Synopses & Reviews
Reviving Phoenicia follows the social, intellectual and political development of the Phoenician myth of origin in Lebanon from the middle of the 19th century to the end of the 20th. Asher Kaufman demonstrates the role played by the lay, liberal Syrian-Lebanese who resided in Beirut, Alexandria and America towards the end of the 19th century in the birth and dissemination of this myth. Kaufman investigates the crucial place Phoenicianism occupied in the formation of Greater Lebanon in 1920. He also explores the way the Jesuit Order and the French authorities propagated this myth during the mandate years. The book also analyzes literary writings of different Lebanese who advocated this myth, and of others who opposed it. Finally, the text provides an overview of Phoenicianism from Independece in 1943 to the present, demonstrating that despite the general objection to this myth, some aspects of it entered mainstream Lebanese national narratives. Kaufman's works should be of use to anyone interested in the birth of modern Lebanon as we know it today.
Synopsis
Reviving Phoenicia follows the social, intellectual and political development of the Phoenician myth of origin in Lebanon from the middle of the 19th century to the end of the 20th. Asher Kaufman demonstrates the role played by the lay, liberal Syrian-Lebanese who resided in Beirut, Alexandria and America towards the end of the 19th century in the birth and dissemination of this myth. Kaufman investigates the crucial place Phoenicianism occupied in the formation of Greater Lebanon in 1920. He also explores the way the Jesuit Order and the French authorities propagated this myth during the mandate years. The book also analyzes literary writings of different Lebanese who advocated this myth, and of others who opposed it.
About the Author
Asher Kaufman (Ph.D. Brandeis University, 2000) joined the University of Notre Dame faculty in August 2005. Prior to that, he taught at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. From 2000 to 2004, he was a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, and headed its Middle East Unit in 2004-05.
Kaufman is the author of Reviving Phoenicia: The Search for Identity in Lebanon, a history of modern Lebanese national identity. He has also written articles on topics such as the evolution of Hizbullah (the Shiite radical movement in Lebanon), Israeli policy in the Middle East, and various boundary disputes in the region. His current projects are a study on boundaries, territoriality and identities of the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli shared borders; and a study of memory and forgetfulness as they relate to the Lebanese civil war and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Kaufman's recent publications include a book he co-edited with Elie Podeh, titled Arab-Jewish Relations: From Conflict to Reconciliation?(Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005).
Table of Contents
Introduction
Who Were the Phoenicians?
National Identities in the Arab Middle East
Theorizing Lebanese Nationalism?
The French Colonial Idea
SECTION I: ORIGINS
Chapter I: First Buds: 1860-1918
France in the Levant
Franco-Maronite Relations
The Jesuits in Syria and Lebanon
Maronite Clergy and the Istory of Syria and Lebanon
Lay Syro-Lebanese and the Ancient History of Syria
Chapter II: Before and After the War
The Syro-Lebanese Community in Egypt
Syro-Lebanese in America
Between Paris and Beirut: 1913-1919
Beirut 1919: Charles Corm and La Revue Phenicienne
SECTION II: THE MANDATE YEARS
Chapter III: The Mandate Years
The French Mandate and the Lebanese Educational System
Universite Saint Joseph and its Graduates
Archaeology and National Museums
1936-1937: A Case Study of Phoenicianism and Its Adversaries
Towards Independence
Chapter IV: Three Phoenician Currents
Charles Corm, The Inspired Maronite Francophone
Michel China, the Merchant Republic and the Lebanese Identity
Sa'id 'Aql, Arabophones and Maronite Nationalism
Chapter V: The Adversaries
Arab Muslims: Rashid and Shekib Arslan
Christian Arab Nationalists: Qonstantine Zurayq
Edmond Rabbath
Amin al-Rihani
Antun Sa'adeh and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party
Muhammad Jamil Bayhum and Sunni Lebanese
SECTION III: AFTER INDEPENDENCE AND BEYOND
Chapter IV: Chronicle of a Dream and Disillusionment
Concludsion: Arabs, Phoenicians and What Lies Between
Bibliography
Index