Modernity and Culture from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, 1890Ð1920

Between the 1890s and 1920s, cities in the vast region stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean were experiencing political, social, economic, and cultural changes that had been set in motion at least since the early nineteenth century. As the age of pre-colonial empires gave way to colonial and national states, there was a sense that a particular liberalism of culture and economy had been irretrievably lost to a more intolerant age. Avoiding such dichotomies as East/West and modernity/tradition, this book provides a comparative analysis of contested versions of the concept of modernity. The book examines not only the "high" culture of scholars and the literati, but also popular music, the visual arts, and journalism. The contributors incorporate discussion of the way in which the business in both commodities and ideas was conducted in the increasingly cosmopolitan cities of the time. -- Publisher description

Between the 1890s and 1920s, cities in the vast region stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean were experiencing political, social, economic, and cultural changes that had been set in motion at least since the early nineteenth century. Avoiding such dichotomies as East/West and modernity/tradition, this book provides a comparative analysis of contested versions of the concept of modernity, examining not only the high culture of scholars and the literati, but also popular music, the visual arts, and journalism.

Between the 1890s and the 1920s, cities in the vast region stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean were experiencing political, social, economic and cultural changes. This study provides a comparative analysis of contested versions of the concept of modernity. A favored trade route between the regions surrounding the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden area permitted contact between Mediterranean and Asiatic networks onto which regional and local networks were grafted. Edited By Leila Tarazi Fawaz And C.a. Bayly, With The Collaboration Of Robert Ilbert. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.