Middle Eastern society experienced sudden and profound change in the 19th century under the impact of European expansion and influence. But as Western ideas about politics, technology, and culture began to infiltrate Arab society, the old language proved to be an inadequate vehicle for transmitting these alien concepts from abroad. In this study of the rise of modern Arabic, Ayalon examines 19th-century linguistic change in the Eastern Arab world as a mirror of changing Arab perceptions and responses to the West as well as a guide to the emergence of modern Arabic concepts, institutions, and practices. Focusing on the realm of political discourse, Ayalon looks at a wide array of evidence--local chronicles, travel accounts, translations of European writings, Arab political treatises, newspapers and periodicals, and dictionaries--to show how shifts in the color, tone, and meaning of the Arab vocabulary reflected a new socio-political and cultural reality.

Language and Change in the Arab Middle East: The Evolution of Modern Arabic Political Discourse (Studies in Middle Eastern History)

Arts & Photography

Ayalon, Ami

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

Newspapers and the practice of journalism began in the Middle East in the nineteenth century and evolved during a period of accelerated sociopolitical and cultural change. Inspired by a foreign model, the Arab press developed in its own way, in terms of its political and social roles, cultural function, and the public image of those who engaged in it. Ami Ayalon draws on a broad array of primary sources--a century of Arabic newspapers, biographies and memoirs of Arab journalists and politicians, and archival material--as well as a large body of published studies, to portray the remarkable vitality of Arab journalism. He explores the press as a Middle Eastern institution during its formative century before World War II and the circumstances that shaped its growth, tracing its impact, in turn, on local historical developments. After treating the major phases in chronological sequence, he looks closely at more specific aspects: the relations between press and state; newspapers and their audience; the press and traditional cultural norms; economic aspects of the trade; and journalism as a new profession in Arab society.

The Press in the Arab Middle East: A History (Studies in Middle Eastern History)

Reading Palestine: Printing and Literacy, 1900-1948

Prior to the twentieth century, Arab society in Palestine was predominantly illiterate, with most social and political activities conducted through oral communication. There were no printing presses, no book or periodical production, and no written signs in public places. But a groundswell of change rapidly raised the region's literacy rates, a fascinating transformation explored for the first time in Reading Palestine.Addressing an exciting aspect of Middle Eastern history as well as the power of the printed word itself, Reading Palestine describes how this hurried process intensified the role of literacy in every sphere of community life. Ami Ayalon examines Palestine's development of a modern educational system in conjunction with the emergence of a print industry, libraries and reading clubs, and the impact of print media on urban and rural populations. Drawn from extensive archival sources, official reports, autobiographies, and a rich trove of early Palestinian journalism, Reading Palestine provides crucial insight into the dynamic rise of literacy that revolutionized the way Palestinians navigated turbulent political waters.

History

Middle East

University of Texas Press

Prior to the twentieth century, Arab society in Palestine was predominantly illiterate, with most social and political activities conducted through oral communication. There were no printing presses, no book or periodical production, and no written signs in public places. But a groundswell of change rapidly raised the region's literacy rates, a fascinating transformation explored for the first time in Reading Palestine.
Addressing an exciting aspect of Middle Eastern history as well as the power of the printed word itself, Reading Palestine describes how this hurried process intensified the role of literacy in every sphere of community life. Ami Ayalon examines Palestine's development of a modern educational system in conjunction with the emergence of a print industry, libraries and reading clubs, and the impact of print media on urban and rural populations. Drawn from extensive archival sources, official reports, autobiographies, and a rich trove of early Palestinian journalism, Reading Palestine provides crucial insight into the dynamic rise of literacy that revolutionized the way Palestinians navigated turbulent political waters.

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xiv: 1990

Reference

Routledge

Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xv: 1991: Volume XV: 1991

Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xvi, 1992

Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xiv: 1990 (Middle East Contemporary Survey, 14)

Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xv: 1991 (Middle East Contemporary Survey, 15)

Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume Xvi, 1992 (Middle East Contemporary Survey, 16)

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