Hope in the Most Unlikely Spaces: Thawra and the Contemporary Arabic Novel

In the early to mid-twentieth century, many novelists in the Arab world championed Arab nationalism in their literary reflections on the social and political struggles of their countries, depicting these struggles primarily in terms of spatial binaries that pitted the Arab world against the West, even as they imported Western literary models of progress and modernity into their own work. The intense experience of national awakening that infused their writing often placed these authors at a literary disadvantage, for in their literature, all too often the depth and diversity of Arabic cultures and the complexity of socio-political struggles across the Arab world were undermined by restrictive spatial discourses that tended to focus only on particular versions of Arab history and on a seemingly unifying national predicament. Between the Arab defeat of 1967 and the present day, however, an increasing number of Arab authors have turned to less restrictive forms of spatial discourse in search of a language that might offer alternative narratives of hope beyond the predictable, and seemingly thwarted, trajectories of nationalism. This study traces the ways in which contemporary Arab authors from Egypt and the Sudan have endeavoured to re-think and re-define the Arab identity in ever-changing spaces where elements of the local and the global, the traditional and the modern, interact both competitively and harmoniously. I examine the spatial language and the tropes used in three Arabic novels, viewing them through the lens of thawra (revolution) in both its socio-political and artistic manifestations. Linking the manifestations of thawra in each text to different scenes of revolution in the Arab world today, in Chapter Two, I consider how, at a stage when the Sudan of the sixties was both still dealing with colonial withdrawal and struggling to establish itself as a nation-state, the geographical and textual landscapes of Tayeb Salih‟s Season of Migration to the North depict the ongoing dilemma of the Sudanese identity. In Chapter Three, I examine Alaa iii al-Aswany‟s The Yacoubian Building in the context of a socially diseased and politically corrupt Egypt of the nineties: social, political, modern, historical, local, and global elements intertwine in a dizzyingly complex spatial network of associations that sheds light on the complicated reasons behind today‟s Egyptian thawra. In Chapter Four, the final chapter, Gamal al-Ghitani‟s approach to his Egypt in Pyramid Texts drifts far away from Salih‟s anguished Sudan and al-Aswany‟s chaotic Cairo to a realm where thawra manifests itself artistically in a sophisticated spatial language that challenges all forms of spatial hegemony and, consequently, old and new forms of social, political, and cultural oppression in the Arab world.

Local records; or, Historical register of remarkable events which have occurred in Northumberland and Durham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, with biographical notices of deceased persons of talent, eccentricity, and longevity;

A compilation of similar character, bearing a title almost identical, was made by J. Latimer, covering the period from Oct. 8, 1832, to Aug. 10, 1857.

Records by spade and terrier; historical sidelights from the discovery of stone-age, Celtic and Roman remains; also from the etymology of local place and family names, from customs and folk-lore garnered from the tithe-maps and registers of Holcome-by-Mendip and surrounding district.

Mode of access: Internet.

The chronicles of Greenford Parva; or, Perivale, past and present. With divers historical, archæological, and other notes, traditions, etc., relating to the church and manor, and the Brent Valley.

Mode of access: Internet.

A guide to collecting, describing, and summarizing price data, with particular reference to historical series of local market prices.

At head of title: United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics.

Circulars addressed to local councils of defense, farm advisors, regional district and county directors, victory garden chairmen, historical societies, advisory committees, etc.] : Jan. 4, 1942-Jan. 11, 1944.

Title taken from Monthly check-list of state publications. U. of I. set includes also some miscellaneous material not addressed to local councils of defense, etc.

Historical collections of the state of Pennsylvania; containing a copicus selection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., relating to its history and antiquities, both general and local, with topographical descriptions of every county and all the larger towns in the state. Illus. by 165 engravings.

No. 23 in John Warner Barber and his books by Chauncey Cushing Nash ... Milton, Mass., 1934.

The poetical works of Robert Burns. To which are now added, notes, illustrating historical, personal, and local allusions.

Mode of access: Internet.

Historical collections of Ohio ... an encyclopedia of the state: history both general and local, geography ... sketches of eminent and interesting characters, etc., with notes of a tour over it in 1886.

Title varies.

Local records; or, Historical register of remarkable events, which have occurred in Northumberland and Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Berwick upon Tweed, from the earliest period of authentic record, to the present time; with biographical notices of deceased persons of talent, eccentricity, and longevity.

For continuation to 1857 see Latimer, John, Local records.

The local historian's table book, of remarkable occurrences, connected with the counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, and Durham. Historical division.

Mode of access: Internet.

Historical analysis of two contemporary issues at the International Community School of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire: Local -hired and overseas -hired teacher relationships. Community perceptions of the U.S. Embassy at ICSA

This study was a qualitative investigation to ascertain and describe two of the current issues at the International Community School of Abidjan, examine their historical bases, and analyze their impact on the school environment.^ Two issues emerged during the inquiry phase of this study: (1) the relationship between local-hired and overseas-hired teachers in light of the January 1994 devaluation which polarized the staff by negating a four-year salary scale that established equity, (2) the school community's wide variance in the perceived power that the U.S. Embassy has on school operations based on its role as ICSA's founding sponsor.^ A multiple studies approach was used in gathering data. An extensive examination of the school's archives was used to reconstruct an historical overview of ICSA. An initial questionnaire was distributed to teachers and administrators at an educational conference to determine the scope of the 1994 devaluation of the West and Central African CFA and its impact on school personnel in West African American-sponsored overseas schools (ASOS). Personal interviews were conducted with the school staff, administration, school board members, and relevant historical participants to determine the principal issues at ICSA at that time. The researcher, an overseas-hired teacher, also used participant observations to collect data. Findings based on these sources were used to analyze the two issues from an historical perspective and to form conclusions.^ Findings in this study pertaining to the events induced by the French and African governments' decision to implement a currency devaluation in January 1994 were presented in ex post-facto chronological narrative form to describe the events which transpired, describe the perception of school personnel involved in these events, examine the final resolution and interpret these events within a historical framework for analysis.^ The topic of the U.S. Embassy and its role at ICSA emerged inductively from open-ended personal interviews conducted over the course of a year. Contradictory perspectives were examined and researched for accuracy and cause. The results of this inquiry presented the U.S. Embassy role at ICSA from a two-sided perspective, examined the historical role of the Embassy, and presented means by which the role and responsibility of the U.S. Embassy could best be communicated to the school community.^ The final chapter provides specific actions for mediation of problems stemming from these issues, implications for administrators and teachers currently involved in overseas schools or considering the possibility, and suggestions for future inquiries.^ Examination of a two-tier salary scale for local-hired and overseas-hired teachers generated the following recommendations: movement towards a single salary scale when feasible, clearly stated personnel policies and full disclosure of benefits, a uniform certification standard, professional development programs and awareness of the impact of this issue on staff morale.^ Divergent perceptions and attitudes toward the role of the U.S. Embassy produced these recommendations: a view towards limiting the number of Americans on ASOS school boards, open school board meetings, selection of Embassy Administrative Officers who can educate school communities on the exact role of the Embassy, educating parents through the outreach activities that communicate American educational philosophy and involve all segments of the international community, and a firm effort on the part of the ASOS to establish the school's autonomy from special interests. ^