This volume revisits the long 19th century in the Middle East from the perspective of emerging subjectivity as a fundamentally new attitude of the individual vis-ą-vis the World. Stephan Guths holistic vision interprets emerging subjectivity as the key operator at the heart of the many aspects of the so-called Arab(ic) Renaissance (and corresponding movements in Turkish), like rationalism, critical analysis, political emancipation, reformism, moralism, and emotionalism, but also a new language, new genres, and new concepts.
Guths thoroughly philological approach demonstrates how a close reading of literary texts from the period, a cultural-psychological interpretation of linguistic phenomena and an etymology-informed look into conceptual terminology can contribute to a deeper understanding of what modernisation actually meant, deep inside the human beings mind and psyche, in their meeting with a rapidly changing world.
Twenty essays on language, literature, and key concepts reflect the authors life-long engagement with the culture of the period in question. The articles are glued together by a guiding narrative that assigns each treated aspect its place in the authors vision (which includes a global perspective).
