The Sexual Unconscious of the Arab Revolutions

By Pamela Nice

This academic work explores both the symbolic statements and lived experience of Arab women who transgress social norms, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The collection of essays by and about contemporary Arab women in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Egypt, the Maghreb, and the United States recounts the particular ways in which each woman transgressed and how she reacted to the response it provoked. The strongest chapters break free from the bonds of academic jargon and present women in their full flesh-and-blood selves, often suffering greatly for their brave actions, sometimes with bodily manifestations.

Books

The Arabic Novel: The Voice of an Oppressed People

Appearing in the Current Al Jadid

In his “The Arabic Novel: The Voice of an Oppressed People,” Shaker al-Anbari examines the rise of the Arabic novel as a medium for exploring interactions within Arab communities. Where the short story and poetry failed to capture the large-scale impact of war and strife, the Arabic novel allows writers to artistically respond to the upheaval and change which has shaken entire societies. This has sparked a recent spike in Arabic novels – in numbers and in the desire to translate these works – as publishing houses see a profitable prospect.

Essays and Features

Documentary Examines Different Narratives of Lebanese War from the Perspective of Major Participants

Forthcoming in Al Jadid

In a recent film, co-directors Daniele Rugo and Abi Weaver consider the tragic extent of the Lebanese Civil War. Following the experiences of three ex-fighters from different sides of the conflict, the documentary “About a War” reopens old wounds while paving a path towards healing. In the words of Sarah Khalil, who interviewed Weaver for an Al Araby article, “Communities are still yet to hear the experiences of others who now they call neighbors. In the film, the confessions of the ex-fighters are woven together to present narratives likely unheard by the other side.”

Films

Who are ‘Bad Girls’...And Who Says So? New Book Examines Women Who Transgress Social Norms in Today’s Middle East

Forthcoming in Al Jadid

Nadia Yaqub and Rula Quawas’ “Bad Girls of the Arab World” (University of Texas Press, 2017) records and analyzes the experiences of Arab women who transgress social norms, telling the stories of Arab women from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Egypt, the Maghreb, and the United States. In her review of the book for Al Jadid, Pamela Nice notes that the strongest chapters in this work “break free from the bonds of academic jargon and present women in their full flesh-and-blood selves.”

Books

New Book on Adonis: A ‘Rehabilitation’ Biography?

Forthcoming in Al Jadid

The 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution did not go unnoticed by some Arab intellectuals. The anniversary evoked few positive thoughts, even leading some to regret how enthusiastically they had welcomed the revolution back in 1979. Mouhamad Houjeiri, a Lebanese intellectual and journalist, recalled the occasion through a column, "The Cultural Fascination with the Khomeinist Revolution," published in the Beirut-based Al Modon. He offers a brief recollection of some Lebanese and Arab intellectuals who were fascinated by Khomeini. Importantly among them stands Adonis, whose grand “Salute to Iran’s Revolution” lingers in many intellectual memories. Houjeiri's recollection extended to Western intellectuals who were equally fascinated by Khomeini, and particularly the French philosopher Michel Foucault.

Essays and Features

‘Traveling Scholar’ Ella Shohat: The Contradictions and Challenges of Being an Arab Jew

As a public intellectual, Ella Shohat has found that her personal history profoundly informs her scholarship. Born in Israel to Iraqi parents who had migrated to that country after 1948, Shohat grew up in an Israeli culture that discriminated against Mizrahi Jews. Living a life of contradictions and tension as an “Arab-Jew” – a person of the Jewish religion whose culture and primary language are Arabic, she has found herself on countless occasions having to explain an identity that seemed like an oxymoron, an impossibility, to academics and others.

Chronicling Syrians’ Personal Stories of Struggle to Reach Safe Refuge

By 
Sarah Rogers

On Friday January 27, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that, for a 90-day period, suspended immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States from Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen. It also, for a period of 120 days, suspended the Refugee Resettlement Program, placing an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. “Leaving Syria: Seeking Refuge in Greece” makes clear the plight of Syrian refugees traces back to a much longer and tragic history.


Leaving Syria: Seeking Refuge in Greece
By Bill Dienst, MD and Madi Williamson
Cune Press, 2017

Little Time to Rest: 'Daughters' of Nomads

By 
Pamela Nice

Watching “Daughters of Anatolia,” a film documenting the nomadic lifestyle of goat herders in contemporary Turkey, makes one aware of the value of ethnographic filmography over its drier, academic prose cousin. Describing the migratory path from the Mediterranean Sea to the Taurus Mountains cannot compare with seeing the breath-taking beauty of mountains in bloom as goats scramble over them.

Broadway’s ‘Oslo’ Highlights Human Drama of Famous Peace Accords

By 
Naomi Pham

With two nations at odds for more than half of a century, different major power players brought all types of peace attempts to the table, but to no avail, with two significant exceptions. The Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty of 1979 stands as a lonely, if successful peace attempt, while the 1993 Oslo Accords represent the second, partially successful and incomplete effort. As a result, Palestinians and Israelis formally recognized each other’s existence, and committed themselves to working together to resolve the conflict in a non-violent manner.

Ancient Classic Expresses Modern Tragedy of Syria’s 'Trojan Women'

By 
Naomi Pham

Amidst the ruins of Troy, Queen Hecuba declares, “Lift up your head from the dust! Heave up from the earth the weight of your misery, you whom the Gods have cursed. Some agonies are beyond telling, and some must be told.” One of the acclaimed works of ancient Greek playwright Euripides tells the tale of Hecuba, Andromache, Cassandra and the other women of fallen Troy, who, after their husbands die in battle, now face being sold into slavery with their families. Although this war assuredly takes place in the past, director Zoe Lafferty’s reworking of the ancient play reveals a haunting similarity with the wars we wage today.

Syrian, Palestinian and Afghan Stage Artists Cross Oceans to Land in Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin

By 
Al Jadid Staff

Despite being so far from their homes, a group of actors and actresses come together at Germany’s Maxim Gorki Theater to present a story near and dear to their hearts. “Winterreise” (or, “Winter Journey”), performed by the “Exil Ensemble,” tells of 24-year-old Syrian actress Kenda Hmeidan’s journey with her fellow six performers as they take a bus tour through Germany during the brittle cold weeks of January. Each an exile from Syria, Palestine, or Afghanistan, these actors have left their home countries in pursuit of their art, all while struggling with the transition from departure to settlement.

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