Alexandrian Cosmopolitanism
An Archive
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Interrogating how Alexandria became enshrined as the exemplary cosmopolitan space in the Middle East, this book mounts a radical critique of Eurocentric conceptions of cosmopolitanism. The dominant account of Alexandrian cosmopolitanism elevates things European in the city’s culture and simultaneously places things Egyptian under the sign of decline. The book goes beyond this civilization/barbarism binary to trace other modes of intercultural solidarity.
Halim presents a comparative study of literary representations, addressing poetry, fiction, guidebooks, and operettas, among other genres. She reappraises three writers—C. P. Cavafy, E. M. Forster, and Lawrence Durrell—who she maintains have been cast as the canon of Alexandria. Attending to issues of genre, gender, ethnicity, and class, she refutes the view that these writers’ representations are largely congruent and uncovers a variety of positions ranging from Orientalist to anticolonial. The book then turns to Bernard de Zogheb, a virtually unpublished writer, and elicits his camp parodies of elite Levantine mores in operettas, one of which centers on Cavafy. Drawing on Arabic critical and historical texts, as well as contemporary writers’ and filmmakers’ engagement with the canonical triumvirate, Halim orchestrates an Egyptian dialogue with the
European representations.
Hala Halim's book is a provocative and erudite study of the modern European literary discourses that have constructed Alexandria as the exemplary site of what we might call cosmopolitan desire.---—Arab Studies Journal
In her 'Alexandrian Cosmopolitanism; An Archive,' Hala Halim explores enduring and critical literary constructs of Alexandria and its long touted "cosmopolitanism. " Halim's Text will be of great interest to students of comparative literature, cosmopolitanism, postcolonial writing and Mediterranean studies.---—Al Jadid
"This is a superbly researched and clearly (and powerfully) written study of a series of works devoted to one of the world’s most fabled and fascinating cities, Alexandria, all within the overarching theme of 'cosmopolitanism.' In a word, it is an excellent exercise in rigorous comparative literature scholarship."—Roger Allen, University of Pennsylvania
Alexandrian Cosmopolitanism is a treasure trove of information and original, groundbreaking critical insights not only on four important authors of world literature, but also on a city which is as versatile and inspiring as Venice, for instance, with its uniqueness, literary aspect, and history.---—Comparative Literature Studies
The strength of this work lies in Halim's ability to offer a much-needed postcolonial critique on the ubiquitous literary trope of Alexandrians, as a cosmopolitan city.
“The masterful culmination of years of research by a world expert on Alexandria…. Halim…introduces Egyptian writers, such as Edwar Al-Kharrat and Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, into the previously predominantly European dialogue.”---—Banipal
“This book is firmly in the postcolonial mode, and on a topic that is both ti mely and important. As Egypt and other countries in the Middle East begin a political journey that takes them further and further out of the control of Western political institutions, it is essential to have nuanced studies that allow us to begin to understand how we (as Western writers and thinkers) have created comfortable spaces for certain non-western elites while excluding others.”