Masculine Identity in the Fiction of the Arab East since 1967

Acknowledgments

xiii Acknowledgments The book is the outcome of a long period of engagement with gender issues in Arabic literature where I received considerable encouragement from colleagues, friends, students, and also from Lebanese writers. Teaching a course titled “Masculine Identity in Modern Arab Literature of the Near East” in the comparative literature program at the Lebanese American University was a rewarding experience . It has helped focus my research through the exciting and challenging discussions that I had with my students. I would particularly like to acknowledge all the help and support of the Lebanese American University in providing the cultural and academic atmosphere, and the facilities for research and personal development. I wish to extend special thanks and appreciation to the staff at the University Library in Beirut and Byblos who provided material for the work. I wish to thank Mrs. Aida Naaman, Aida Hajjar, Sawsan Habre, Kamal Jaroudy, and Saeed Kreidiyeh whose assistance has been unbounded. The book would not have been possible without them. I am deeply indebted to Maya Aghasi for reading the manuscript and for exceptionally astute and insightful comments that have enriched this project in many ways. I would also like to thank Hassan Daoud, Rashid al-Daif, and Rasha Al-Amir for valuable and invigorating discussions of their fictional works and of the Arabic novel in general. Special thanks go to a special friend, Professor Nabeel Matar, for coming to my aid whenever I needed support and good advice. Heartfelt thanks go to Hanan Sbeity, my research assistant, for her meticulous work on the footnotes and bibliography. The book would not have been completed without her thoroughness and perseverance. Special thanks go to Laila Ghorayeb for technical assistance, computer rescues, and above all, moral support. Last but not least, I would like to express deep gratitude to Dr. Abdallah Sfeir, Lebanese American University provost, whose encouragement and support have been boundless at all levels. MASCULINE IDENTITY in the Fiction of the Arab East since 1967 ...