

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The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South

Vijay Prashad. The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. Forward by Boutros Boutros-Ghali. London and New York: Verso, 2012. Correct ideas are never sufficient; they are not believed or enacted simply because they are right. They become the ideas of the time only when they are wielded by those who ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Wendy Pearlman, Emigration and the Resilience of Politics in Lebanon

Wendy Pearlman, “Emigration and the Resilience of Politics in Lebanon.” Arab Studies Journal Vol. XXI No. 1 (Spring 2013). Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this article? Wendy Pearlman (WP): Five years ago I began to read widely about Lebanon in preparation for a trip there. While there are so many fascinating ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Simon Jackson, Diaspora Politics and Developmental Empire: The Syro-Lebanese at the League of Nations

Simon Jackson, “Diaspora Politics and Developmental Empire: The Syro-Lebanese at the League of Nations.” Arab Studies Journal Vol. XXI No. 1 (Spring 2013). Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this article? Simon Jackson (SJ): The article draws on my current book project, provisionally titled Mandatory Development: ...  Read More »

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Juridical Humanity: A Colonial History

Samera Esmeir, Juridical Humanity: A Colonial History. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012. [This review was originally published in the most recent issue of Arab Studies Journal. For more information on the issue, or to subscribe to ASJ, click here.] Today human rights provides a dominant framework for ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Charles Tripp, The Power and the People: Paths of Resistance in the Middle East

Charles Tripp, The Power and the People: Paths of Resistance in the Middle East. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book? Charles Tripp (CT): The origins of the book lay initially in my feeling that a great deal of space had been devoted to the ...  Read More »

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From “Islamic Art” to “Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia”: Reliving the Distortions of History

This is the exceptional collection in all America, and it is being neglected. I urge you to make the reinstallation of Islam your highest priority. If you were to create an Islamic wing, you’d find that our holdings – splendid bronzes, excellent silver, majestic tiles, gorgeous carpets, intricate woodcarving, ...  Read More »

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The Lebanese Rocket Society: A Dream Takes Flight

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige The Lebanese Rocket Society--A Tribute to Dreamers (Parts II, III, IV, and V) CRG Gallery, Manhattan February 28 -- April 20, 2013   In April 1961, students from Halgazian University along with instructor Manoug Manougian launched a rocket over Ain Saadeh, northeast of ...  Read More »

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First as Shadow, Then as Farce: An Evening with Medieval Puppeteer Ibn Daniyal at CUNY in New York

The thirteenth-century occulist Muhammad Ibn Daniyal, said to have occasionally blinded his patients, is remembered both for his tragic optometry and for his comedic shadow puppet plays. A refugee from Mosul, Ibn Daniyal once entertained Sultans and urchins alike in the streets and salons of medieval Cairo. Perhaps he ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Chouki El Hamel, Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam

Chouki El Hamel, Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Questions by Brahim El Guabli Brahim El Guabli (BEG): Why Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam? Chouki El Hamel (CEH): Written history about Morocco is generally silent ...  Read More »

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Derrida and the Crisis of French Zionism

The life’s work of Jacques Derrida, often referred to by the name “deconstruction,” advanced a new way of reading. Emphasizing the deferral of meaning and the production of irreducible differences within the major concepts of European thought, Derrida’s thought was enormously controversial, particularly for its ...  Read More »

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Algeria: The Revolution to Come?

Hocine Belalloufi, Democracy in Algeria, Reform or Revolution. Coédition Lazhari Labter éditions / Editions Apic Alger, 2012. On the shelves of bookstores in Algiers, a book appeared a few months ago whose cover immediately stood out.  Under the image of a large classic-looking compass, in large and ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Adel Iskandar and Bassam Haddad, Mediating the Arab Uprisings

Adel Iskandar and Bassam Haddad, editors, Mediating the Arab Uprisings. Washington, DC: Tadween Publishing, 2013. Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book? Adel Iskandar and Bassam Haddad (AI & BH): The idea for this book grew out of the splendid contributions to Jadaliyya from a number of authors who ...  Read More »

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From High to Low and Back Again: A Fish Above Sea Level

Samak fawqa satah al-bahr [A Fish above Sea Level]. Directed by Hazim Bitar. Jordan, 2012. Recently I had the opportunity to view the independent film Samak fawqa satah al-bahr (A Fish above Sea Level) at the University of Jordan. This is the first feature-length film by Hazim Bitar, who both wrote and directed it. ...  Read More »

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Showtime's Homeland and the US Media

I took advantage of a recent promotion by my cable company to power-watch both seasons of Showtime’s Homeland. Before taking this plunge, I had purposely stayed away from Argo and Zero Dark Thirty, which have Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) heroes pitted against Muslim enemies. I never tuned into any of the seasons ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: David McMurray and Amanda Ufheil-Somers, The Arab Revolts

David McMurray and Amanda Ufheil-Somers, editors, The Arab Revolts: Dispatches on Militant Democracy in the Middle East. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013. Published in association with Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). Jadaliyya (J): What made you compile this volume? David McMurray ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Esam Al-Amin, The Arab Awakening Unveiled

Esam Al-Amin, The Arab Awakening Unveiled: Understanding Transformations and Revolutions in the Middle East. Washington, DC: American Educational Trust, 2013. Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book, and how would you describe it? Esam Al-Amin (EA): The Arab Awakening Unveiled: Understanding Transformations ...  Read More »

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NEWTON in Focus: Thinking Through Gender and Sex

This week we highlight various NEWTON texts relevant to the study of gender and sexuality. The authors of these texts write from a wide range of perspectives, approaching questions relevant to the MENA region from a variety of cultural and political contexts and (inter)disciplinary approaches. We encourage you to ...  Read More »

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Melancholia and the Possibility of a Geopolitics of Mourning

Nouri Gana, Signifying Loss: Toward a Poetics of Narrative Mourning. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 2011. In the preface to his recent book, Signifying Loss, Nouri Gana argues that “[i]n a world marked by the swift and sanitized infliction of loss and suffering, especially as a result of the insidious ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Rashid Khalidi, Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East

Rashid Khalidi, Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East. Boston: Beacon Press, 2013. Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book? Rashid Khalidi (RK): I had long wanted to use the large number of documents—position papers, minutes of meetings, internal memos, official proposals, and so ...  Read More »

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Reading Poetry in Tehran: The Case of the Forbidden

Sholeh Wolpé, The Forbidden: Poetry from Iran and Its Exiles. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2012.  La redonda, suprema y celestial sandía Es la fruta del árbol de la sed Es la ballena verde del verano At a Chilean food market in Santiago, a young fruit vendor hums verses in praise of ...  Read More »

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Open Sesame: Memories from a War-Torn Generation

Open Sesame Curated by Ola El-Khalidi apexart, Manhattan   17 January -- 2 March 2013   Through a small collection of objects, maps, letters, and photographs, Open Sesame leads viewers back in time to 2 August 1990— the morning Iraq invades Kuwait. The exhibit pieces together the miscellaneous ...  Read More »

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When I Saw You

Lamma Shoftak [When I Saw You]. Directed by Annemarie Jacir. Jordan-Palestine-UAE-Greece, 2012. Annemarie Jacir’s Lamma Shoftak/When I Saw You extends her examination of exile and occupation begun in her début feature Milh Hadha al-Bahr [Salt of This Sea] (2008), as well as her earlier shorts and documentaries. Salt ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Vijay Prashad, The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South

Vijay Prashad, The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South, with a preface from Boutros Boutros Ghali. London and New York: Verso and New Delhi: LeftWord, 2013. Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book? Vijay Prashad (VP): When I finished The Darker Nations, I felt that the last section was not ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Paul Aarts and Francesco Cavatorta, Civil Society in Syria and Iran

Paul Aarts and Francesco Cavatorta, editors, Civil Society in Syria and Iran: Activism in Authoritarian Contexts. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2013. Jadaliyya (J): What made you put together this book? Paul Aarts and Francesco Cavatorta (PA & FC): We started collaborating in early 2009 on a project looking at ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Amr Adly, State Reform and Development in the Middle East: Turkey and Egypt in the Post-Liberalization Era

Amr Adly, State Reform and Development in the Middle East: Turkey and Egypt in the Post-Liberalization Era. London and New York: Routledge, 2012. Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book? Amr Adly (AA): The book is based on my PhD dissertation that I completed in September 2010 at the European University ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Rachel Beckles Willson, Orientalism and Musical Mission: Palestine and the West

Rachel Beckles Willson, Orientalism and Musical Mission: Palestine and the West. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this book?  Rachel Beckles Willson (RBW): In 2004, I was puzzled by the way that the English press—specifically newspapers that are ...  Read More »

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New Texts Out Now: Ilana Feldman, The Challenge of Categories: UNRWA and the Definition of a "Palestine Refugee"

Ilana Feldman, "The Challenge of Categories: UNRWA and the Definition of a 'Palestine Refugee.'" Journal of Refugee Studies 25.3 (2012). Jadaliyya (J): What made you write this article?  Ilana Feldman (IF): There were two primary motivating forces for writing this article. First, it is part of a ...  Read More »

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