Rana Issa | American University of Beirut (original) (raw)

Papers by Rana Issa

Contemporary Levant

Like all contested concepts, the term 'Levant' is unstable. Both its academic and political uses ... more Like all contested concepts, the term 'Levant' is unstable. Both its academic and political uses are geographically and historically fairly loose and illdefined. This geo-historical instability makes room for the multiplicity of chronotopes that the contributors lay out in this special issue. In order to bring these contributions together, we also use the theoretical concept of the chronotope, the way that authors and actors under study bring together time and space in their legitimation of political efforts in the present. The chronotopes treated here have far-reaching implications in our experience and knowledge of the Levant. With Bakhtin's chronotopic method, we approach the region through its entangled history, taking people's mobility, their composite identities, and the major transformations in their lives as the central concern for analysis.

Arabic Language and Syro-Lebanese National Identity: Searching in Butrus al-Bustani's Muhit al-Muhit

Journal of Semitic Studies, 2017

Over centuries, Arabic lexicography had operated under a solid myth of pure linguistic origins ro... more Over centuries, Arabic lexicography had operated under a solid myth of pure linguistic origins rooted in the terra prima of the Arabian Desert. Buṭrus al-bustānīʾs Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ is the earliest Arabic lexicon that breaks with this tradition. In this modern lexicon, al-Bustānī recollected the biblical origins of key Arabic words. By introducing the Bible into the Lexicon, al-Bustānī revolutionized some conventions of Arabic lexicography which usually operated under a solid — mainly Quranic — notion of what constitutes a legitimate source for lexical elaboration. The inclusion of the Bible competitively decentred the foundational texts of the classical lexicon. Although al-Bustānī relied on conventional methodologies in his approach to lexicography, he succeeded in constructing an alternative, rival narrative about the biblical origins of the civilization of the Arabs. These changes went in tandem with al-Bustānīʾs contribution to the Christianization of Syro-Lebanese national identity in the nineteenth century.

Al-Shidyaq-Lee Version (1857): An Example of a Non-Synchronous Nineteenth-Century Arabic Bible. in Senses of Scripture: Treasures of Tradition. Ed Miriam L. Hjalm.

After France got the famous Egyptian, “Luxor” obelisk at Place de Concorde in the centre of Paris... more After France got the famous Egyptian, “Luxor” obelisk at Place de Concorde in the centre of Paris, in 1833, some forty years later, a similar edifice of Pharaonic architecture landed in London to great pomp and circumstance. The obelisk which was a gift from Egypt’s ruler Muhammad Ali was testimony to the Imperial power of Britain. There was great cost involved in moving the piece, which required innovative and highly skilled marine engineers to build a special vessel that could handle the staggering size of the monument. The obelisk which today stands by the Victoria Embankment is at about twenty-one meters high, weighs about 224 tons and when it finally arrived to London, it made headlines.1 Official guests and bureaucrats from London’s diplomatic, com- mercial, and academic institutions, from the various outposts of the Empire, both at home and abroad were present, among them the British Bible Society, who were personally invited by the supervising engineer, John Dixon. They brought with them samples of the Bible in several languages to be buried in a time capsule underneath the great stone. The invitation of the British mission- ary body to the party was a symbolic acknowledgement of their contributions to the Empire. William Canton, the official historian of the missionary move- ment in Britain, provided this token description of the contents of the time capsule. He wrote:
[T]he British and Foreign Bible Society had deposited various copies of the Scriptures – the Bible in English and in French, the Pentateuch in Hebrew, Genesis in Arabic, and the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of St John in two hundred and fifteen languages.2

Translated by Rana Issa To Samira, My absent Imam, always present.* No special excuse is needed... more Translated by Rana Issa

To Samira, My absent Imam, always present.*

No special excuse is needed to engage the concept of freedom. Yet, it is not an evident concept or an ahistorical human faculty, or a universal political demand without contradictions. Freedom is an act of coming out, of cleavage and conflict; and it may be tragic. This text is a free reflection on freedom, closer to a tale written with abstract concepts, a story of adventure and a confrontation with all kinds of dangers.

It is a story that one writes to be rewritten.

In al-Haj Saleh’s continued reminder of the importance of speech in political life, he has made i... more In al-Haj Saleh’s continued reminder of the importance of speech in political life, he has made it impossible to go backwards in time to a pre-revolutionary and silent Syria. His commitment to a more talkative Syria has embodied a principled position of liberal political thinking, as ancient as it is fragile. His position on speech recollects Hannah Arendt’s basic definition of politics, especially in her work on revolution. For Arendt, politics exists in the space between men. It consists of an “argumentative and talkative interest in the world.” Yet, whereas al-Haj Saleh has acted as a crucial figure in fostering such talkativeness, his self-reflexive position on intellectual power remains significantly radical. For him, the intellectual vocation does not rise above its function in the division of labor.

The Poetics of Martyrdon in Early Modern Palestine

This article was presented in the seminar "Edward Said and the legacy of orientalism" under the T... more This article was presented in the seminar "Edward Said and the legacy of orientalism" under the The Saladin days at the House of Literature in Oslo, 4 March, 2014. Filiation and affiliation are useful Saidean concepts that can help shed light on the situation in Syria. Said elaborated these concepts in his essay "On Secular Criticism" ii . In this article, they will be made to travel from the realm of literature and into the politics of destruction in Syria. With those two concepts Said delineates his understanding of cultural belonging as based on a binary opposition between what he terms 1) filiation: biological generation, blood relations, and patriarchal family structures, (hence Oedipal, degenerative, murderous, and alienating) and 2) affiliation, a movement that attempts to overcome the impossibility of the filiative model, by exploring alternative human relations where the need for belonging takes on more viable possibilities. Affiliation attempts to overcome filiation by forging new human relations that are not based on blood relations, but that as Said demonstrates, often replicate many features of the filiative system. For Said, the dominant affiliative relations that govern institutions today have reproduced, in some of their aspects, structures that mimic filiation. As I will argue, in today's Syria we can delineate three types of social models that are competing for power. 1) Pure filiation: a structure that is at the heart of the dictatorial control of Asad, 2) mimetic affiliation: an emerging model that is rapidly gaining ground and is strongly present within Salafi and Islamist political groupings, and 3) explorative affiliation: these are civilian organizations that are exploring alternative modalities for community building with the aim of radical transformation of the political relationship between the individual and the group. This last group has displayed the weakest inclination to carry arms. Rather its operating modus attempts to build ideological formations organically, based less of theoretical pre-dispositions and more on practices of networks of people exploring new articulations of common political goals. Said's model of filiation and affiliation is especially suitable to think about Syria for two main reasons. Firstly, these concepts focus our critical attention on the basic identity formations and sense of belonging that are structured into group dynamics. The second reason

Edited Volumes by Rana Issa

Teaching Documents by Rana Issa

The Bible and Modern Standard Arabic

What are the origins of the Arabic language, and what are its foundational texts? Most writers of... more What are the origins of the Arabic language, and what are its foundational texts? Most writers of lexicons of the Arabic language center the Arabian peninsula and the Quran. In this episode, we discuss an alternative narrative put forth in the nineteenth century by an Arab Christian writer, Buṭrus al-Bustānī. Rana Issa explores the passages in al-Bustānī's lexicon of the Arabic language, Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ, in which he offers biblical origins for many Arabic words. Though his lexicon drew on conventional methodologies, it offered a history of Arabic tied closely to Christianity and the Levant. Issa explains how al-Bustānī contributed to Christianizing the Syro-Lebanese national identity, and the Arabic language, in the wake of the Mount Lebanon Civil War.
See more at www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2018/02/ar…eland.html

Syro-Lebanese encyclopedist, writer, educator and translator Buţrus al-Bustānī was a foundational... more Syro-Lebanese encyclopedist, writer, educator and translator Buţrus al-Bustānī was a foundational figure of the Arab nahḑah (meaning awakening or renaissance). He was a Christian: a Maronite Christian by birth, he converted to Protestantism as a young man following his move to Beirut, where he began to interact closely with American missionaries. Many consider al-Bustānī one of the leading figures of nationalist and secular thought in what is now Lebanon, while his wife and children were also active educators and literati in their own right. His multilingual talents and wide-ranging literary and pedagogical interests materialized into many contributions and innovations in the Arabic genres of the nineteenth century. He was a literary entrepreneur who fully utilized the possibilities inherent in the new print revolution and managed to go beyond his minority status to become widely influential. Like the other Christian writers who became renowned during this formative modern period of Beirut’s history, al-Bustānī’s works remain relevant documents for Arabic belles lettres and Arab history. Al-Bustānī distinguished himself from his peers by capitalizing on the pedagogical possibilities of print. He produced a series of reference works from textbooks to encyclopedias that would eventually earn him the title of muʾallim (teacher). His concepts and methodologies, as well as his defense of key causes such as nationalism, women’s education, and study of the humanities, became the paradigms that defined key pedagogical and cultural, as well as political debates in the nineteenth century.

Book Reviews by Rana Issa

This Body: My Eucharist: “On Samira al-Khalil’s "Diaries of Siege in Douma"”

Bidayyat, 2017

Review of Christian Sahner's Among the Ruins: Syria Past and Present

Talks by Rana Issa

The Modern Arabic Bible and the Story of Arabic Language Standardization

Corrective Language Ideologies in the Nahda

Hva er Universalisme 2014: debatt, Podcast link

Hva er universalisme i 2014? Avsluttende debatt med Ola Mestad, Helge Jordheim, Rana Issa, Hannah... more Hva er universalisme i 2014? Avsluttende debatt med Ola Mestad, Helge Jordheim, Rana Issa, Hannah Helseth og Marte Michelet, 12. desember 2014. Fra Litteraturhuset i Oslo.

Introduction to Shadow in Baghdad

About Dokumentaren Shadow in Baghdad handler om Linda Abdul Aziz, som unnslipper opprørene i Irak... more About
Dokumentaren Shadow in Baghdad handler om Linda Abdul Aziz, som unnslipper opprørene i Irak tidlig på 1970-tallet, og faren hennes, som forsvant kort tid etterpå. Som voksen, bosatt i Israel, kontaktes Linda av en irakisk journalist, og sammen begynner de å undersøke hva som egentlig skjedde den gangen faren ble borte.

Det handler om et Irak i opprør og å søke i politiske hemmeligheter. Jo nærmere de kommer sannheten om hva som skjedde med faren, jo varmere skildres også det jødiske Bagdad – disse gatene og områdene som jødene forlot, og en kultur som ble utradert med etableringen av Israel og den parallelt framvoksende irakiske nasjonalismen. Etter å ha levd jødiske liv i over to tusen år på irakisk jord var det ikke lenger plass til dem da det moderne Irak vokste fram. Filmen er lagd av den prisbelønte israelske filmskaperen Duki Dror. Filmen introduseres av Rana Hisham Issa, stipendiat ved Institutt for kulturstudier og orientalske språk, Universitetet i Oslo.

Engelsk tekst, 70 min.

A History of Jerusalem, a cultural tour from the Temple of Solomon to the War on Gaza

Delivered for the second highschool class of the Steinar school in Oslo--2013

Contemporary Levant

Like all contested concepts, the term 'Levant' is unstable. Both its academic and political uses ... more Like all contested concepts, the term 'Levant' is unstable. Both its academic and political uses are geographically and historically fairly loose and illdefined. This geo-historical instability makes room for the multiplicity of chronotopes that the contributors lay out in this special issue. In order to bring these contributions together, we also use the theoretical concept of the chronotope, the way that authors and actors under study bring together time and space in their legitimation of political efforts in the present. The chronotopes treated here have far-reaching implications in our experience and knowledge of the Levant. With Bakhtin's chronotopic method, we approach the region through its entangled history, taking people's mobility, their composite identities, and the major transformations in their lives as the central concern for analysis.

Arabic Language and Syro-Lebanese National Identity: Searching in Butrus al-Bustani's Muhit al-Muhit

Journal of Semitic Studies, 2017

Over centuries, Arabic lexicography had operated under a solid myth of pure linguistic origins ro... more Over centuries, Arabic lexicography had operated under a solid myth of pure linguistic origins rooted in the terra prima of the Arabian Desert. Buṭrus al-bustānīʾs Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ is the earliest Arabic lexicon that breaks with this tradition. In this modern lexicon, al-Bustānī recollected the biblical origins of key Arabic words. By introducing the Bible into the Lexicon, al-Bustānī revolutionized some conventions of Arabic lexicography which usually operated under a solid — mainly Quranic — notion of what constitutes a legitimate source for lexical elaboration. The inclusion of the Bible competitively decentred the foundational texts of the classical lexicon. Although al-Bustānī relied on conventional methodologies in his approach to lexicography, he succeeded in constructing an alternative, rival narrative about the biblical origins of the civilization of the Arabs. These changes went in tandem with al-Bustānīʾs contribution to the Christianization of Syro-Lebanese national identity in the nineteenth century.

Al-Shidyaq-Lee Version (1857): An Example of a Non-Synchronous Nineteenth-Century Arabic Bible. in Senses of Scripture: Treasures of Tradition. Ed Miriam L. Hjalm.

After France got the famous Egyptian, “Luxor” obelisk at Place de Concorde in the centre of Paris... more After France got the famous Egyptian, “Luxor” obelisk at Place de Concorde in the centre of Paris, in 1833, some forty years later, a similar edifice of Pharaonic architecture landed in London to great pomp and circumstance. The obelisk which was a gift from Egypt’s ruler Muhammad Ali was testimony to the Imperial power of Britain. There was great cost involved in moving the piece, which required innovative and highly skilled marine engineers to build a special vessel that could handle the staggering size of the monument. The obelisk which today stands by the Victoria Embankment is at about twenty-one meters high, weighs about 224 tons and when it finally arrived to London, it made headlines.1 Official guests and bureaucrats from London’s diplomatic, com- mercial, and academic institutions, from the various outposts of the Empire, both at home and abroad were present, among them the British Bible Society, who were personally invited by the supervising engineer, John Dixon. They brought with them samples of the Bible in several languages to be buried in a time capsule underneath the great stone. The invitation of the British mission- ary body to the party was a symbolic acknowledgement of their contributions to the Empire. William Canton, the official historian of the missionary move- ment in Britain, provided this token description of the contents of the time capsule. He wrote:
[T]he British and Foreign Bible Society had deposited various copies of the Scriptures – the Bible in English and in French, the Pentateuch in Hebrew, Genesis in Arabic, and the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of St John in two hundred and fifteen languages.2

Translated by Rana Issa To Samira, My absent Imam, always present.* No special excuse is needed... more Translated by Rana Issa

To Samira, My absent Imam, always present.*

No special excuse is needed to engage the concept of freedom. Yet, it is not an evident concept or an ahistorical human faculty, or a universal political demand without contradictions. Freedom is an act of coming out, of cleavage and conflict; and it may be tragic. This text is a free reflection on freedom, closer to a tale written with abstract concepts, a story of adventure and a confrontation with all kinds of dangers.

It is a story that one writes to be rewritten.

In al-Haj Saleh’s continued reminder of the importance of speech in political life, he has made i... more In al-Haj Saleh’s continued reminder of the importance of speech in political life, he has made it impossible to go backwards in time to a pre-revolutionary and silent Syria. His commitment to a more talkative Syria has embodied a principled position of liberal political thinking, as ancient as it is fragile. His position on speech recollects Hannah Arendt’s basic definition of politics, especially in her work on revolution. For Arendt, politics exists in the space between men. It consists of an “argumentative and talkative interest in the world.” Yet, whereas al-Haj Saleh has acted as a crucial figure in fostering such talkativeness, his self-reflexive position on intellectual power remains significantly radical. For him, the intellectual vocation does not rise above its function in the division of labor.

The Poetics of Martyrdon in Early Modern Palestine

This article was presented in the seminar "Edward Said and the legacy of orientalism" under the T... more This article was presented in the seminar "Edward Said and the legacy of orientalism" under the The Saladin days at the House of Literature in Oslo, 4 March, 2014. Filiation and affiliation are useful Saidean concepts that can help shed light on the situation in Syria. Said elaborated these concepts in his essay "On Secular Criticism" ii . In this article, they will be made to travel from the realm of literature and into the politics of destruction in Syria. With those two concepts Said delineates his understanding of cultural belonging as based on a binary opposition between what he terms 1) filiation: biological generation, blood relations, and patriarchal family structures, (hence Oedipal, degenerative, murderous, and alienating) and 2) affiliation, a movement that attempts to overcome the impossibility of the filiative model, by exploring alternative human relations where the need for belonging takes on more viable possibilities. Affiliation attempts to overcome filiation by forging new human relations that are not based on blood relations, but that as Said demonstrates, often replicate many features of the filiative system. For Said, the dominant affiliative relations that govern institutions today have reproduced, in some of their aspects, structures that mimic filiation. As I will argue, in today's Syria we can delineate three types of social models that are competing for power. 1) Pure filiation: a structure that is at the heart of the dictatorial control of Asad, 2) mimetic affiliation: an emerging model that is rapidly gaining ground and is strongly present within Salafi and Islamist political groupings, and 3) explorative affiliation: these are civilian organizations that are exploring alternative modalities for community building with the aim of radical transformation of the political relationship between the individual and the group. This last group has displayed the weakest inclination to carry arms. Rather its operating modus attempts to build ideological formations organically, based less of theoretical pre-dispositions and more on practices of networks of people exploring new articulations of common political goals. Said's model of filiation and affiliation is especially suitable to think about Syria for two main reasons. Firstly, these concepts focus our critical attention on the basic identity formations and sense of belonging that are structured into group dynamics. The second reason

The Bible and Modern Standard Arabic

What are the origins of the Arabic language, and what are its foundational texts? Most writers of... more What are the origins of the Arabic language, and what are its foundational texts? Most writers of lexicons of the Arabic language center the Arabian peninsula and the Quran. In this episode, we discuss an alternative narrative put forth in the nineteenth century by an Arab Christian writer, Buṭrus al-Bustānī. Rana Issa explores the passages in al-Bustānī's lexicon of the Arabic language, Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ, in which he offers biblical origins for many Arabic words. Though his lexicon drew on conventional methodologies, it offered a history of Arabic tied closely to Christianity and the Levant. Issa explains how al-Bustānī contributed to Christianizing the Syro-Lebanese national identity, and the Arabic language, in the wake of the Mount Lebanon Civil War.
See more at www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2018/02/ar…eland.html

Syro-Lebanese encyclopedist, writer, educator and translator Buţrus al-Bustānī was a foundational... more Syro-Lebanese encyclopedist, writer, educator and translator Buţrus al-Bustānī was a foundational figure of the Arab nahḑah (meaning awakening or renaissance). He was a Christian: a Maronite Christian by birth, he converted to Protestantism as a young man following his move to Beirut, where he began to interact closely with American missionaries. Many consider al-Bustānī one of the leading figures of nationalist and secular thought in what is now Lebanon, while his wife and children were also active educators and literati in their own right. His multilingual talents and wide-ranging literary and pedagogical interests materialized into many contributions and innovations in the Arabic genres of the nineteenth century. He was a literary entrepreneur who fully utilized the possibilities inherent in the new print revolution and managed to go beyond his minority status to become widely influential. Like the other Christian writers who became renowned during this formative modern period of Beirut’s history, al-Bustānī’s works remain relevant documents for Arabic belles lettres and Arab history. Al-Bustānī distinguished himself from his peers by capitalizing on the pedagogical possibilities of print. He produced a series of reference works from textbooks to encyclopedias that would eventually earn him the title of muʾallim (teacher). His concepts and methodologies, as well as his defense of key causes such as nationalism, women’s education, and study of the humanities, became the paradigms that defined key pedagogical and cultural, as well as political debates in the nineteenth century.

This Body: My Eucharist: “On Samira al-Khalil’s "Diaries of Siege in Douma"”

Bidayyat, 2017

Review of Christian Sahner's Among the Ruins: Syria Past and Present

The Modern Arabic Bible and the Story of Arabic Language Standardization

Corrective Language Ideologies in the Nahda

Hva er Universalisme 2014: debatt, Podcast link

Hva er universalisme i 2014? Avsluttende debatt med Ola Mestad, Helge Jordheim, Rana Issa, Hannah... more Hva er universalisme i 2014? Avsluttende debatt med Ola Mestad, Helge Jordheim, Rana Issa, Hannah Helseth og Marte Michelet, 12. desember 2014. Fra Litteraturhuset i Oslo.

Introduction to Shadow in Baghdad

About Dokumentaren Shadow in Baghdad handler om Linda Abdul Aziz, som unnslipper opprørene i Irak... more About
Dokumentaren Shadow in Baghdad handler om Linda Abdul Aziz, som unnslipper opprørene i Irak tidlig på 1970-tallet, og faren hennes, som forsvant kort tid etterpå. Som voksen, bosatt i Israel, kontaktes Linda av en irakisk journalist, og sammen begynner de å undersøke hva som egentlig skjedde den gangen faren ble borte.

Det handler om et Irak i opprør og å søke i politiske hemmeligheter. Jo nærmere de kommer sannheten om hva som skjedde med faren, jo varmere skildres også det jødiske Bagdad – disse gatene og områdene som jødene forlot, og en kultur som ble utradert med etableringen av Israel og den parallelt framvoksende irakiske nasjonalismen. Etter å ha levd jødiske liv i over to tusen år på irakisk jord var det ikke lenger plass til dem da det moderne Irak vokste fram. Filmen er lagd av den prisbelønte israelske filmskaperen Duki Dror. Filmen introduseres av Rana Hisham Issa, stipendiat ved Institutt for kulturstudier og orientalske språk, Universitetet i Oslo.

Engelsk tekst, 70 min.

A History of Jerusalem, a cultural tour from the Temple of Solomon to the War on Gaza

Delivered for the second highschool class of the Steinar school in Oslo--2013

Den lammende Stumheten

Forfatteren Yassir al-Haj Saleh gir dem språket tilbake. 23 sept. 2015

This article was originally published in Norwegian in Ny Tid

Al Raqqa: The reality of the military brigades, the administration of the liberated city and the revolutions to come

The Tale of «The Friends of Saidnaya»: The Strongest Three Men in Syria

by Gorgias Press, Simon Wolfgang Fuchs, Isabel Toral-Niehoff, Joas Wagemakers, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, David Hernández de la Fuente, Anna Rogozhina, Elena Narinskaya, Johanne Louise Christiansen, Amina Inloes, Marcus Milwright, Najib George Awad (Dr. Phil; Dr. Theol. Habil.), Ryan Schaffner, Laura Hassan, Vladimir Bošković, Mark D Calder, Pietro Longo, Paolo Maggiolini, Keenan Baca-Winters, Saer El-Jaichi, Avraham Elmakias, Orhan Elmaz, Luca Patrizi, Rana Issa, Adam Sabra, Clinton Bennett, Adrian C . Pirtea, Michael R J Bonner, and Paul C. Dilley

Gorgias Press' 2018 Islamic Studies' catalogue sets out a selection of Gorgias' published and for... more Gorgias Press' 2018 Islamic Studies' catalogue sets out a selection of Gorgias' published and forthcoming publications that are related to Islamic and Near Eastern studies, as well as studies carried out for other fields of research that intersect with Islamic studies.