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Tag Archives: Middle East
Middle East Prospects
A talk about the history behind the headlines in Middle Eastern politics and culture.
The Public Muse
Steven Caton discusses how poetry works as a political force in the Middle East in ways that Americans would not understand. Janet Wondra reads from her work and discusses performance poetry in America.
An Islamic Primer
Gordon Newby provides an Islamic primer, an overview of politics and culture in the Middle East.
Earth’s Treasures
Robert Connor discusses the importance of the liberal arts in the United States today. Carol and Eric Meyers discuss the Sepphoris Project, an archaeological program they have conducted in Israel since 1970.
Yemeni Music and Tradition
Philip Schuyler is an ethnomusicologist who has worked for many years in the Middle East. During a fellowship year at the National Humanities Center, he is at work on a study entitled The Politics of Tradition: Music and Musicians in the Yemen Arab Republic.
Moral Judgment in History
According to Hedva Ben-Israel, moral judgment in writing of modern history nearly disappeared during the second half of the 19th-century, replaced by an ideal of absolute objectivity. But under the stress of the great political revolutions of the first half of the 20th-century, together with the impact of World War II, historians are now re-evaluating the role and importance of moral judgment in modern historical scholarship.
Multi-Ethnic Societies
The ideal of a harmonious order–as old as Plato’s Republic and as modern as the United Nations–remains elusive, as much today as ever, with the emergence over the last 200 years of multi-ethnic societies. These are cultural and political combinations of race, language, religion, and culture in nations such as South Africa, Canada, and Israel. How did multi-ethnic societies originate, and how do historians measure their impact upon modern international politics?
Forgotten Hostages
Jerry Levin served as bureau chief of the Cable News Network in Beirut, where he was kidnapped and held hostage for eleven months, escaping in February, 1985. According to Mr. Levin, much of the credit for his freedom from political captivity goes to his wife, Sis Levin, who lobbied politicians, military and cultural leaders in the United States, Lebanon, and Syria. At the time this edition of Soundings was taped, five U.S. citizens remained in political captivity in the Middle East. According to Mr. and Mrs. Levin, these men are pawns in a battle of silence and pride waged by American and Middle Eastern participants.
Lebanon: Emblem of Captivity
Present-day Lebanon is an emblem of cultural and political captivity, a country in which Christianity shares an uneasy balance with a growing Muslim population. A central issue is the direction that Lebanese society will take, become Europeanized or by contrast become part of the Muslim world. The growth of religious fundamentalism and the equally important backdrop of the Israeli/Arab conflict add to the complexity of Lebanon’s social options.
Islamic Economics
Shaul Bakhash and Bruce Lawrence discuss the relationship between the religion of Islam and economic ideas, particularly as played out in the 1980s. Bakhash describes the notion of Islamic economics as an indigenous alternative to those of capitalism and Marxism, reflecting both discontent with both of those -isms and assertion of a cultural identity. He describes Islamic economics as as a “third way” which seeks to reconcile economic policies with the principles of Islam, offering an egalitarian economic approach without the atheistic associations of Marxist ideas. Lawrence discusses Islamic socialism, mentioning the examples of Egypt, Algeria and Libya, and Bakhash describes the nationalization of the Iranian economy resulting from Iran’s Islamic revolution.
The panelists discuss the elements of Islam which have relevance for economic thought. They emphasize the importance of using money in ways that are justifiable from an Islamic viewpoint, and discuss the Islamic prohibition on earnings from interest, which strict Islamic thought considers to be usury. Lawrence notes that the Islamic tradition emphasizes the right to private property as well as the importance of social justice, and Bakhash comments on the existence of a tension in Islam between the principle of responsibility to the community (ummah) and the freedom to engage in economic activity and accumulate wealth. The panelists then discuss the Islamic principle of zakat, the duty to contribute a percentage of one’s wealth to charity, and the relationship between zakat and state authority. Bakhash describes various attempts at egalitarian and redistributionist economic programs in Muslim countries, noting that many of these measures have been derailed by objections based on Islamic doctrine. Bakhash then addresses attempts to fuse Islamic tradition with broader social and political principles, mentioning the writings of Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr; Lawrence describes the need for balance between fidelity to Islamic scriptural precepts and responsiveness to the expediencies of modern society.
At the time of this interview, Bakhash was a journalist and scholar, and a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1983-84). Lawrence was professor of Religion at Duke University.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
The Art of Literary Translation, Part 4 of 4; Commentary — Social and Political Considerations in Translation
Serge Gavronsky, Suzanne Levine, Andre Lefevre, and Richard Bjornson continue their discussion from the previous episode of how translation often blurs with criticism, as evidenced by notes and addenda to translated works. The speakers question how successfully translations of world literature into English convey the cultural, social, and political underpinnings/ assumptions of the original work. In particular, they discuss the blending of popular culture, “high art,” national culture, and international influences in Latin American writing. The speakers discuss their reactions at rereading the translations that they have previously worked on. They discuss the general lack of awareness in America of the translator’s role, including lack of attribution. The speakers debate whether or not the reader should be aware of the translator, and whether translations can only be judged by those who don’t need them. The future of translations is discussed, including the future of the book and translating machines.
At the time of this recording, Gavronsky was professor of French at Barnard College – Columbia University. Levine was professor of romance languages and literature at Tufts University. Lefevre was professor of comparative literature at the University of Georgia. Bjornson was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1982-83) and professor of comparative literature at Ohio State University.
In the second segment [22:42 ], Shaul Bakhash comments on social and political considerations in translations. Bakhash notes that in the United States translation does not enjoy the same status as creativity itself, while in the Middle East translators are viewed more favorably. He attributes this in part to the Arabic heritage of translating classical Greek and Latin work. Bakhash outlines some of the political, social, and human-rights considerations in the translations of foreign works into Iranian languages. He also discusses the general inadequacy of American knowledge of Iranian literature translated into English, and how American interest in such literature is sporadic and reliant on current events. Bakhash was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1983-84) and professor of near eastern studies at Princeton University. This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
Feminism, East and West
Leila Ahmed and Herbert Bodman discuss western notions about women in the Middle East and the Islamic world. Where do these ideas originate and are the perceptions accurate? What is the status of feminism in the Middle East? Must women in the Middle East choose between cultural and sexual identities? Topics range from the wearing of a veil, stereotyped versus actual nature of Middle Eastern harems, and what holy texts say about women, including polygamy, inheritance, and modesty. They discuss Islamic law, women’s rights, and feminism through the lens of events in 1983.
At the time of this interview, Ahmed was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1982-82) and professor of English at the University of Massachusetts. Bodman was professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
Iran and the Middle East
With attention to the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran in 1976, Herbert Bodman argues that Wilfred Thesiger’s 1959 travel narrative, Arabian Sands – which the Oxford Companion to English Literature calls “a solemn epitaph for traditional Arabia” – is a call for a nuanced and humanistic understanding of the Arabian Peninsula and the complex relationships between Islam and everyday Iranian political and cultural life.
At the time of this interview, Bodman was professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a leader of a 1980 summer institute for North Carolina citizens, “Voyages of Discovery: On the Literature of Travel and Exploration” held at the National Humanities Center.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.