The Claims of Culture at Empire's End - Syria and Lebanon Under French Rule

Zusatztext this is a significant piece of transnational historical scholarship Informationen zum Autor Jennifer M. Deuck is British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University. Klappentext This volume explores the political impact of cultural institutions by analysing the power struggles in Syria and Lebanon under French Mandate rule. The author illuminates how political and religious leaders fought to harness the force of culture through projects as diverse as schools, cinema and tourism. Zusammenfassung This volume asks fundamental questions about the political impact of cultural institutions by exploring the power struggles for control over such institutions in Syria and Lebanon under French Mandate rule. Countering assertions of French imperial cultural ascendancy and self-confidence, the author demonstrates the diverse capacities of Arab and other local communities, to forge competing cultural identities that would, in later years, form the basis for rising political self-enfranchisement.Drawing on a wide array of written sources and oral testimonies, the author illuminates how political and religious leaders fought to harness the force of culture through projects as diverse as schools, cinema, scouting, and tourism. These leaders were to be found not only in the French colonial administration or the burgeoning Syrian and Lebanese parliaments, but also in student societies, missionary congregations, and philanthropic organizations. The author pays particular attention to the last decade of French rule before Syrian and Lebanese independence as a critical time of transition and debate.The rich individual histories of institutions such as the American University of Beirut, the secular French Mission laique, or the Jesuit missionaries come together in a broader narrative that speaks to the ongoing Syrian and Lebanese journeys toward national identity.

Product details

• Authors: Jennifer M. Dueck, Jennifer M. (British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dueck, Dueck Jennifer M.
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.06.2009
• EAN: 9780197264478
• ISBN: 978-0-19-726447-8
• No. of pages: 250
• Series: British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Monographs; British Academy Postdoctoral F; British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Monographs; British Academy Postdoctoral F
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; HISTORY / Asia / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism, Lebanon, Syria, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Colonialism & imperialism, Colonialism and imperialism, Asian History