Reviving Phoenicia (the Search For Identity In Lebanon)

By (author) Asher Kaufman; By (author) Kaufman Asher
Short description/annotation
''Reviving Phoenicia'' follows the social, intellectual and political development of the Phoenician myth of origin in Lebanon from the middle of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth.
Description
Reviving Phoenicia follows the social, intellectual and political development of the Phoenician myth of origin in Lebanon from the middle of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth. Asher Kaufman demonstrates the role played by the lay, liberal Syrian-Lebanese who resided in Beirut, Alexandria and America towards the end of the nineteenth 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, Reviving Phoenicia provides an overview of Phoenicianism from independence 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 work will be vital reading for anyone interested in the birth of modern Lebanon as we know it today.
Table of contents
Note on Transliteration Acknowledgements Preface to the New Paperback Edition Introduction SECTION I: ORIGINS Chapter I : First Buds: 1860-1918 Chapter II : Before and After the War SECTION II: THE MANDATE YEARS Chapter III : The Mandate Years Chapter IV: Three Phoenician Currents Chapter V : The Adversaries SECTION III : AFTER INDEPENDENCE AND BEYOND Chapter VI: Chronicle of a Dream and Disillusionment Conclusion: Arabs, Phoenicians and What Lies Between Bibliography Index
Review quote
Asher Kaufman has produced a fascinating study which will be of interest not only to students of Lebanese and Middle Eastern history but also to those interested in nationalism generally and in the Middle East in particular. Islam and Christian- Muslim Relations, Vol 16, No 4 (October 2005)
Biographical note
Asher Kaufman is Associate Professor of Peace Studies and Director of doctoral studies at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. He previously taught at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem and was a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace. Kaufman is the author of Contested Frontiers: Cartography, Sovereignty and Conflict at the Syria, Lebanon, Israel Tri-Border Region (2014).
Promotional headline
''Reviving Phoenicia'' follows the social, intellectual and political development of the Phoenician myth of origin in Lebanon from the middle of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth.