United States Through Arab Eyes - An Anthology of Writings (1876-1914)

A vibrant collection of writings about America from its earliest Arab immigrants The first Arab immigrants to New York or Alaska or San Francisco were 'small' men and women, preoccupied with eking a living at the same time as confronting the challenges of settling in a new country. They had to come to terms with new race communities such as Indians, Chinese and Blacks, the changing role of women, and the Americanisation of their identity. Their writings about these experiences - from travellers and emigrants, rich and poor, men and women - took the form of travelogues and newspaper essays, daily diaries and adventure narratives, autobiographies and histories, full-length books published in the Ottoman Press in Lebanon and journal articles in Arabic newspapers printed in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. Together they show the transnational perspective of immigrants as they reflected on and described the United States for the very first time. Key features Newly translated texts of the first writings about America by Arabs Divides the translations into four categories: minorities, women, identity and return. Shows how Arabs admired the United States for its opportunities, religious tolerance and openness, but also criticised its brute materialism and debilitating work conditions A detailed introduction explores the idea of the Arab Nahda and America Nabil Matar is Presidential Professor and Professor of English, and Adjunct Professor of History and of Religious Studies at the University of Minnesota. He holds the Samuel Russeel Chair in the Humanities at the College of Liberal Arts. He is author, editor and translator of numerous publications, the most recent being An Arab Ambassador in the Mediterranean World (1779-1787) (2015).

List of contents

Acknowledgements

Some notes on the translations

Part One: Emigration, the Arab Nahda and the United States of America - An Introduction

Part Two: The Texts

Section One: Minorities

1. The Book of the Description of Kingdoms by Idwar Ilyas, 1876

2. Kawkab America by Abraham Arbeely

3. Alaska and the Klondike: Land of Gold by Jibra'il 'Assaf Mir'I, early 1890s

4. Instructive Travels in the New World by Dr Naguib Abdou (1907/1908/1909)

5. The American Journey by Prince Muhammad 'Ali Pasha, 1912

Section Two: Women and Gender

1. The Book of the Description of Kingdoms by Idwar Ilyas, 1876

2. The Traveler's Guidebook: and the history of America by Saj'an Effendi 'Arij Sa'adeh

3. 'The [female] Syrian emigrant' by Miss Wadi'a Faris Rashid

4. 'Who has precedence: man or woman?' by Mrs Asma Sabir

5. 'The need to put a limit on or to pass a law prohibiting the Syrian woman from emigrating to America'

6. The Stranger in the West by Mikha'il Rustum Shuwayri, 1895

Section Three: Identity and Americanization

1. The Book of the Description of Kingdoms by Idwar Ilyas, 1876

2. History of the United States since its discovery until present times, followed by the history of Syrian emigration and all that pertains to it by Basil M. Kherbawi, 1888

3. The Traveler's Guidebook: and the history of America by Saj'an Effendi 'Arij Sa'adeh



4. The Syrian Soldier in Three Wars by Jibra'il Ilyas Ward, al-Tarabulsi, 1898

5. 'The Greatness of America' by Bulus Effendi al-Khawli, 1905

6. 'From the Rooftops of New York' by Ameen Rihani, 1907

7. 'Syrians in America' by Yusuf Jirjis Zakham

Section Four: Return

1. Diary of Khalil al-Sakakini: Diary, Letters, Reflections by Khalil al-Sakakini

2. The American Journey by Prince Muhammad 'Ali Pasha, 1912

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Nabil Matar is Presidential Professor and Professor of English, and Adjunct Professor of History and of Religious Studies at the University of Minnesota. He holds the Samuel Russeel Chair in the Humanities at the College of Liberal Arts. He is author, editor and translator of numerous publications, the most recent being An Arab Ambassador in the Mediterranean World (1779-1787) (Routledge, 2015), British Captives in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, 1563-1760 (Brill, 2014) and Henry Stubbe and the Beginnings of Islam (Columbia University Press, 2013).

Summary

A vibrant collection of writings about America from its earliest Arab immigrants, as they reflected on and described the United States for the very first time.

Product details

• Authors: Nabil Matar, Matar Nabil
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.11.2018
• EAN: 9781474434362
• ISBN: 978-1-4744-3436-2
• No. of pages: 320
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous