Debunking the Myths of Colonization: The Arabs and Europe

by Samar Attar

Overview

Debunking the Myths of Colonization. examines Salman Rushdie's thesis on the paradoxical nature of colonialism and its horrific impact on the psyche of the colonized. It probes Frantz Fanon's theories concerning the relationship between colonizers and colonized, and attempts to apply these theories to modern Arabic literature. Like Rushdi and Fanon, many Arab writers have embarked on a journey to the metropolis of their ex-colonial masters. Due to their encounter with English or French culture, they have written memoirs, poems, or fictions in which they have represented themselves and the 'other.' Their representations differ markedly according to their own make up as human beings, their class, education, experiences, and gender. Yet what brings them together is their love-hate relationship with the ex-colonizer. In the case of the Palestinian writers, however, there is only bitterness and bewilderment at Israel as a colonizing power in the 21st century and its Jewish citizens, who were once victims in Europe but now have turned into victimizers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761850380
Publisher:	UPA
Publication date:	04/13/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Samar Attar has taught English, Arabic, and comparative literature in the USA, Canada, Algeria, Germany, Australia, and Turkey. She has published extensively in both English and Arabic in the fields of literary criticism, philosophy, migration, and gender studies.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments xiii

Brief Chronology of the History of Colonization of the Arab World xv

1 Introduction: Violent Arrival and Departure: Western Intruders Wreak Havoc on the World-A Theoretical Overview 1

2 The Encounter between the Colonized and the Colonizer 25

3 A Discovery Voyage of Self and Other: Fadwa Tuqan's Sojourn in England in the Early Sixties 38

4 The Fascination of an Egyptian Intellectual with Europe: Taha Husayn and France 68

5 Are Europeans Like Us? Tawfiq al-Hakim: A Perplexed Egyptian Intellectual in Paris 90

6 Colonialism Failed Project: Yahya Haqqi and Imperial Britain 121

7 The Destruction of Both Colonizer and Colonized: Mustafa Sa'eed, A Fictitious Sudanese Intellectual Journeys to England, the Depth of Hell 136

8 Buried in the Deepest Recesses of Memory: A Queen or A Slave? The Vision of Ghassan Kanafani and Emile Habibi of the City of Haifa 155

9 Women under Occupation: Fadwa Tuqan and Sahar Khalifah Document Israeli Colonization 179

10 Is Friendship Possible between the Colonizer and the Colonized? A Comparative Assessment 199

11 Conclusion: Fractured Identities: The Perilous Journey to Self-Recovery 221

Appendixes 229

Selected Bibliography 255

Index 271

About the Author 281

Editorial Reviews

Attar’s sophisticated and highly nuanced narrative describes the positive and largely negative impacts of colonialism from the perspectives of these Arab writers....Attar’s excellent work goes far toward proving the negative impacts of colonialism while emphasizing the complexity of relationships between the colonized and colonizers. This work provides rich material for future debates and studies on the literature of the contemporary Arab world. It is a fine work of both literary and colonial/political theory that merits adoption in a wide variety of university classes as well as inclusion in the libraries of scholars and those interested in the Arab world and its astounding cultural achievements.

Arab Studies Quarterly