Syria and Lebanon Under the French Mandate: Cultural Imperialism and the Workings of Empire

Description

French rule over Syria and Lebanon was premised on a vision of a special French protectorate established through centuries of cultural activity: archaeological, educational and charitable. Initial French methods of organising and supervising cultural activity sought to embrace this vision and to implement it in the exploitation of antiquities, the management and promotion of cultural heritage, the organisation of education and the control of public opinion among the literate classes. However, an examination of the first five years of the League of Nations-assigned mandate, 1920-1925, reveals that French expectations of a protectorate were quickly dashed by widespread resistance to their cultural policies, not simply among Arabists but also among minority groups initially expected to be loyal to the French. The violence of imposing the mandate 'de facto', starting with a landing of French troops in the Lebanese and Syrian coast in 1919 - and followed by extension to the Syrian interior in 1920 - was met by consistent violent revolt. Examining the role of cultural institutions reveals less violent yet similarly consistent contestation of the French mandate. The political discourses emerging after World War I fostered expectations of European tutelages that prepared local peoples for autonomy and independence. Yet, even among the most Francophile of stakeholders, the unfolding of the first years of French rule brought forth entirely different events and methods. In this book, Idir Ouahes provides an in-depth analysis of the shifts in discourses, attitudes and activities unfolding in French and locally-organised institutions such as schools, museums and newspapers, revealing how local resistance put pressure on cultural activity in the early years of the French mandate. Front Cover Author Biography Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Map and Figures Preface Notes on the Text List of Abbreviations Introduction.
Cultural Institutions and the Struggle to Define the Mandate Discursive and Political Opportunity Structures The Formative Mandate Years: 1920 – 5 Historical Background Historiography of the Mandate The Shifts in Early Mandate Administration Structure of this Book 1. Antiquities Protection and Excavation Antiquities, Orientalism and Cultural Imperialism Archaeological Activity in the Ottoman Period League of Nations and Law Protecting Antiquities French and International Excavations ‘And our antiquities, will they return?’ Antiquities in the Press Local Government Contestation of Claims of Culture Conclusion 2. Controlling Cultural Heritage: Museums, Tourism and Exhibitions Museums and Mise en Valeur Organisation of Museums and Institution of Protection in the Early Mandate Compartmentalisation of Culture Tensions and Initiative in Local Preservation Efforts Tourism at the Outset of the Mandate Exhibitions in the Early Mandate The Beirut Fair and Mise en Valeur Conclusion 3. Classrooms, Curricula and Content French Instruction: ‘The Most Certain and Efficient Way to Assure Our Influence’ Classroom Control The Fight for Arabic Higher and Technical Education Education and the Desire for Development Conclusion 4. The Politics of Pedagogy Political Capital, Funding and Clientelism Organisation and Local Government Intervention Women’s Education Networks of Dissenting Education Instrumentalising International Networks Conclusion 5. Surveillance, Subsidies and Censorship: The Domestic Arabic Press Open Source Intelligence: The Service de la Presse A Cantankerous and Informed Press Syrian Unity in the Press Censorship and Press Laws Opposition to the Press Laws Conclusion 6. Subservience and Sanction? The Francophone Press The Levantine Francophone Press Syro-Lebanese Press Activity in Europe The Republican and Right-Wing Metropolitan Press The Leftist Press The Colonial Lobby and Newspapers Conclusion 7. Internationalism: The External Press Suspicion of the British Press Newspapers in the British Middle East Russian Influence The US-Based Press The Mahjar American Press The Regional Press Conclusion 8. General Conclusion Implementing and Contesting Mandatory Methods through Cultural Institutions Competing and Changing Visions of the Mandate Notes Select Bibliography Index Back Cover