Urban Space in Contemporary Egyptian Literature: Portraits of Cairo (Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World)

Part ode, part academic treatise, this book traces the transformation of Cairo’s historic downtown from its spectacular beginning as a French inspired Belle ?poque marvel to a site of contest and, more recently, to its role as a neo-bohemian public sphere. Using the work of several Egyptian novelists, this study explores the significance of this space to ideas of modernity, class consciousness, and the anti-colonial struggle. Drawing on urban studies scholarship, Arabic literary criticism, and cultural theory, this wide-ranging work argues that a re-examination of the historic city center in the face of globalization and the ongoing fragmentation of urban space is essential to understanding what it means to be Egyptian today. This Book Is 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. It Is Through The Lens Of Literature, In This Case A Body Of Texts That Form An Archive On The Downtown, That One Is Able To Understand The Layered Significance Of This Space For Multiple Generations Of Egyptians-- Introduction : The Urban As Theoretical Frame -- Spector 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 A National Bestseller : Alaa Al-aswany's Ode To Downtown Cairo -- Conclusion : Wust Al-balad As Neo-bohemia : Writing In Defense Of A Vanishing Public Space. Mara Naaman. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 205-214) And Index. Cover......Page 1 Titlepage......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 10 Map of Greater Cairo......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 14 Note from the Editor......Page 18 Preface......Page 20 Introduction: The Urban as Theoretical Frame......Page 28 1 Specter of Paris: The Staging of Cairo’s Modern City Center......Page 38 2 Reconstructing a National Past: Radwa ‘Ashur’s Revisionist History of the Downtown......Page 64 3 The Indigenous Modernism of Khayri Shalabi: Popular Intellectuals and the Neighborhood Ghurza......Page 98 4 The Proletarian Revolution That Never Was: Idris ‘Ali’s Nubian Perspective......Page 132 5 The Nation Recast through a National Bestseller: Alaa al- Aswany’s Ode to Downtown Cairo......Page 166 Conclusion: Wust al- Balad as Neo-Bohemia: Writing in Defense of a Vanishing Public Sphere......Page 196 Afterword......Page 204 Notes......Page 206 Bibliography......Page 232 Index......Page 242