De l’exil à l’appareil d’État : trajectoires élitaires des « pionniers » de la modernité littéraire omanaise
Omani literary and intellectual modernity began long before the nah/da of Sultan Qaboos b. Said (r. 1970-2020), whose relevance in the intellectual history of the Sultanate of Oman needs to be reassessed. It is rather during the reign of Sa‘îd b. Taymûr (r. 1932-1970) that changes in writing practic...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Centre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales de Sanaa
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Arabian Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/7181 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Omani literary and intellectual modernity began long before the nah/da of Sultan Qaboos b. Said (r. 1970-2020), whose relevance in the intellectual history of the Sultanate of Oman needs to be reassessed. It is rather during the reign of Sa‘îd b. Taymûr (r. 1932-1970) that changes in writing practices and literary sociabilities led to the emergence of this new figure of modernity that is the intellectual (al-muthaqaf). The aim of this paper is to study some key moments in the historical trajectory of the educated elite under Sa‘îd, from its exile in the neighboring countries of the Gulf and the Mashreq in search of new educational and professional opportunities, until its return and integration into the state in 1970, at the call of Sultan Qaboos. By doing so we will assess these intellectuals’ place within this educated elite, and their role in the elaboration of nationalist projects fostering the idea that this elite is the only group capable of overthrowing the Sultan and governing the country. The history of this generation, whose members are sometimes referred to as the "pioneers" (rawâd) of Omani literary modernity, will thus shed light on Oman’s early insertion into the pan-Arab and anti-colonialist moment of the 1950s-1960s. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2308-6122 |