Rula Jurdi | McGill University (original) (raw)
Papers by Rula Jurdi
Choice Reviews Online, 2015
The last two decades of Lebanese Shi'ite studies have seen the appearance in Western languages as... more The last two decades of Lebanese Shi'ite studies have seen the appearance in Western languages as well as Arabic of a good number of monographs, rather than articles on individual aspects. This has been accompanied by a leavening of the political and strategic emphasis with work on the Ottoman and mandate periods (e.g. Stefan Winter's 2009 The Shi'ites of Lebanon Under Ottoman Rule), religious thought (e.g. Hādī Fa : dlallāh's volumes appearing in the 1990s on the reformism of 'Abd al-: Husayn Sharaf al-Dīn, Mu : hammad Jawād Maghnīyah and Mēs a al-: Sadr and Sabrina Mervin's 2000 R eformisme chiite.. .de la fin de l'Empire ottoman a l'ind ependance du Liban), and culture through the lens of ethnography (e.g. Lara Deeb's 2006 An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon). The volume under review is a stimulating and important contribution to the progress of the field, and the authors note in fact that it synthesizes their previous contributions. While centered (four chapters out of eight) on Hizbullah and its predecessor, AMAL, Shi'ites of Lebanon takes care to place Shi'ite Islamism in the context of long-term social history, beginning with the creation of Grand Liban in 1920, and particularly the ideological forces that have impacted the community in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Apart from the modernism and Communism featured in the title, these include secularism, sectarianism, transnational Shiism, and relations with the Lebanese state. This ambitious project, as suggested by the title of the Prologue, "Landscapes of Shi'ite Protest", is tied together by the narrative of a historically oppressed people struggling to find a place in a not very hospitable environment. The Shi'a are depicted as grappling with their socio-political circumstances through a succession of ideologies and movements that tend to share "intellectual material", so that the Islamists of today are also heir to the ideas of modernism and Marxism. Communism or leftism has a central place in this narrative. The two chapters devoted to leftism discuss both the material factors of poverty, exclusion, and Communist social activism in attracting Shi'ites to the Party and the ideological factor of an apparent fit between leftist and Shi'ite worldviews. The Abisaabs' account of the ideological relation is somewhat ambiguous. They caution against regarding Shi'ite religious culture-for instance, the tragedy of Karbala and Mahdism-as "encouraging unconditional affiliation with the Left", pointing out that it is rather "engaged with under particular historical conditions" (56). Twelver Shiism
makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contai... more makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic re...
al-Ādāb, Beirut, 2019
An article, published in al-Ādāb magazine investigating the politics of cultural essentialism and... more An article, published in al-Ādāb magazine investigating the politics of cultural essentialism and construction of modernity and poetic originality in the writings of Adonis. It offers a comparative perspective with the works and ideas of the less known Communist thinker, Husayn Muroeh.
MLA, 2019
Book Chapter in Teaching Modern Arabic Literature in Translation (MLA 2018) ed. Michelle Hartman.... more Book Chapter in Teaching Modern Arabic Literature in Translation (MLA 2018) ed. Michelle Hartman. The book received Honorable Mention for the 2019 Teaching Literature Book Award.
Choice Reviews Online, 2015
The last two decades of Lebanese Shi'ite studies have seen the appearance in Western languages as... more The last two decades of Lebanese Shi'ite studies have seen the appearance in Western languages as well as Arabic of a good number of monographs, rather than articles on individual aspects. This has been accompanied by a leavening of the political and strategic emphasis with work on the Ottoman and mandate periods (e.g. Stefan Winter's 2009 The Shi'ites of Lebanon Under Ottoman Rule), religious thought (e.g. Hādī Fa : dlallāh's volumes appearing in the 1990s on the reformism of 'Abd al-: Husayn Sharaf al-Dīn, Mu : hammad Jawād Maghnīyah and Mēs a al-: Sadr and Sabrina Mervin's 2000 R eformisme chiite.. .de la fin de l'Empire ottoman a l'ind ependance du Liban), and culture through the lens of ethnography (e.g. Lara Deeb's 2006 An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon). The volume under review is a stimulating and important contribution to the progress of the field, and the authors note in fact that it synthesizes their previous contributions. While centered (four chapters out of eight) on Hizbullah and its predecessor, AMAL, Shi'ites of Lebanon takes care to place Shi'ite Islamism in the context of long-term social history, beginning with the creation of Grand Liban in 1920, and particularly the ideological forces that have impacted the community in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Apart from the modernism and Communism featured in the title, these include secularism, sectarianism, transnational Shiism, and relations with the Lebanese state. This ambitious project, as suggested by the title of the Prologue, "Landscapes of Shi'ite Protest", is tied together by the narrative of a historically oppressed people struggling to find a place in a not very hospitable environment. The Shi'a are depicted as grappling with their socio-political circumstances through a succession of ideologies and movements that tend to share "intellectual material", so that the Islamists of today are also heir to the ideas of modernism and Marxism. Communism or leftism has a central place in this narrative. The two chapters devoted to leftism discuss both the material factors of poverty, exclusion, and Communist social activism in attracting Shi'ites to the Party and the ideological factor of an apparent fit between leftist and Shi'ite worldviews. The Abisaabs' account of the ideological relation is somewhat ambiguous. They caution against regarding Shi'ite religious culture-for instance, the tragedy of Karbala and Mahdism-as "encouraging unconditional affiliation with the Left", pointing out that it is rather "engaged with under particular historical conditions" (56). Twelver Shiism
makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contai... more makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic re...
al-Ādāb, Beirut, 2019
An article, published in al-Ādāb magazine investigating the politics of cultural essentialism and... more An article, published in al-Ādāb magazine investigating the politics of cultural essentialism and construction of modernity and poetic originality in the writings of Adonis. It offers a comparative perspective with the works and ideas of the less known Communist thinker, Husayn Muroeh.
MLA, 2019
Book Chapter in Teaching Modern Arabic Literature in Translation (MLA 2018) ed. Michelle Hartman.... more Book Chapter in Teaching Modern Arabic Literature in Translation (MLA 2018) ed. Michelle Hartman. The book received Honorable Mention for the 2019 Teaching Literature Book Award.