Urban Space in Contemporary Egyptian Literature Portraits of Cairo [Hardcover]

An examination of how the space of the downtown served dual purposes as both a symbol of colonial influence and capital in Egypt, as well as a staging ground for the demonstrations of the Egyptian nationalist movement.The Urban as Theoretical Frame Specter of Paris: The Staging of Cairo's Modern City Center Reconstructing a National Past: Radwa 'Ashur's Revisionist History of the Downtown The Indigenous Modernism of Khayri Shalabi: Popular Intellectuals and the Neighborhood Ghurza The Proletarian Revolution that Never Was: Idris 'Ali's Nubian Perspective The Nation Recast through National Bestseller: Alaa al-Aswany's Ode to Downtown Cairo Wust al-Balad as Neo-Bohemia: Writing in Defense of a Vanishing Public Sphere

Urban Space in Contemporary Egyptian Literature does an admirable job of underlining the ways in which 'a reworking of the past vis-?-vis our cities is an important part of the process in determining who we are (and want to be) in the present' - Arab Studies Journal

In this fascinating and well researched study, Naaman brings a host of works on heritage, nostalgia, modernity and modernization, colonialism and post-colonialism, and, of course, architecture, to bear on her analyses of portraits of downtown Cairo that emerge from four Egyptian novels. The events of February 2011 have brought this very space to the attention of a world-wide public, one that will surely gain from a reading of Naaman's excellent study. - Roger Allen, Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania

An original, intelligent, and imaginative contribution. Naaman successfully draws the reading of contemporary Arabic literature into a broader set of concerns about modernity, national identity, class, ethnic conflict, and the experience of urban life. - Timothy Mitchell, Professor of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University

This study adds several dimensions to ourl(