Synopses & Reviews
Saudi Arabia is generally and justifiably viewed as a country with some of the fewest democratic institutions and the weakest traditions of pluralism. It is therefore surprising to learn that at least in one corner of the Saudi world, there can be found a plurality of opinions and lively debate. Jörg Matthias Determann brings this element to light by analyzing an important field of cultural activity in Saudi Arabia: historical writing. Since the 1920s local, tribal, Shi'i and dynastic histories have contributed to a growing plurality of narratives. Paradoxically, this happened because of the expansion of the Saudi state, including state provision of mass education. It was also due to globalizing processes, such as the spread of the internet. In challenging the widely-held perception of Saudi Arabia as an irredeemably closed and monolithic society, Historiography in Saudi Arabia provides a deeper understanding of modern Arab historiography, the Saudi state, and education and scholarship in the Middle East.
Review
To come
About the Author
Jörg Matthias Determann is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Zentrum Moderner Orient and the Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Cultures and Societies, Germany. He holds a PhD in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Table of Contents
1.Introduction
2.Histories of a Muslim Arab Dynasty, Early Beginnings to 1960s
3.Particularistic Local Histories, 1920s to 1970s
4.The Saudization of Dynastic Historiography, 1960s to Present
5.Asserting Towns, Tribes and the Shiites in National History, 1970s to Present
6.Social and Economic Histories, 1970s to Present
7.Conclusion