Liberty and the Literary: Coloniality and Nahdawist Comparative Criticism of Rūḥī al-Khālidī’s History of the Science of Literature with the Franks, the Arabs, and Victor Hugo (1904)

Journal Article

Alfaisal, Haifa Saud . 2016

• Publication Online URL: Liberty and the Literary
• Tags: Nahda, Ruhi al-Khalidi, coloniality, modernity, Arabic Literary Criticism
• Magazine \ Newspaper: Modern Language Quarterly
• Issue Number: 0026-7929
• Volume Number: 77
• Pages: 523-546

Publication Abstract

In 1902 Ruhi al-Khalidi produced what may be the first modern work of comparative criticism in Arabic. In his History of the Science of Literature, Khalidi (1864–1913), a Palestinian polyglot, used the discourse of literary criticism to develop a modern understanding of liberty, but at the cost of obfuscating the coloniality on which this notion of liberty was predicated. The following discussion examines colonial relations of power in the rise of modern Arabic literary criticism as registered in Khalidi’s comparative treatise. Thus, the ensuing analysis employs the conceptual apparatus of postcolonialism to explore Khalidi’s contribution to the 19th century Arab cultural renaissance and modernization, known as the Nahda.