At a time when the Middle East dominates media headlines more than ever - and for reasons that become ever more heartbreaking - Shifting Sands brings together fifteen impassioned and informed voices to talk about a region with unlimited potential, and yet which can feel, as one writer puts it, 'as though the world around me is on fire'?
Collecting together the thoughts and insights of writers who live or have deep roots in there, Shifting Sands takes a look at aspects of the Middle East from the catastrophic long-term effects of the carving up of the region by the colonial powers after World War One to the hopes and struggles of the Arab spring in relation to Egypt, Iran and Syria. And it asks questions such as: what is it like to be a writer in the Middle East? What does the future hold? And where do we go from here?
For all those who are wearied by the debates surrounding the Middle East - often at best ill-informed and at worst, defeatist propaganda - this intelligent, reasoned perspective on life in the Middle East is a breath of fresh air.
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A fresh look at the Middle East today, tomorrow and in the past: fifteen writers, with an introduction by Raja Shehadeh, author of the Orwell Prize-winning Palestinian Walks, and Penny Johnson
| Introduction |
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The Significance of a Screwdriver |
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1 | (16) |
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Lines in the Sand: The Great War and the Remaking of the Middle East |
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The Post-Ottoman Syndrome |
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17 | (16) |
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The Divisive Line: The Birth and Long Life of the Sykes--Picot Agreement |
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33 | (16) |
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Why Did You Rename Your Son? Diaries of the Great War from the Ottoman Front |
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49 | (20) |
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In the Present Tense: The Unravelling of the Old Order |
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Opening Politics' Black Box: Reflections on the Past, Present and Future of the Egyptian Revolution |
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69 | (13) |
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Cracked Cauldrons: The Failure of States and the Rise of New Narratives in the Middle East |
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82 | (16) |
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98 | (15) |
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Iran: Coming in from the Cold? |
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113 | (15) |
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Civic Courage: The Clue to Turkey's Future? |
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128 | (17) |
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Living and Writing in the Middle East: Fiction, Imagination and History |
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Living and Writing in Kuwait: What Fiction Can Do |
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145 | (15) |
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Writing the Middle East, Writing Gaza |
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160 | (14) |
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Fiction's Histories: Writers and Readers in the Middle East |
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174 | (17) |
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What You Don't Read About the Syrian Humanitarian Crisis |
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191 | (15) |
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Syria Seen and Represented |
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206 | (15) |
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Defying the Killers: The Emergence of Street Culture in Syria |
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221 | (18) |
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239 | (10) |
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| Notes |
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249 | (6) |
| Contributors |
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255 | (6) |
| Acknowledgements |
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261 | |
List of contributors: James Barr - Avi Shlaim - Salim Tamari - Ramita Navai - Dawn Chatty - Robin Yassin-Kassab - Malu Halasa - Marilyn Booth - Mai Al-Nakib - Selma Dabbagh - Tamim Al Barghouti - Justin Marozzi - Alev Scott-Khaled Fahmy Raja Shehadeh is Palestine's leading writer. He is also a lawyer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq. Shehadeh was a National Book Award finalist in 2023 and is the author of several acclaimed books published by Profile, including the Orwell Prize-winning Palestinian Walks. He lives in Ramallah. Penny Johnson is an academic at Birzeit University in Ramallah and has published articles and edited a number of important books on Palestine.
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