The Arabic Print Revolution
Cultural Production and Mass Readership

Ayalon explores the birth of Arab printing, publishing, dissemination methods, and mass readership during the formative phase from 1800 to 1914.

Ami Ayalon (Author)

9781107149441, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 September 2016

234 pages, 10 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.5 x 1.6 cm, 0.5 kg

'Building on his earlier work on the Arabic press and its reception, Ami Ayalon breaks new ground with this ambitious study on the history of publishing and reading in the Middle East. Impressive in its breadth and depth, The Arabic Print Revolution details the story behind the making of the nahda, showing the cultural transformations that made it possible. Rigorously researched, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in print culture.' Beth Baron, author of The Orphan Scandal: Christian Missionaries and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood

In a brief historic moment, printing presses, publishing ventures, a periodical press, circulation networks, and a mass readership came into being all at once in the Middle East, where none had previously existed, with ramifications in every sphere of the community's life. Among other outcomes, this significant change facilitated the cultural and literary movement known as the Arab 'nahda' ('awakening'). Ayalon's book offers both students and scholars a critical inquiry into the formative phase of that shift in Arab societies. This comprehensive analysis explores the advent of printing and publishing; the formation of mass readership; and the creation of distribution channels, the vital and often overlooked nexus linking the former two processes. It considers questions of cultural and religious tradition, social norms and relations, and concepts of education, offering a unique presentation of the emerging print culture in the Middle East.

Preface
Introduction: the problem of genesis
1. The formative phase of Arab printing - a historical overview
2. Printers and publishers
3. Books, journals, cartes de visite
4. Diffusion channels
5. Advancing circulation
6. Reading and readers
7. Reading in public
Conclusion
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Publishing industry & book trade [KNTP], Media, information & communication industries [KNT], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], Regional & national history [HBJ], History [HB]