Modern Arab Historiography: Historical Discourse and the Nation-state

The Center for Arab Unity Studies issued the second edition of the book Modern Arab Historiography: Historical Discourse and the Nation-state by Youssef M. Choueiri.

This book is not just a direct study of modern Arab historical writings, but provides a new reading of modern and contemporary Arab thought based on sensible evidence and unquestionable referrals, as it is no longer allowed to go into the classification of this thought without realizing the difference between the historical discourse in the century Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Discourse. This means stopping, for example, from insisting that we have been asking questions since Napoleon invaded the land of Kenana and the Levant. Writing based on historical consciousness puts an end to this mental dullness that claims nothing new under the sun and believes that Arab thought has buried itself. In a hole where he has no decision.

Historical consciousness is not a consumer intellectual commodity that we may choose to promote at that time, and then we select others in a moment of transfiguration, shattered breaths, or the unearthed hearts of the lights of the unseen. Our entire existence is subject to this awareness, its depth, deep-rootedness and continuity. This awareness lies in the human being’s awareness of their relationship to themselves and society and the interaction of each in a dynamic process that leads to both entrenchment and transgression.