The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perception
The concept of the history of literature is regarded as problematic. Despite being a relatively modern concept in literary studies not only among Arabs but also in the West, this concept evokes a number of problematic issues that have manifested regarding the terms that are used to designate it, as...
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| Language: | Arabic |
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Istanbul University Press
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Şarkiyat Mecmuası |
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| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/0BB069D586F44B5784A4049E351C1515 |
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| author | İsmail Araz Cangül Araz |
| author_facet | İsmail Araz Cangül Araz |
| author_sort | İsmail Araz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The concept of the history of literature is regarded as problematic. Despite being a relatively modern concept in literary studies not only among Arabs but also in the West, this concept evokes a number of problematic issues that have manifested regarding the terms that are used to designate it, as well as its subject and methodologies. While being developed, the concept of the history of literature has passed through several stages and conceptual changes that testify to the different levels of conceptualization, applications, and variations in the terms used to designate it. All these were based on an understanding of the relation between history and literature that necessitates each one to be an essential component of the other. As a result, the terms of history of literature with its ‘ithafa construct and of literary history with its descriptive construct have assumed meanings that differ from one another in many ways. All these developments took place before the concept was introduced into modern Arab literary culture. This paper aims to explore the limitations of awareness surrounding this concept and its developments in both its ‘ithafa construct as the history of literature as well as its descriptive construct as literary history in the works of historians of Arabic literature by discovering the ways in which this concept entered modern Arab culture and how the historians of Arabic literature received it, as well as how they incorporated it in the context of specialized discussions on Arabic. In addition, this paper will highlight the lack of awareness that historians of Arabic Literature had regarding the form this concept had from the Western perspective. The paper also deals with the repercussions their lack of awareness had on the methods that were used to chronicle Arabic literature based on exploring the concept’s characteristics and the explications of its conceptual semantics as occurred in its original environment. This calls for tracing its origin in the Western and Orientalist studies that chronicled Arabic literature and attempting to discover how they understood the concept. Next this article will trace this concept in the very large, rich, wide, and diverse body of data on modern Arab works, of which a large portion had materialized during the first decade of the 20th century. Moreover, the paper aims to investigate the ways in which Arab students of literature had been introduced to the concept, as well as the time period, channels, environments, and forms in which the concept had first been introduced and whether Arabs had used, rejected, or altered the concept, for better or for worse. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c032413ba201467a8e0e2653c2f9cd2a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2717-6916 |
| language | Arabic |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Şarkiyat Mecmuası |
| spelling | doaj-art-c032413ba201467a8e0e2653c2f9cd2a2025-08-20T03:52:52ZaraIstanbul University PressŞarkiyat Mecmuası2717-69162023-04-014248551310.26650/jos.1228550123456The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perceptionİsmail Araz0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3482-0483Cangül Araz1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7402-8503Marmara Üniversitesi, İstanbul, TürkiyeMarmara Üniversitesi, İstanbul, TürkiyeThe concept of the history of literature is regarded as problematic. Despite being a relatively modern concept in literary studies not only among Arabs but also in the West, this concept evokes a number of problematic issues that have manifested regarding the terms that are used to designate it, as well as its subject and methodologies. While being developed, the concept of the history of literature has passed through several stages and conceptual changes that testify to the different levels of conceptualization, applications, and variations in the terms used to designate it. All these were based on an understanding of the relation between history and literature that necessitates each one to be an essential component of the other. As a result, the terms of history of literature with its ‘ithafa construct and of literary history with its descriptive construct have assumed meanings that differ from one another in many ways. All these developments took place before the concept was introduced into modern Arab literary culture. This paper aims to explore the limitations of awareness surrounding this concept and its developments in both its ‘ithafa construct as the history of literature as well as its descriptive construct as literary history in the works of historians of Arabic literature by discovering the ways in which this concept entered modern Arab culture and how the historians of Arabic literature received it, as well as how they incorporated it in the context of specialized discussions on Arabic. In addition, this paper will highlight the lack of awareness that historians of Arabic Literature had regarding the form this concept had from the Western perspective. The paper also deals with the repercussions their lack of awareness had on the methods that were used to chronicle Arabic literature based on exploring the concept’s characteristics and the explications of its conceptual semantics as occurred in its original environment. This calls for tracing its origin in the Western and Orientalist studies that chronicled Arabic literature and attempting to discover how they understood the concept. Next this article will trace this concept in the very large, rich, wide, and diverse body of data on modern Arab works, of which a large portion had materialized during the first decade of the 20th century. Moreover, the paper aims to investigate the ways in which Arab students of literature had been introduced to the concept, as well as the time period, channels, environments, and forms in which the concept had first been introduced and whether Arabs had used, rejected, or altered the concept, for better or for worse.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/0BB069D586F44B5784A4049E351C1515conceptawarenesshistory of literatureliterary historyhistorians of arabic literature |
| spellingShingle | İsmail Araz Cangül Araz The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perception Şarkiyat Mecmuası concept awareness history of literature literary history historians of arabic literature |
| title | The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perception |
| title_full | The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perception |
| title_fullStr | The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perception |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perception |
| title_short | The Concept of the History of Literature in the Works of Arab Literary Historians: On the Limits and Transformations of the Concept’s Perception |
| title_sort | concept of the history of literature in the works of arab literary historians on the limits and transformations of the concept s perception |
| topic | concept awareness history of literature literary history historians of arabic literature |
| url | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/0BB069D586F44B5784A4049E351C1515 |
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