Egypt

Introduction
The Arab Republic of Egypt, with around 85 million inhabitants, is the second most populous African country. Located mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula stretching into Asia, and bordering the Mediterranean (north), the Red Sea (east), Sudan (south), Libya (west), and the Gaza Strip and Israel (northeast), Egypt covers an area of approximately 387,000 square miles. Most of this area is desert, so the population tends to be concentered in the fertile land in the Delta and around the banks of the Nile. Roughly 43 percent of the population is urban, with Cairo being the largest city in the country. Most of Egypt’s population is Sunni Muslim, with 10 to 12 percent Coptic Christian. Egypt was occupied by the British from 1882 until 1922. Modern Egypt became a republic after the 1952 revolution, led by a group of young Egyptian military officers (the Free Officers), ended the rule of monarchy and the de facto British control of the country. Since then and until 2012, Egypt has been ruled by three presidents, all of whom were strongly affiliated with the army and who exercised tremendous power. After the 25 January 2011 Revolution, Egypt has moved to the direct election of the president, currently Muhammad Morsi, who is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
General Overviews
Egypt has been the center of numerous studies that explored its very long history and dynamic political, social, and cultural systems. The many studies that focus on ancient Egypt will be covered in a separate bibliography. This section includes references that offer general overviews of the country’s recent history and explore its broader economic and political systems and transformations.Goldschmidt and Johnston 2013 offers a synopsis of the modern history of Egypt, whileGoldschmidt 2004 provides biographical information about key players in Egyptian recent history.Sayyid-Marsot 2007 offers a short and accessible history of Egypt from the 7th century CE until the early 2000s. Vatikiotis 2012 is a survey of the major changes Egypt witnessed since the 1952 revolution. The Economist Intelligence Unit reports offer regular updates on the economic and political situation in Egypt. El-Mahdi 2009 presents a collection of articles about recent transformation in Egyptian life. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) offers updated statistics about the country’s population, economy, education, and transportation.
Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
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Offers statistical data (in English and Arabic) about Egypt’s population, housing, economy, transportation, trade, education, and culture.
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Economist Intelligence Unit.
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EIU’s reports and profiles offer regular analysis of the economic and political aspects of life in Egypt, including useful information about the population and its distribution, main economic activities, income distribution, and changes to the political system.
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Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr. Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004.
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Offers biographical information for more than four hundred influential men and women, including politicians, artists, writers, and religious leaders, who played an important role in Egypt’s recent history.
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Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr., and Robert Johnston. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. 4th ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2013.
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A clearly written reference book that offers an overview of Egyptian modern history. It covers major political transformations, figures, and institutions, with a focus on the post-independence period. It includes a chronology of important events, useful maps, and a bibliography.
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el-Mahdi, Rabab, and Philip Marfleet, eds. Egypt: The Moment of Change. London: Zed Books, 2009.
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Written by academics and activists, this collection offers insights into the major economic, political, and social challenges that faced the regime of Hosni Mubarak (b. 1928). Topics covered include state and society, economic policies, the land and the people, and protest movements.
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Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf Lutfi. A History of Egypt: From the Arab Conquest to the Present. 2d ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511607578Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An informative and concise introduction to the modern history of Egypt. It covers the period from 639 CE until the early 2000s. It includes a select helpful bibliography with short annotations.
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Vatikiotis, P. J., ed. Egypt since the Revolution. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis, 2012.
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A collection of articles that map the political, economic, cultural, literary, and intellectual developments in Egypt since the 1952 revolution. It has a section about Western views of this revolution and a bibliographical survey.
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Journals
There are several journals that either focus exclusively on Egypt, such as the Journal of American Research Center in Egypt, particularly its ancient times, or that frequently publish articles about Egyptian history and life such as Alif and the International Journal of Middle East Studies. Cairo Papers in Social Science publishes monographs on the social, political, historical, and economic aspects of life in the Middle East, particularly Egypt. The Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo publishes a monthly periodical that analyzes current social, political, economic, and military events.
Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.
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Publishes regular reports on the economic and religious condition in Egypt and a monthly periodical that analyzes current social, political, economic, and military events. It has both an Arabic and an English website.
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Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics.
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An annual journal produced in Cairo since 1981. Includes articles in Arabic, English, and French and often includes important articles on the Egyptian literary scene.
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Cairo Papers in Social Science.
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A quarterly that publishes monographs on the social, political, historical, and economic aspects of life in the Middle East, particularly Egypt. Published by the American University in Cairo since 1977.
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International Journal of Middle East Studies.
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Published four times a year by the Middle East Studies Association, this journal often includes articles and book reviews, especially on the modern history of Egypt.
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Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.
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Established in 1962, this annual journal publishes scholarship (in English, German, and French) on Egyptian archaeology, art, languages, and social systems.
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Historical Background
The land of the pharaohs, the home of the Giza pyramids and the Great Sphinx, has a very long and complex history. Scholars usually make a clear distinction between the history of ancient Egypt, which extends from 3000 BCE up to 343 CE, the arrival of Christianity (1st century) and the Roman Rule (which extends from the 1st until the first part of the 7th century), and the Muslim/Arab era, which started in the 7th century and extends until today. The following section focuses on Muslim/Arab era while the ancient history of Egypt will be covered in another bibliography.
PRE-COLONIAL
This era usually extends from the arrival of Islam around 640 CE up to the British occupation ofEgypt in 1882. Historians of this period typically trace the impact of Islam, the interaction between Muslim and other religious communities, including Arabization, the different dynasties and rulers who ruled the country, the colonial period, and the post-colonial/national era. Petry 2008, an edited collection, offers an overview of the political, social, cultural, and economic transformation from 640 (the arrival of Arab Muslims) to 1517 (the beginning of the Ottoman control of Egypt). It starts with two chapters about the legacy of ancient Egypt and the Roman rule and then moves to discuss significant moments in the history of Muslim rule. Philipp and Haarmann 1998 offers a valuable look at the Mamluks, who ruled Egypt between 1250 and 1517. Daly 2008, an edited volume, addresses the period from 1517 until the end of the 20th century, including Ottoman period and the rule of Muhammad (alternative spelling Mehmed) Ali Pasha (b. 1769–d. 1849), the Albanian officer who ruled Egypt between 1805 and 1849, and who is often viewed as the founder of modern Egypt.Hanna 2003 offers a history of the Middle class under the Ottomans. Fahmy 2009 offers an interesting look at the army created under Ali and how it institutionalized specific techniques linked to the modernization of Egypt. Cuno 1992 offers a revisionist history that highlights the continuities between the Ottoman rule and the transformations that took place under Ali.
Cuno, Kenneth M. The Pasha’s Peasants: Land, Society, and Economy in Lower Egypt, 1740–1858. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
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A revisionist history of the creation of modern Egypt that explores the continuities between the Ottoman period and the agrarian economic systems and social realities that existed under Muhammad Ali.
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Daly, M. W., ed. The Cambridge History of Egypt. Vol. 2, Modern Egypt from 1517 to the End of the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
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An online version of the 1998 print edition of an useful collection of articles that addresses the more recent history of Egypt. The author explores various aspects of the Ottoman rule, the British occupation, and independent Egypt.
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Fahmy, Khaled. All the Pasha’s Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army, and the Making of ModernEgypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
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Looks at the army as an institution of power under Ali and argues that its management, training, and regulation as well as composition and the techniques of surveillance and discipline it instituted were an important part of the creation of modern Egypt. First published in 1997.
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Hanna, Nelly. In Praise of Books: A Cultural History of Cairo’s Middle Class, Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003.
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An important look at the Egyptian middle class under the Ottomans and how its education and cultural practices were shaped by economic changes. Topics covered include books, literacy, storytelling, and coffeehouses.
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Petry, Carl F., ed. The Cambridge History of Egypt. Vol. 1, Islamic Egypt, 640–1517. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
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An online version of the 1998 print edition of the first collection in English that looks at different facets of Egyptian history between 640 and 1517. It opens with two chapters about pre-IslamicEgypt and then traces primarily political transformations but also some cultural, social, and economic transformations. It includes a list of rulers of Egypt and a long bibliography. Daly’s collection explores the history of Modern Egypt.
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Philipp, Thomas, and Ulrich Haarmann. The Mamluks in Egyptian Politics and Society. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
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An overview of the rule of Mamluks, military slaves who became the political elite in Egypt between 1250 and 1517.
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COLONIAL
Egypt was an Ottoman province when the French, led by Napoleon, colonized it between 1798 and 1801. Cole 2007 offers a history of the French attempt to control Egypt. Jabarti 2006 offers native reflections on the techniques and practices of the colonial French power. The British occupiedEgypt directly between 1882 and 1922 but continued to exert influence on the country’s political system until the end of the monarchy in 1952. Sayyid-Marsot 1969 focuses on Evelyn Baring, First Earl of Cromer (b. 1841–d. 1917), the British Consul-General, who effectively ruled Egypt between 1883 and 1907. Marlowe 1965 provides an overview of the relationship between the British and Egyptian before and after the occupation of Egypt. Mitchell 2000 offers a conceptually important analysis of the attempts of the British to establish their notions of order and truth in Egypt. Pollard 2005 looks at the impact of the colonial project on class, household, and gender dynamics. Tollefson 1999 offers a look at the techniques of control and policing deployed by the British.
Cole, Juan Ricardo. Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
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Offers a look at the French occupation of Egypt, with a focus on the first seven months of Napoleon’s invasion of the country. It offers a glimpse of how the French and Egyptians viewed each other and the type of opposition that was emerging among the Egyptian population.
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Jabarti, Abd al-Raḥman. Napoleon in Egypt: Al-Jabarti’s Chronicle of the French Occupation, 1798. Translated by Shmuel Moreh. Expanded ed. Princeton, NJ: M. Wiener, 2006.
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A historical and reflective account of the French occupation of Egypt. It gives a good sense of how Cairo’s residents viewed the French, their administrative techniques, bodily practices, and moral projects. The book also includes the memoirs of the Private Secretary to Bonaparte, and a piece by Edward Said on the cultural consequences of the French preoccupation with Egypt. English translation first published in 1975; expanded in honor of al-Jabarti’s 250th birthday.
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Marlowe, John. Anglo-Egyptian Relations, 1800–1953. 2d ed. London: Cresset, 1965.
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An overview of the relationship between the British and Egyptian before and after the occupation ofEgypt. First published in 1954.
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Mitchell, Timothy. Colonising Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
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An influential political and historical analysis of the British colonization of Egypt. It pays attention to notions of truth and order and how the British attempted to materialize these notions through their colonial project. First published in 1988.
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Pollard, Lisa. Nurturing the Nation: The Family Politics of Modernizing, Colonizing and Liberating Egypt 1805–1923. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
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A look at the interaction between the Egyptian elite and the British colonialists and how this interaction redefined class and household structures and related to the struggle for independence and the modernization of Egypt.
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Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf Lutfi. Egypt and Cromer: A Study in Anglo-Egyptian Relations. New York: Praeger, 1969.
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An important and engaging study of Cromer, who was British Consul-General in Egypt and the virtual ruler of the country from 1883 through1907. The book explores Cromer’s relations with Egyptian politicians and traces key transformations in the Egyptian national movement and how it evolved in relation to and reaction to the colonial presence.
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Tollefson, Harold. Policing Islam: The British Occupation of Egypt and the Anglo-Egyptian Struggle over Control of the Police, 1882–1914. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999.
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A look at the role of the police in the British control of Egypt and the management of the population.
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POST-COLONIAL
The 1919 Egyptian revolution paved the way for the end of the direct control of the British on the country. In 1922, Egypt was granted independence. The country was ruled by a king and a national government, but the British continued to exert power on the political elite until the 1952 revolution, which ended the monarchy and expelled the last British soldiers from the country. An overview of the period between 1919 and 1952 can be found in Goldschmidt, et al. 2005. Botman 1991 covers the era between 1919 and 1952, often referred to as the liberal era, and explores the plurality and liberalism that characterized Egypt during that period. Reynolds 2012 gives a vivid sense of the anti-British protests that paved the way for the 1952 revolution. Gershoni and Jankowski 2002explore national identity between 1930 and 1945. An overview of Egyptian society and politics between 1945 and 1990 is offered in Hopwood 1991. Podeh and Winckler 2004 includes a collection of articles that explore the policies and impact of Gamel Abdel Nasser (b. 1918–d. 1970), who ruledEgypt between 1954 and 1970.
Botman, Selma. Egypt from Independence to Revolution, 1919–1952. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991.
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A look at Egypt during its so-called liberal era. It argues that the plurality and liberalism brought by the elite and characterizing this period were highly valued and practiced by a wide range of actors.
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Gershoni, I., and James P. Jankowski. Redefining the Egyptian Nation, 1930–1945. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
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A look at the discourses that shaped Egyptian nationalism in the years during the beginning of the post-colonial period. It examines a set of national and regional economic, political, and social changes that shaped national identity and sense of belonging.
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Goldschmidt, Arthur, Amy J. Johnson, and Barak A. Salmoni, eds. Re-envisioning Egypt 1919–1952. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2005.
DOI: 10.5743/cairo/9789774249006.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A collection of articles that explore the continuities between the structures and values that existed in the liberal era and the 1952 revolution. Topics covered include foreign policy, the army, class, education, popular culture, and literature.
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Hopwood, Derek. Egypt, Politics and Society, 1945–1990. 3d ed. London: HarperCollins Academic, 1991.
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First published in 1982. An overview of Egyptian society and politics between 1945 and 1990. It covers the presidency of Nasser, Anwar Sadat (b. 1918–d. 1981), and the first third of Mubarak’s thirty years of presidency.
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Podeh, Elie, and Onn Winckler, eds. Rethinking Nasserism: Revolution and Historical Memory in Modern Egypt. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2004.
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A collection of articles that explores different aspects of Nasser’s policies, relationships, and visions. Topics covered include memory, cultural production, family planning, and literature.
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Reynolds, Nancy Y. A City Consumed: Urban Commerce, the Cairo Fire, and the Politics of Decolonization in Egypt. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012.
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A close look at the beginning of the 1952 revolution and the protests initiated by the Egyptian against the British presence in Egypt. Also, an exploration of the relationship between consumption, nationalism, and politics.
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Society and Culture
Egyptian society and culture has been the subject of many studies that explored various issues related to identity, cultural meanings, and social change. El-Messiri 1978 is a valuable study of local urban identities, Sonbol 2000 offers a historical look at the continuities between earlier periods in Egyptian history and relates them to recent political and social changes, and Amin 2004 offers an overview of some of the main changes Egyptian society has been undergoing throughout the past fifty years. The impact of global flows of capital, products, people, images, and money has been explored in Ghannam 2002 in the context of low-income areas in Cairo. Changing consumption patterns have been analyzed in Abaza 2006, while Peterson 2011 has explored notions of cosmopolitanism among the elite. Elyachar 2005 offers an analysis of the impact of neoliberal policies on Cairo’s urban poor. Abdelrahman, et al. 2006 offers articles on cultural dynamics in contemporary Egypt.
Abaza, Mona. Changing Consumer Cultures of Modern Egypt: Cairo’s Urban Reshaping. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2006.
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Looks at the impact of the shift from Nasser’s socialist policies to Sadat’s open-door policy. The book pays attention to the changes in consumption patterns and explores several important products (such as mobiles), spaces (such as cafes), and procedures (such as aesthetic surgery) and the type of changes they are generating.
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Abdelrahman, Maha M., Iman A. Hamdy, Malak Rouchdy, and Reem Saad, eds. Cultural Dynamics in Contemporary Egypt. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2006.
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An interdisciplinary collection of papers that explores different issues related to media, food, taste, and marketing.
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Amin, Galal. Whatever Else Happened to the Egyptians?: From the Revolution to the Age of Globalization. Translated by David Wilmsen. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2004.
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A reflexive overview of major economic and social changes that took place from the 1950s until the early 2000s. It pays particular attention to the implications of the drastic increase in the population and reflects on the growing importance of consumption and how both affect personal and collective social and ethical aspects of life in Egypt.
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Elyachar, Julia. Markets of Dispossession: NGOs, Economic Development, and the State in Cairo. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005.
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Astute analysis of the forces of the market and how they shape the life of Egypt’s urban poor. It explores the effects and consequences of attempts by policy makers and governmental organizations to help unemployed youth and craftsmen become small-scale entrepreneurs.
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Ghannam, Farha. Remaking the Modern: Space, Relocation, and the Politics of Identity in a Global Cairo. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
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An anthropological study of the impact of government policies and global flows of money, people, products, and images on a low-income neighborhood in Cairo. Looking at a group that was relocated from the center of a Cairo to a public housing project as part of Sadat’s open-door policies, the book explores issues related to urban space, identity, gender, and modernity.
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el-Messiri, Sawsan. Ibn al-Balad: A Concept of Egyptian Identity. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1978.
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A short but key study of identity in Cairo’s old quarters. It looks at the notion of ibn al-balad (the son of the country), how it developed over time, and the main characteristics that are attached to this identity.
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Peterson, Mark Allen. Connected in Cairo: Growing Up Cosmopolitan in the Modern Middle East. Bloomfield: Indiana University Press, 2011.
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An anthropological study of the Egyptian “cosmopolitan class,” its consumption practices, and its quest to be globally linked, regionally informed, and locally anchored. It analyzes the use of different objects (such as magazines and video games, among others) and spaces (such as coffee houses and fast-food restaurants) and how these uses relate to class identities.
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Sonbol, Amira el Azhary. The New Mamluks: Egyptian Society and Modern Feudalism. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000.
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Compares the reign of the Mamluks to recent social changes in Egypt. It pays particular attention to social hierarchies and the role of the military and argues that in Egypt’s recent history, the popular classes, and their preferences and tastes, have increasingly become visible in cultural production and circulation.
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CAIRO, THE CITY VICTORIOUS
Cairo, the Egyptian capital, is the largest city in Egypt, Africa, and the Middle East. The home of at least 11 million Egyptians, Cairo is the center of the political, cultural, and economic life of the country. It has been the subject of many studies that explored its history, neighborhoods, and socioeconomic and cultural landscapes. Abu-Lughod 1971 offers a detailed and valuable history of the city from the early settlement established by the Arabs in 640 until the late 1960s. AlSayyad 2011 offers a history that covers the Mubarak era. Anthropologists have actively studied Cairo, its neighborhoods, housing projects, and various public and private spaces. Ghannam 2002 offers an ethnography of a housing project in a low-income neighborhood and explores issues related to globalization and identity. Singerman and Amar 2006, an edited volume, offers an impressive interdisciplinary collection of papers that explore different aspects of contemporary life in Cairo.Singerman 2009 is another interdisciplinary set of articles that explore the contested nature of Cairo and its various spaces. Mehrez 2011 offers an excellent collection of literary works focused on Cairo.
Abu-Lughod, Janet L Cairo: 1001 Years of the City Victorious. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1971.
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A key sociological study that documents Cairo’s long history and the multiple economic, political, and social forces that have shaped the city over 1000 years. Traces the development of the city since 640 until the mid-1960s. No study of Cairo is complete without a look at this important book.
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AlSayyad, Nezar. Cairo: Histories of a City. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2011.
DOI: 10.4159/harvard.9780674060791Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Written by a professor of architecture and urban planning, this book offers an impressive history of Cairo’s architecture and the political forces that shape the city and its spaces. It looks at the early stages of the city and ends with Cairo under the Mubarak rule.
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Ghannam, Farha. Remaking the Modern: Space, Relocation, and the Politics of Identity in a Global Cairo. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
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A vivid anthropological study that examines a public housing project as part of Sadat’s attempts to build a modern city. It looks at the daily use of public and private spaces and how residents reconstruct their identities in light of national policies and global flows of money, people, products, and discourses.
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Mehrez, Samia, ed. The Literary Life of Cairo: One Hundred Years in the Heart of the City. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2011.
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Offers an impressive collection of writings by many prominent Egyptian, Arab, and Western writers about different aspects of life in Cairo.
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Singerman, Diane, ed. Cairo Contested: Governance, Urban Space, and Global Modernity. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2009.
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Interdisciplinary collection of papers that explore the relationship between power, space, and governance and how different aspects of the city are contested and remade from multiple points.
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Singerman, Diane, and Paul Amar, eds. Cairo Cosmopolitan: Politics, Culture, and Urban Space in the New Globalized Middle East. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2006.
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An excellent collection by scholars from different disciplines who address various aspects of Cairo’s social, political, and cultural landscape.
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ETHNIC GROUPS
There are several ethnic groups in Egypt. Most are small communities such as the Beja and Berber, who are limited to the oasis in the Egyptian desert. The largest ethnic and racial group is the Nubians, who historically lived in the Nuba in southern Egypt but who were displaced because of the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s. Fernea and Gerster 1973 offers documentation of the life of Nubians before their displacement, while Fahim 1983 explores the impact of relocation on the socioeconomic and cultural aspects of Nubian life. Jennings 2009 is a more up-to-date account of the life of Nubian women and the major changes they have been negotiating over the past two decades. While not an ethnic group in the traditional sense, the Bedouins in Egypt have a unique collective identity that has been addressed by several studies.Murray 1979 documents different aspects of Egyptian Bedouin life during the first part of the 20th century. Hobbs 1989 offers a view of nomadic life in the Egyptian desert, while Abu-Lughod 1999 is an analysis of poetry and its importance in circulating meaning among the Bedouins in the Sinai Peninsula. Altorki and Cole 1998 explores some of the major broader forces that shape the life of Bedouins. A growing number of refugees have been settling in or passing through Egypt. Fábos 2008 offers an anthropological study of the Sudanese community and how the Sudanese define themselves and relate to the broader context.
Abu-Lughod, Lila. Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society. Updated ed. with a new preface. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
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First published in 1986, this book is an influential study of poetry, notions of honor, and gender within a Bedouin community in Egypt. It explores how poetry helps articulate sentiments that are usually not accepted in daily life.
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Altorki, Soraya, and Donald P. Cole. Bedouin, Settlers and Holiday-Makers: Egypt’s Changing Northwest Coast. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1998.
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A look at some of the major changes such as globalization, modernization, urbanization, and the nation-state and how they have been transforming the life of Bedouins in Egypt. The study pays particular attention to the role of tourism.
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Fábos, Anita H. “Brothers” or Others? Propriety and Gender for Muslim Arab Sudanese in Egypt. New York: Berghahn, 2008.
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An anthropological study of the Sudanese community in Egypt, with a focus on gender dynamics, and the changes that shape their identity and relationships.
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Fahim, Hussein M. Egyptian Nubians: Resettlement and Years of Coping. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1983.
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A study of the impact of the relocation of Nubians after the construction of the High Dam. It documents the socioeconomic and cultural changes the Nubians had to negotiate in their new location.
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Fernea, Robert A., and Georg Gerster. Nubians in Egypt: Peaceful People. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1973.
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A valuable ethnographic and visual documentation of old Nubia before it was flooded by the High Dam in 1963.
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Hobbs, Joseph J. Bedouin Life in the Egyptian Wilderness. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989.
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An ethno-geographic study of Bedouin life in Egypt. Topics covered include economic activities, relationships to the environment, religion, myths, and language.
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Jennings, Anne M. Nubian Women of West Aswan: Negotiating Tradition and Change. 2d ed. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2009.
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Originally published in 1995, this second edition presents a close look at the changes that shaped the life of Nubian women. It offers a look at the history of the Nubians and explores growing up in West Aswan, village networks, and the impact of tourism on social life.
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Murray, George William. Sons of Ishmael: A Study of the Egyptian Bedouin. New York: AMS Press, 1979.
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A documentation, first published in 1935, of different aspects of Egyptian Bedouin life during the first part of the 20th century.
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WOMEN AND GENDER
Gender inequalities and the status of women in Egypt have been a subject of great interest since at least the last part of the 19th century. Historians, anthropologists, and feminists, among others, have explored different aspects of power and gender, women’s daily life and access to various resources, and how femininities and masculinities are constructed and reconstructed. Booth 2001 is a historical study of the “women question” and how it related to projects of modernity during the colonial era.Badran 1995 looks at the history of feminism in Egypt, particularly during the first half of the 20th century. Botman 1999 offers a survey of the forces that shaped women’s status from independence until the late 1990s. Bier 2011 is an excellent discussion of feminism, politics, and nationalism under Nasser. Karam 1998 presents a survey of different strands of feminism and how they related to different forms of Islamism. Looking at meanings and practices of piety among a mosque movement in Cairo, Mahmood 2012 offers a critique of notions of agency and equality. Al-Ali 2000counterbalances the great focus on Islam and gender by looking at secular-oriented women’s activism. Jacob 2011 is one of the few studies that looks at the construction of masculinity under British rule.
al-Ali, Nadje. Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East: The Egyptian Women’s Movement. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511489518Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In light of the great focus on Islam and gender, Al-Ali’s book offers a much needed overview of secular-oriented women’s movements, their history, their activism, and the challenges they have to negotiate between completing national and international discourses about citizenship, nationalism, and rights.
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Badran, Margot. Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995.
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A historical look at the development of Egyptian feminism, with a focus on the first part of the 20th century. It explores the link between religion, nationalism, and feminism. It shows how feminists have been active in critiquing gender inequalities and constructing Egyptian nationalism.
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Bier, Laura. Revolutionary Womanhood: Feminisms, Modernity, and the State in Nasser’sEgypt. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011.
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A pioneer study of “state feminism” and the women’s question under Nasser. By exploring issues such as work, veiling, education, and motherhood, the book offers an important analysis of the relationship between gender politics, nation building, and projects of modernity.
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Booth, Marilyn. May Her Likes Be Multiplied: Biography and Gender Politics in Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
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A historical look at the relationship between modernization and the “women question,” examining 570 biographies (of Western and Muslim women) published in Egypt between 1879 and 1939. The book explores the role of these biographies in constructing a particular modern female subjectivity.
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Botman, Selma. Engendering Citizenship in Egypt. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
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A discussion of citizenship and a survey of the forces that shaped the status of women from independence until the late 1990s.
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Jacob, Wilson Chacko. Working Out Egypt: Effendi Masculinity and Subject Formation in Colonial Modernity, 1870–1940. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011.
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An analysis of notions of subjectivity and masculinity under the British rule and how Egyptian bourgeoisie tried to construct an alternative type of masculinity that countered the British’s negative depictions of Egyptian men.
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Karam, Azza M. Women, Islamisms, and the State: Contemporary Feminisms in Egypt. New York: St. Martin’s, 1998.
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An accessible and illuminating look at feminism and Islamism in Egypt. It maps different strands of feminisms and how they are related to the views and ideologies of different Islamist groups.
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Mahmood, Saba. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. 2d ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012.
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Originally published in 2005, and with a new preface, this book is an influential study that offers a critique of Western feminism and presents a different conceptualization of agency by looking at the ethical practices and self-cultivation of a women’s mosque movement in Egypt.
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Economy
Over the past sixty years, Egyptian economy went through major transformations. While Nasser implemented socialist policies and highlighted the role of the state in offering services and regulating access to various resources, Sadat initiated his open-door (infitah) policy in the early 1970s and pursued liberal policies that aimed to privatize the public sector and encourage international investments and tourism as central part of the Egyptian economy. Mubarak continued these policies during his thirty years of presidency, which have had great impact on the social fabric of Egyptian society. Waterbury 1983 offers a comparison between Nasser and Sadat political policies. Ibrahim and Ibrahim 2003 is an overview of the Egyptian economy and its challenges. The World Bank offers regular reports and up-to-date information about the Egyptian economy. The Economic Research Forum and the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies post working papers written by economists about recent changes and policy issues. El-Mikawy and Handoussa 2002 present a collection of papers about economic development and reform, while Kheir el-Din 2008 offers a set of articles that address main challenges and policy concerns during the early 2000s. Bush and Ayeb 2012 offers case studies and analysis of the impact of the recent policies.
Bush, Ray, and Habib Ayeb, eds. Marginality and Exclusion in Egypt. London: Zed Books, 2012.
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An edited volume with essays that explore power, inequality, and exclusion. Topics covered include labor, urbanization, slum areas, refugees, street children, youth, and the January 25th revolution.
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Economic Research Forum.
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A network of researchers housed in Cairo, the forum offers many reports and working papers on the Egyptian economy such as labor, fiscal policies, poverty and income distribution, economic liberalization and privatization, and development options after the 25 January 2011 revolution.
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Egyptian Center for Economic Studies.
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An independent research initiative, the center offers on-line up-to-date analyses (both in English and Arabic) of economic issues such as the labor market, Islamic banking, the informal sector, employment patterns, and globalization.
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Ibrahim, Fouad N., and Barbara Ibrahim. Egypt: An Economic Geography. London: I. B. Tauris, 2003.
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An overview of Egypt’s economy and its main challenges. Discusses issues such as the limited amount of arable land, food shortage, growth of population, problems of unemployment, and industrialization efforts.
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Kheir el-Din, Hanaa, ed. The Egyptian Economy: Current Challenges and Future Prospects. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 2008.
DOI: 10.5743/cairo/9789774161544.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A set of articles that looks at recent trends in Egyptian economy. Topics covered include growth and poverty reduction, unemployment and job creation, and the impact of fiscal liberalization.
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el-Mikawy, Noha, and Heba Handoussa, eds. Institutional Reform and Economic Development in Egypt. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2002.
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A valuable collection of papers written by economists and political scientists about links between political and economic reforms in the 1990s.
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Waterbury, John. The Egypt of Nasser and Sadat: The Political Economy of Two Regimes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983.
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An informative discussion of major similarities and differences between Nasser and Sadat’s economic policies and their political and social impact.
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World Bank.
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Offers reports and up-to-date data on the status of the Egyptian economy.
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Politics and Government
The British controlled Egypt directly between 1882 and 1922, when they granted Egyptindependence. However, they continued to exert tremendous power on the political system until the 1952 revolution, which ended the military presence of the British in the country and their direct influence on the political process. Since then, Egypt has been a republic, but only in 2012 did it start selecting its president by direct election. Researchers have explored the history of the current political system as well as its national and local political processes.
COLONIAL
Scholars, particularly historians and political scientists, have looked at different facets of the colonial project, the structures it generated, the social divisions it promoted, the type of identifications it elaborated, and the political subjectivities it constituted. Richmond 2012 is an overview of the history of the relationship between Egypt and colonial Western powers between 1798 and 1952. Mansfield 1972 focuses on the main figures and key events that characterized and shaped the colonial project.Welch 1988 offers a close look at the colonial administration and its main leaders between 1883 and1907, while Marlowe 1970 looks specifically at the life and work of Cromer, British agent and Counsel-General in Cairo, who effectively ruled Egypt between 1883 and 1907. Tignor 1966explores the efforts of the British to modernize Egypt.
Mansfield, Peter. The British in Egypt. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972.
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An engaging look at the presence of the British in Egypt from the 1860s until the 1950s. Covers some of the main figures and key events that marked the British history in Egypt.
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Marlowe, John. Cromer in Egypt. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970.
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Based largely on British documents, this book describes the administration of Cromer, British agent and Counsel-General in Cairo, who effectively ruled Egypt between 1883 and 1907. It explores his economic policies, which aimed to increase productivity, and his political stands and connections with the Khedives, the official rulers of the country.
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Richmond, J. C. B. Egypt 1798–1952: Her Advance towards a Modern Identity. London: Routledge, 2012.
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Offers an overview of the history of the relationship between Egypt and European colonial powers, particularly France and Britain, and the impact of this relationship on the construction of Egypt’s national identity. It covers the changes that took place between 1798 and 1952.
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Tignor, Robert L. Modernization and British Colonial Rule in Egypt, 1882–1914. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1966.
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A study of the British efforts to modernize some aspects of Egyptian economy and society but not others. It argues that because of their interest in the strategic location of the country, the British aimed to maintain stability and increase productivity but without transforming the distribution of wealth and power.
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Welch, William M. No Country for a Gentleman: British Rule in Egypt, 1883–1907. New York: Greenwood, 1988.
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An informative history of the colonial administration and officials who ruled Egypt and their perceptions of the country and its people.
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NATIONALISM AND INDEPENDENCE
Despite the fact that Egypt was granted independence in 1922, Britain continued to have military presence and important political role in the country until after 1952. There were several waves of protests, notably the 1919 and 1952 revolutions. The first helped grant Egypt independence, while the second ended both the British influence and rule of constitutional monarchy. Berque 1972 offers a history and an analysis of the occupation and decolonization of Egypt. Goldschmidt 2004 offers a history of the formation of the Egyptian nation-state and discusses important figures and key events that took place during and after independence was granted. Maghraoui 2006 looks at the elite’s attempts to create a liberal Egypt between 1922 and 1936 and the contradictions embedded in this process. Baron 2005 analyzes the relationship between gender and colonial domination and national resistance. Beinin and Lockman 1987 offers a thoughtful analysis of the role of the labor movement in the national struggle and the making of Egypt.
Baron, Beth. Egypt as a Woman: Nationalism, Gender, and Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
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A vivid look at the impact of gender on nation building in Egypt from the 19th century until the 1940s. The book shows how gendered images were used to symbolize the nation as well as the role of women in resisting British control of Egypt.
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Beinin, Joel, and Zachary Lockman. Workers on the Nile: Nationalism, Communism, Islam, and the Egyptian Working Class, 1882–1954. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987.
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A key study of the development of labor movements and their role in the national movement. It shows that labor unions, formed largely by working-class men, had an important impact on the social and political life of Egypt.
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Berque, Jacques. Egypt: Imperialism and Revolution. Translated by Jean Stewart. London: Faber, 1972.
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An important socio-historical study of the occupation and decolonization of Egypt and a detailed study of the period between 1882 and 1952. Originally published in French in 1967.
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Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr. Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation-State. 2d ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2004.
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First published in 1988, this helpful book places the formation of the Egyptian nation-state within a historical perspective. It covers important figures like King Faruq (b. 1920–d. 1965), Nasser, and Sadat, and key events like the British occupation, the national movement, the 1952 revolution, the 1973 war, and the Camp David accords.
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Maghraoui, Abdeslam M. Liberalism without Democracy: Nationhood and Citizenship inEgypt, 1922–1936. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.
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Looks at the attempts at liberalizing after the independence of Egypt. Informed by Western views and notions of liberalism, the Egyptian elite aimed after independence to ally themselves with Western ideas and ways and to distance Egypt from Arabic and Islamic roots.
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POST-COLONIAL
Egypt became a republic after the revolution led by the Free Officers in 1952. Since then, Egypthas been ruled by three powerful presidents. Nasser ruled from 1954 to 1970, Sadat from 1970 to 1981, and Mubarak from 1981 to 2011. While Nasser followed a pan–Arab-socialist agenda, Sadat followed an open-door policy and closely aligned himself with West, particularly the United States. Mubarak followed Sadat’s line and pursued neoliberal policies, which had a major impact on Egyptian society. Several studies have explored the life and policies of these leaders as well as the nature of the political system, state-society relationships, and the various groups and parties that shaped the political scene. Gordon 2006 offers a close look at Nasser’s life and legacy. Cooper 2012is an overview of Egypt’s economy and political system under Sadat, while Hinnebusch 1988 offers a look at the nature of the state and how it changed during Sadat’s presidency. Kassem 2004 looks at the forces that supported authoritarian regimes (from Nasser to Mubarak) in Egypt. Soliman 2011looks at Mubarak’s regime and the implications of its focus on extracting more money while offering citizens less services. Other studies have looked at micro-political processes and protest movements. Ismail 2006 studies the relationship between citizens and the state and explores how people in low-income neighborhoods view the state and its security apparatus. Hopkins 2009 is a collection of papers about Egyptian protest movements during the past decade. Rutherford 2013offers insights into the post-Mubarak era and explores the possibility of combining Islam, liberalism, and democracy.
Cooper, Mark N. The Transformation of Egypt. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2012.
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An overview of the political and economic changes during Sadat’s rule (1970–1981), with a focus on economic and political liberalization and Sadat’s peace treaty with Israel.
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Gordon, Joel. Nasser: Hero of the Arab Nation. Oxford: Oneworld, 2006.
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A close look at the legacy of Nasser, who was loved by millions in Egypt and the Arab world, and a discussion of his strength and his weaknesses.
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Hinnebusch, Raymond. Egyptian Politics under Sadat: The Post-Populist Development of an Authoritarian-Modernizing State. Updated ed. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1988.
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An analysis of the political system under Sadat, the major forces that shaped his policies, and their impact on the Egyptian socioeconomic landscape. It also looks at the continuities between these policies and Mubkara’s regime. First published in 1985.
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Hopkins, Nicholas S., ed. Political and Social Protest in Egypt. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2009.
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A collection of papers that explore the different protest movements in the 2000s. It includes discussions of Kefaya movement, feminism, labor movements, Muslim Brotherhood, and Coptic activism.
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Ismail, Salwa. Political Life in Cairo’s New Quarters: Encountering the Everyday State. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2006.
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An illuminating ethnography of political life in a low-income neighborhood in Cairo. It offers a rich discussion of the neighborhood’s social structure, gender dynamics, conflict resolution, and state-citizen relationship. Special attention is paid to notions of governmentality and the role of security forces in the daily life of the residents.
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Kassem, Maye. Egyptian Politics: The Dynamics of Authoritarian Rule. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004.
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Traces the political system in Egypt for fifty years and explores the forces that enables authoritarian rule to endure and democratic change to be contained.
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Rutherford, Bruce K. Egypt after Mubarak: Liberalism, Islam, and Democracy in the Arab World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013.
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Drawing on interviews with Egyptian politicians, lawyers, judges, and activists, this book looks at the possibilities open after the demise of Mubarak. It suggests that Islamists and secularist might be able to navigate a third path that could combine Islam, liberalism, and democracy.
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Soliman, Samer. The Autumn of Dictatorship: Fiscal Crisis and Political Change in Egyptunder Mubarak. Translated by Peter Daniel. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011.
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A powerful analysis of the relationship between money and politics. It shows that Mubarak’s regime extracted money from the Egyptian population and withdrew from offering many services, in the process supporting the regime for thirty years but weakening the state and its ability to offer basic social benefits.
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POLITICAL ISLAM
The relationship between religion and politics has been the focus of many studies. Scholars have looked at radical groups and their programs, the more moderate groups and their agendas, and the relationships between the state and Islamists and Islamists and secular activists. Kepel 2003focuses on extremist Islamist groups in Egypt, while Calvert 2010 focuses specifically on Sayyid Qutb (b. 1906–d. 1966), who is often viewed as a key figure in the development of radical Islam since the mid-20th century. Wickham 2002 and Ismail 2003 look at other types of Muslim activists and how they mobilize young Egyptians. Baker 2003 studies “the New Islamists,” who actively articulate Islamic values with broader discourses on human rights and social justice. Shehata 2010explores the divisions between Islamist and secular groups, which complicate the unity and work of the Egyptian opposition.
Baker, Raymond William. Islam without Fear: Egypt and the New Islamists. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003.
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Baker looks at “the New Islamists,” influential Muslim thinkers, journalists, lawyers, and judges, who actively articulate Islamic values with broader discourses on human rights and social justice and who advocate for an open and tolerant society. He documents their contributions to the arts, education, economic system, and political sphere.
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Calvert, John. Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.
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A biography of Sayyid Qutb (b. 1906–d. 1966), who is often considered a key figure in the development of radical Islam in the past sixty years. It traces his life and intellectual trajectory and explores the impact of prison on radicalizing his thinking.
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Ismail, Salwa. Rethinking Islamist Politics: Culture, the State and Islamism. London: I. B. Tauris, 2003.
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Unlike the usual assumptions that homogenize Islamists and view them primarily as a threat, this book examines the macro- and micro-forces that make Islamist politics a form of contestation. It looks at the strengths and weaknesses of these movements.
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Kepel, Gilles. Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
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An analysis of Islamist radical groups in Egypt, their leaders and followers and the broader context within which they operate. This new edition includes a preface about the roots of Islamist movements. First published in French in 1984.
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Shehata, Dina. Islamists and Secularists in Egypt: Opposition, Conflict, and Cooperation. London: Routledge, 2010.
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A look at the divisions within the opposition, particularly along the lines of Islamist and secular, and how these divisions prevent the creation of a strong challenge to the Egyptian authoritarian regimes.
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Wickham, Carrie Rosefsky. Mobilizing Islam: Religion, Activism, and Political Change in Egypt. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
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An informative study that analyzes the forces and reasons that enables Islamist groups to attract and mobilize young educated Egyptians.
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The Muslim Brotherhood
Currently, the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies dominate the political system, including the presidency. This group, which was created in 1928, has a long history, and its character, goals, and status in society have shifted over time. There are several studies that discuss this group, its structure, and leadership, and the history of its relationship to the state and society at large. Mitchell 1993 offers a history of the group up to Nasser’s rule, while Krämer 2010 is a biography of Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the group. Al-Awadi 2004 discusses the efforts of the group to acquire legitimacy under Mubarak, while Zahid 2010 looks at the role of the Brotherhood in the opposition.Tadros 2012 offers an up-to-date analysis of the group and its recent ascent to power.
al-Awadi, Hisham. In Pursuit of Legitimacy: The Muslim Brothers and Mubarak, 1982–2000. London: I. B. Tauris, 2004.
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A look at the struggle of the Muslim Brotherhood to gain legitimacy after it was banned in 1954. Through its organized work and communication with different social and professional groups, the Brotherhood acquired some type of social legitimacy that was converted into political capital under Mubarak.
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Krämer, Gudrun. Hasan al-Banna. Oxford: Oneworld, 2010.
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A biography of Hasan al-Banna (b. 1906–d. 1949), a Muslim reformer and the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Mitchell, Richard P. The Society of the Muslim Brothers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
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A key history of the brotherhood since its foundation in 1928, and its internal organization, ideology, and place in the broader Egyptian society. The book is especially valuable for the history of the group up to the time of Nasser. First published in 1969.
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Tadros, Mariz. The Muslim Brotherhood in Contemporary Egypt: Democracy Defined or Confined? London: Routledge, 2012.
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An overview of the brotherhood, from its foundation until its recent ascent to power. It discusses the brotherhood’s views on important issues like women, Copts, political pluralism, and the meaning of citizenship.
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Zahid, Mohammed. The Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s Succession Crisis: The Politics of Liberalisation and Reform in the Middle East. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2010.
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Explores the relationship between the Egyptian state and the Muslim Brotherhood through looking at issues related to succession. It pays particular attention to the shift of the Muslim Brotherhood from primarily a spiritual movement to a political one that is active in advocating for change and political reform.
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Religion
Islam arrived in Egypt in the 7th century, and the population slowly converted from Christianity to Islam. Currently, it is estimated that at least 85 percent of the population follows Sunni Islam. While there are other small religious minorities such as the Baha’is, the largest non-Muslim group is Christian Copts, who make between 10 and 12 percent of the population.
ISLAM
Studies have looked at the history of the arrival of Islam to Egypt and the Islamization of its Coptic population, the different religious practices and traditions, and revival movements, and radical religious and political groups. Abdo 2002 offers an overview of the role of religion in Egypt and explores its meanings to different social groups. Sullivan and Abed-Kotob 1999 explores the relationship between the state and civil society and discusses the expanding role of Islam in different social and political areas. Hamdy 2012 discusses the relationship between science and Islam in the context of health and organ transplants. Hoffman 2009 offers valuable insights into mystical Islam and its changing role in Egyptian life, while Johansen 1996 looks at Sufi responses to criticisms and attacks by other Muslims on their rituals and religious practices. Starrett 1998 studies how Islam is being operationalized and taught to children in light of recent changes to education, media, and market. Hirschkind 2006 analyzes how religious discourses were circulated by activists by using audiotapes to reach a broader audience and construct ethical subjects.
Abdo, Geneive. No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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An overview of the role of religion in Egypt and its meanings to different groups. The book pays particular attention to moderate religious movements and how they negotiate different aspects of modernity in their projects and plans.
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Hamdy, Sherine. Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
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A timely and important study of current debates on organ transplants and an exploration of the relationship between religion and science.
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Hirschkind, Charles. The Ethical Soundscape: Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
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An original study of the Islamic revival activists and how they deploy cassette sermons as techniques for the cultivation of a pious and ethical self. Such technologies play an important role in broadening argumentation and debate about Islamic practices and contribute to the constitution of Islamic counterpublics.
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Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2009.
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A detailed look at Sufism, its history, and its contemporary rituals in Egypt. It looks at Sufism’s different orders, leaders and followers, main rituals, notions of sainthood, the role of women, and interaction with Coptic religious practices. First published in 1995.
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Johansen, Julian. Sufism and Islamic Reform in Egypt: The Battle for Islamic Tradition. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267577.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A look at the controversial nature of Sufism and the efforts of the leader of a Sufi order to address criticisms directed to this religious tradition. It offers insights into the meaning of some rituals and festivals, the role of the sheikh, the issue of miracles, and the status of the prophet.
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Starrett, Gregory. Putting Islam to Work: Education, Politics, and Religious Transformation inEgypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
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A valuable analysis of how Islam is being taught in contemporary Egypt. It draws on textual and ethnographic data to explore the relationship between teaching Islam and forces of the market.
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Sullivan, Denis Joseph, and Sana Abed-Kotob. Islam in Contemporary Egypt: Civil Society vs. the State. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1999.
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An exploration of the relationship between the state and civil society and the plural nature of Islam inEgypt. It focuses on the growing importance of Islam as a social, economic, and political force and discusses several Islamist groups and their relationship to the regime.
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CHRISTIANITY
There are several Christian groups in Egypt, but the largest is the Coptic Orthodox Church. Estimated to be at least 10 percent of Egypt’s population, the Copts trace their origin back to the pharaohs of Egypt. The Copts trace the history of their church to Saint Mark, who brought Christianity to Egypt in the 1st century. The Coptic Church became independent in the 5th century after ecclesiastical differences at the Council of Chalcedon over the nature of Christ. Muslims and Copts share a common language, culture, heritage, and national identity. While Coptic is still used in church rites, Copts universally speak Egyptian Arabic. Though they live throughout the country, they are best represented in Cairo and Upper Egypt. Scholars have studied the history of the Coptic church, art, architecture, identity, and religious popular beliefs. The Claremont Coptic Encyclopediaoffers valuable information about different aspects of Coptic history. Ibrahim 2011 looks at the composition of the Coptic community and its relationship to national governments and colonial power between 1805 and 1954. Hassan 2003 looks at how Coptic identity and relationship to Muslims have changed since the 1940s, while Iskander 2012 studies the increasing religious violence since 2005 and relates it to broader conflicts over citizenship and national identity. Makari 2007 examines collaboration between Muslims and Copts and how notions of tolerances and citizenship are being negotiated. Gabra 2004 offers a history of Coptic art and monasteries, while Meinardus 2007 gives a historical look at popular beliefs and rituals.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia.
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A web-based expansion of Coptic Encyclopedia, first published in 1991 and edited by Azziz Atiya, offers more than 2,500 entries about many topics such as Coptic language, architecture, art, music, and theology.
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Gabra, Gawdat. Coptic Monasteries: Egypt’s Monastic Art and Architecture. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2004.
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A historical look at Egypt’s best Coptic art and monasteries. Offers an illuminating historical overview about the origin of Coptic church, its rituals, influential figures, and the challenges it has faced over time. Includes around a hundred full-color illustrations of monastic art. With a preface by Tim Vivian.
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Hassan, Sana. Christians versus Muslims in Modern Egypt: The Century-Long Struggle for Coptic Equality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
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A study of the Coptic identity and how it has been defined and redefined since the 1940s. It pays attention to the role of history on the creation of a unified Coptic identity.
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Ibrahim, Vivian. The Copts of Egypt: The Challenges of Modernisation and Identity. London: I. B. Tauris, 2011.
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Drawing mainly on archival research, Ibrahim looks at the Copts, their internal differences, and their relationships to national governments and colonial power between 1805 and 1954.
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Iskander, Elizabeth. Sectarian Conflict in Egypt: Coptic Media, Identity and Representation. London: Routledge, 2012.
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This book examines the escalation in religious violence in Egypt since 2005 and the public discourses behind it, revealing some of the complex negotiations that lie behind contestations of citizenship, Muslim-Christian relations, and national unity.
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Makari, Peter E. Conflict and Cooperation: Christian-Muslim Relations in ContemporaryEgypt. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2007.
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Unlike the usual focus on conflict between Muslims and Copts, this book draws on newspaper articles, books, laws, party platforms, and statements by political and religious figures to shed light on the relationship between the state and religion, institutional religion and national unity, notions of tolerance, and the role of non-governmental organizations in promoting pluralism.
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Meinardus, Otto F. A. Coptic Saints and Pilgrimages. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2007.
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A historical look at Coptic popular beliefs, including pilgrimage, saints, martyrs, healers, dreams, and visions. The book concludes with a chapter about Coptic saints in a global age.
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Language
Arabic was brought to Egypt with Islam in the 7th century. By the 12th century, the Coptic language (a form of ancient Egyptian written in Greek letters) lost prominence to Arabic, which became the language spoken by all Egyptians. The use of Coptic is now limited to liturgy. There are other languages like Nubian that is spoken by Nubians in Southern Egypt and Cairo. In addition, European languages such as English and French are spoken by upper-class and upper-middle-class men and women. Despite the many studies that look at ancient Egyptian language, few studies look at the sociocultural aspects of language in contemporary Egypt. Haeri 2003 studies language and power and explores the relationship between colloquial Egyptian and standard Arabic. Rouchdy 1991 looks at the interaction between Arabic and Nubian language.
Haeri, Niloofar. Sacred Language, Ordinary People: Dilemmas of Culture and Politics inEgypt. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
DOI: 10.1057/9780230107373Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An anthropological look at language as a venue to understand the relationship between culture, politics, and religion. The book explores the attempts to modernize classical Arabic, the language of the Quran, and the implications of these attempts to standard Arabic.
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Rouchdy, Aleya. Nubians and the Nubian Language in Contemporary Egypt: A Case of Cultural and Linguistic Contact. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1991.
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A socio-linguistic study of the Nubians and their language. It includes a history of the community and a discussion of the interaction between Arabic and the Nubian language.
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Literature
Since the 19th century, Egypt has been the center of literary production in the Arab world. Drawing on a rich heritage and new genres derived from the West, Egyptian writers have contributed greatly to Arab fiction, drama, and poetry. An introduction to this history and different literary forms can be found in Brugman 1997 and Badawi 2005. Jacquemond 2008 looks at literary production over fifty years, while Seymour-Jorn 2012 specifically examines the literary production of female writers.Mehrez 2005 looks closely at the career and work of three Egyptian prominent writers; Elsadda 2012offers an analysis of how gender and nationalism have been depicted by some leading Egyptian writers. Radwan 2012 looks at colloquial poetry, which continues to play an important role in social and political life.
Badawi, Muhammad Mustafa. Modern Arabic Drama in Egypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
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A critical survey of Egyptian drama from the 1930s until the late 1990s. It traces how drama changed over time and includes a discussion of key drama writers, their styles, and the topics they addressed. First published in 1987.
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Brugman, J. An Introduction to the History of Modern Arabic Literature in Egypt. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1997.
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A useful introduction to modern Arabic literature in Egypt. It surveys different approaches and offers a history of the short story, the novel, and literary criticism. It includes a bibliography with lots of Arabic sources. First published in 1984.
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Elsadda, Hoda. Gender, Nation, and the Arabic Novel: Egypt, 1892–2008. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2012.
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A historical analysis of the novel and the politics of gender and nationalism. The author explores how femininities and masculinities have been depicted by key Egyptian writers such as Naguib Mafouz, Latifa al-Zayyat, and Sonallah Ibrahim.
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Jacquemond, Richard. Conscience of the Nation: Writers, State, and Society in ModernEgypt. Translated by David Tresilian. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2008.
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An exploration of important literary works from 1952 until the early 2000s and a discussion of how the writers negotiate relationships between self, state, and society. Originally published in French in 2003.
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Mehrez, Samia. Egyptian Writers between History and Fiction: Essays on Naguib Mahfouz, Sonallah Ibrahim, and Gamal al-Ghitani. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2005.
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An analysis of the careers and works of three prominent Egyptian writers and how they draw on history in their fiction. Their work and how it develops, Merhrez argues, contributes to our knowledge of how literary fields and society itself have changed.
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Radwan, Noha M. Egyptian Colloquial Poetry in the Modern Arabic Canon: New Readings of Shi’r Al-’Ammiyya. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137015679Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An informative study of colloquial poetry, its history and importance, that shows that this poetry is an integral part of modernism. Includes a discussion of influential Egyptian poets and a postscript about the role of this poetry during the recent Egyptian protests.
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Seymour-Jorn, Caroline. Cultural Criticism in Egyptian Women’s Writing. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2012.
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A study based on personal interviews and textual analysis of the works of five prominent Egyptian female authors, who emerged on the literary scene during the 1970s through the 1980s, and how they created critical and innovative ways to write about gender, society, and change.
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ANTHOLOGIES AND SELECTED NOVELS
There are many Egyptian novels and short stories that are worth reading. On top of the list are the many novels produced by Naguib Mahfouz, the winner of the 1988 Nobel prize in literature. In particular, his Midaq Alley and Palace Walk (Mahfuz 2011 and Mahfuz 1991) are outstanding novels and documentation of life in Cairo during the first part of the 20th century. Mehrez 2010 includes the work of over a hundred writers and how they depicted Cairo. Booth 1993 introduces the work of eight Egyptian female writers. Soueif 1993 is a vivid novel about the life of a young Egyptian woman, both in Egypt and abroad. Ibrahim 2004 is a unique novel and a powerful critique of the socioeconomic and political realities under Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak. Al Aswani 2006 is a lively novel that depicts the changing life of the residents in a building in downtown Cairo. El-Shamy 1988 offers an important collection of modern Egyptian folktales.
al Aswani, Alaa. The Yacoubian Building. Translated by Humphrey Davies. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006.
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A vibrant novel that traces the changes in Egypt’s economic, social, and political systems by describing the different residents of one building in downtown Cairo. The novel was turned into a feature film in 2006. First published in Arabic in 2002.
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Booth, Marilyn. Stories by Egyptian Women: My Grandmother’s Cactus. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993.
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A collection that introduces the work of eight Egyptian women writers, whose short stories appeared during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
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Ibrahim, Sunallah. Zaat. Translated by Anthony Calderbank. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2004.
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A powerful novel that depicts how the life of a woman changed under the regimes of Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak.
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Mahfuz, Najib. Palace Walk. Translated by William Maynard Hutchins and Olive E. Kenney. New York: Anchor Books, 1991.
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A powerful look at an Egyptian family and how the life of its members changed over three generations between the 1919 revolution against the British and the end of the Second World War. First published in Arabic in 1956, this is the first part of Mahfuz’s Cairo Trilogy.
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Mahfuz, Najib. Midaq Alley. Translated by Trevor Le Gassick. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2011.
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A fascinating novel that describes the social life in a small alley in Cairo and the changes that shaped the life of its resident in the 1940s. First published in Arabic in 1947.
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Mehrez, Samia, ed. The Literary Atlas of Cairo: One Hundred Years on the Streets of the City. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2010.
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A collection of around one hundred works of Egyptian and Arab writers who engaged Cairo’s different spaces in their literary work. The author introduces and contextualizes the different works presented in the book.
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el-Shamy, Hasan M., ed. and trans. Folktales of Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
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A translated collection of seventy modern Egyptian folktales, including fantasy, realistic, philosophical, religious and humorous tales.
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Soueif, Ahdaf. In the Eye of the Sun. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.
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A vivid novel that skillfully traces the life of a young Egyptian woman in Cairo and abroad. Through her eyes, the reader gets a clear sense of the major economic and political transformations that shaped life in Egypt from the late 1960s until the late 1980s.
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Arts
Scholars have been fascinated by Egyptian art and have paid great attention to its ancient history. Islamic art and Coptic art have also been the focus scholarly attention. Yeomans 2006 is a valuable look at Islamic art, and Capuani 2002 offers a survey of the long history of Coptic art. More recent studies have explored how art has been linked to nationalism and the state, articulated in relation to contemporary markets, and informed by both history and new (including Western) forms of artistic expression. Karnouk 2005 is a useful introduction to Egyptian art and its history, while Winegar 2006is a thoughtful analysis of art production and how it is shaped by politics and global markets.
Capuani, Massimo. Christian Egypt: Coptic Art and Monuments through Two Millennia. Collegeville, MI: Liturgical, 2002.
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Based on a close examination of archaeological and historical material, this book offers a valuable look at the historical and present Coptic Christianity, the geographical distribution of Copts, and their art and churches. Includes beautiful color illustrations. With an introduction and emendations by Otto F. A. Meinardus
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Karnouk, Liliane. Modern Egyptian Art, 1910–2003. Rev. ed. Cairo: American University Press in Cairo, 2005.
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Exploring the work of seventy artists from 1910 through 2003, this is a useful introduction to modern Egyptian art and artists. It relates artwork to broader political and social contexts and traces major historical and contemporary forces that have shaped the art scene. Includes many black-and-white and color illustrations.
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Winegar, Jessica. Creative Reckonings: The Politics of Art and Culture in ContemporaryEgypt. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006.
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A thoughtful discussion of the discourses surrounding art and the relationship between art production and circulation. The book analyzes how artists negotiate past histories, multiple audiences, contemporary policies, emerging styles, and global markets.
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Yeomans, Richard. The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo. Reading, UK: Garnet Pub., 2006.
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Looks at Islamic art (including visual and decorative) and architecture between 642 and 1517. It includes photographs and a useful glossary.
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Music and Performance
Egypt has been the home of many famous singers, composers, and dancers. Egyptian music blends a long history and a rich heritage with modern and Western instruments and tones. Marcus 2007 offers a look at the different histories and the social and religious uses of music and pays attention to religious debates about the place of music in society. Van Nieuwkerk 2008 looks at singers and dancers in Cairo, while Danielson 2008 focuses on the life and legacy of Umm Kulthum,Egypt’s most celebrated female singer. Swedenburg 2002 discusses Nubian music, its uses, and main features. Egypt has also been the home for many Arab singers and musicians. This is illustrated in Zuhur 2000, which offers a biography of a famous Syrian singer who made her career in Cairo, sang in Egyptian dialect, and became a sensation in Egypt and the rest of the Arab World.
Danielson, Virginia. The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
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A rich ethnomusciological study of Umm Kulthum, the most celebrated Egyptian and Arab female singer. It traces the life of the singer and her tremendous popularity many years after her death in 1975. A documentary with the same name and produced by the author is an excellent companion to this book.
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Marcus, Scott L. Music in Egypt: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
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An ethnographic study of religious, social, and cultural aspects of music in Egypt. Topics covered include religious debates about music, the religious use of music, and various forms used in weddings, festivals, and Sufi events. The book has an 80-minute CD with musical samples.
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Swedenburg, Ted. “Nubian Music in Cairo.” In The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol. 6, The Middle East. Edited by Virginia Danielson, Scott Marcus, and Dwight Reynolds, 641–645. New York: Routledge, 2002.
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A brief but important discussion of Nubian music in Cairo, its main features and importance in social events such as weddings, and how it contributes to the construction of a collective ethnic identity.
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Van Nieuwkerk, Karin. “A Trade Like Any Other”: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008.
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A close look at female entertainers, including belly dancers, during the 19th and 20th centuries and the economic forces and social values that shaped their profession and standing in society. First published in 1995.
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Zuhur, Sherifa. Asmahan’s Secrets: Woman, War and Song. Austin: University of Texas, 2000.
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A biography of Asmahan, originally a Druze princesses from Syria who made her career as a singer and an actress in Cairo during the 1930s and 1940s. It looks at her public and private life and the broader political context, gender norms, and cultural values that shaped her life and career.
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The January 25th Revolution
On 25 January 2011, thousands of Egyptians protested in different parts of the country. The numbers grew very quickly over a few days, and the protestors from different political orientations united around calls for “bread, freedom, and social justice,” and eventually the call to topple down the regime. The protests continued and generated tremendous national and international pressure that forced Mubarak on 11 February 2011 to step down after thirty years of ruling Egypt. Upon his resignation, the military took over the country, until a new president was elected in June 2012. Several candidates ran for the elections. Muhammad Morsi, the candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party (with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood), won and became Egypt’s first democratically elected president. Scholars have been studying different aspects of these political and social transformations. Cook 2012 offers an overview of major transformations from 1952 until 2012. Sowers and Toensing 2012 is a collection of papers that address protest movements before and during the revolution, and Tadros 2012 looks at the timing of the revolution and the implications of this major change to development. Kandil 2012 analyzes the revolution through the struggle between the police, the army, and the political regime. Khalil 2012 focuses on Tahrir Square, the center of protests. Soueif 2012 is an artistic and reflective account of the protests and Ghonim 2012offers its author’s personal experience developing the important website “We are all Khalid Said,” the driving force behind the initiation of the protests on January 25th. Haugerud 2012 includes a collection of essay by anthropologists about different aspects of the protests and their sociocultural context.
Cook, Steven A. The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
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A useful overview of the historical and political transformations of Egypt since 1952 until the election of Muhammad Morsi as the president of Egypt.
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Ghonim, Wael. Revolution 2.0: The Power of the People Is Greater Than the People in Power: A Memoir. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
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The memoir of the Google executive, who played a key role in the formation of the website “We are all Khalid Said,” which is credited for the mobilization and publicization of the 25 January 2011 protests.The book offers original details about the author’s journey to political activism and narrates his arrest during the protests.
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Haugerud, Angelique, ed. Special Issue. American Ethnologist 39.1 (February 2012).
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This issue offers a collection of short essays that cover topics like moral action in the countryside, local interpretations of the use of violence, gender and mobilization, and poetry and politics. Articles available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Kandil, Hazem. Soldiers, Spies, and Statesmen: Egypt’s Road to Revolt. London and Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2012.
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Starting with the 1952 change of power, the book traces key moments, including the 1967 and 1973 wars, in the recent history of Egypt. It ends with a discussion of the Egyptian revolution. The author pays particular attention to the struggle between security forces, the military, and the political regime.
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Khalil, Ashraf. Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation. New York: St. Martin’s, 2012.
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A lucid description of the events in Tahrir Square, which became the epicenter for protests during the Egyptian revolution. It offers a broader context and accounts for some of the frustrations and factors that led the mobilization of Egyptians to overthrow the regime.
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Soueif, Ahdaf. Cairo: My City, Our Revolution. London: Bloomsbury, 2012.
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Artistic and first-hand accounts of the recent changes in Egypt. The author focuses on her changing relationship to the Cairo, shifting family ties, and her participation in the protests that led to Mubarak’s departure.
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Sowers, Jeannie Lynn, and Chris Toensing, eds. The Journey to Tahrir: Revolution, Protest, and Social Change in Egypt. London: Verso, 2012.
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A valuable collection of articles originally published in the Middle East Report. It explores different aspects of the Egyptian revolution, protest practices under authoritarian systems, and political participation and protest movements under Mubarak’s regime.
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Tadros, Mariz, ed. Special issue: The Pulse of Egypt’s Revolt. Institute of Development Studies Bulletin 43.1 (2012).
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A collection of papers written by Egyptian activists/scholars/practitioners, who explore how and why the Egyptian revolution took place and its implications for development. Articles available online for purchase or by subscription.
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