Call for Papers: WOCMES 2018

The KFG's Senior Researcher Mohammad Magout organises an open panel on "The Arabic Press in the 19th C: History. Development and Impact" at the World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES; 16 - 22 July 2018, Seville) and calls for papers:

Although the significance of the Arabic press as a primary vehicle of the revival of Arabic culture in the second half of the 19th C has long been recognized, its systematic study is still in its early stages and there remain many unexplored topics and themes. Some historical and literary studies of 19th C Syria and Egypt have utilized the press as a source of data, but very few have studied it as a sociocultural phenomenon and examined its role in the formation of modern identities, discourses, and literary forms in the Arab East. Of particular interest to this panel are the early years of the press in Beirut, when periodicals such as Ḥadīqat al-Akhbār (1858-1911), al-Jinān (1870-1886), al-Bashīr (1870-1947), and Thamarāt al-Funūn (1875-1908) pioneered journalism in the region and provided a forum for the circulation of new ideas, vocabulary, and subjectivities. However, contributions that cover periodicals that appeared in other parts of the Middle East in the late 19th and early 20th century are also welcome. Even periodicals in other languages, such as Ottoman Turkish, could be included in this panel.

This proposed panel invites papers that deal with various aspects of the early Arabic press, including (but not limited to) its role in the evolution of modern Arabic sociological and political vocabulary; discourses and debates in Arabic periodicals about society, religion, science, and politics; censorship and relationship with authorities; reception among different social groups; production and networks of distribution; and finally theoretical, methodological, and comparative approaches to the study of the Arabic press.

The panel aims at creating an opportunity for scholars working on different periodicals or different aspects of the Arabic press to bring their insights together and stimulate a discussion about its early history and its social and cultural significance.

Deadline to submit abstracts to Mohammad Magout: 08 January 2018. Notification of results: 15 January 2018. Deadline to submit the full text of accepted papers: 01 May 2018.