The Cambridge Companion to Modern Arab Culture

An accessible and wide-ranging survey of modern Arab culture covering political, intellectual and social aspects.

This in-depth survey provides an accessible account of modern Arab culture. Bringing together essays from leading international scholars, it covers many rarely explored topics, including poetry, narrative, theatre, cinema and television, art, architecture, humour, folklore, and food, and corrects negative stereotypes about the modern Arab world.Dwight F. Reynolds brings together a collection of essays by leading international scholars to provide a comprehensive and accessible survey of modern Arab culture, from the early nineteenth to the twenty-first century. The chapters survey key issues necessary to any understanding of the modern Arab World: the role of the various forms of the Arabic language in modern culture and identity; the remarkable intellectual transformation undergone during the 'Nahda' or 'Arab Renaissance' of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the significant role played by ethnic and religious minorities, and the role of law and constitutions. Other chapters on poetry, narrative, theatre, cinema and television, art, architecture, humour, folklore, and food offer fresh perspectives and correct negative stereotypes that emerge from viewing Arab culture primarily through the lens of politics, terrorism, religion, and economics.