Jadaliyya

Jadaliyya
Co-editors Ziad Abu-Rish
Anthony Alessandrini
Sinan Antoon
Ibtisam Azem
Rosie Bsheer
Elliott Colla
Noura Erakat
Bassam Haddad
Lisa Hajjar
Maya Mikdashi
Mouin Rabbani
Hesham Sallam
Nadya Sbaiti
Sherene Seikaly
Mohamed Waked
Categories Ezine (free)
Social networks
Scholarship
News
Circulation 70,000 weekly[1]
Publisher ASI (Arab Studies Institute)
Year founded 2010
First issue September 21, 2010 (2010-09-21)
Country Global
Language English, Arabic, French, and Spanish
Website Official website

Jadaliyya ("dialectic") is a free ezine founded in 2010. It features English, Arabic, French, and Spanish-language content by academics, journalists, activists, and artists from and/or on the Middle East and is produced by the Arab Studies Institute (ASI). [1][2]

Overview

In Arabic, جدلية Jadaliyya (derived from the word جدل “jadal”), means “dialectic."[3]

All of Jadaliyya's co-editors are unpaid volunteers and it does not accept advertising. While most of Jadaliyya is either self-funded or funded by barter for "big projects," it has received grants from the Open Society Institute.[4][1] According to Portal 9: "The Arab uprisings, which gained momentum only a few months after Jadaliyya was established, firmly catapulted it to the forefront of critical debates and analysis of the Arab world."[1]

One of the founding editors, George Mason University professor Bassam Haddad, told the Chronicle of Higher Education that Jadaliyya aspires to "offer a scholarly, left-of-center ‘counter discourse’ to the mainstream conversation about the Arab world."[4] Georgetown University professor and contributor Elliot Colla also noted in the Chronicle that, “I couldn’t say there’s a dogma; in fact there’s a lot of argument and debate [….] but there is a political project."[4] Finally, another professor described Jadaliyya to the Chronicle as "friends publishing friends on issues they agree upon."[4]

History

Jadaliyya is one in a series of knowledge production projects under the rubric of the Arab Studies Institute. These include an academic research journal (est. 1992), a documentary film collective (est. in 2003), and a publishing house (est. 2012).[2] According to Haddad (who is also founder of the Arab Studies Institute)[5] the impetus behind Jadaliyya originated in 2002 with the intent to create "a publication that would have a wider circulation" than the scholarly, peer-reviewed Arab Studies Journal. Haddad and his colleague Sinan Antoon believed that "good knowledge was being hoarded in journals that are largely inaccessible to the general public" and wanted "to reach beyond the academic community."[1] The idea was shelved, however, after the Iraq War began in 2003 and their team focused instead on documentary film production producing three films in a period of six years (About Baghdad, What is Said About Arabs and Terrorism, and The Other Threat).

In 2009, influenced by new developments in social media, Haddad revisited the project with Antoon, Sherene Seikaly, Nadya Sbaiti, Noura Erakat, and Maya Mikdashi. They completed a private test launch of Jadaliyya during the summer of 2010[1] and officially launched the ezine on September 21, 2010.[6] Since then, the editorial team has expanded and currently features a total number of 15 co-editors. Jadaliyya was founded on "an anti-corporate and solidarity-based model of work. Whenever possible, our mode of operation is largely non-hierarchical, though not without leadership."[1] The goal of the co-editors was to make an interactive and "user-friendly" website with open language (English, Arabic, and French) and submission length. The editors also utilized a number of social media formats including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, tablet and mobile phone apps, and Readspeaker.[1] According to Haddad: "nearly every submission goes through a rigorous review process that includes at least two reviews before going to the copy editor."[1]

Response

Jadaliyya has been influential in both educational environments and the media. Ursula Lindsey in The Chronicle of Higher Education notes that Jadaliyya has "become a reference for many professors in the field. It reaches beyond academe, too: Updated daily, the site boasts about half a million unique visitors a month, and its articles are widely shared on social media [....] Jadaliyya’s reception has been largely positive among scholars of the Middle East."[4] In addition, Assistant Professor of Anthropology Julia Elyachar states that:

Jadaliyya has quickly become the go-to place for information and analysis of what is going on in Egypt and the region. Moreover, Jadaliyya is the place where writing of a kind that we associate with the best of anthropology--in the moment, grounded in theory, capturing historical transformation through engagement in events as they unfold--has been published. It seems to provide solutions to many problems we have been engaged with in anthropology -- the production of knowledge in and about the region, particularly in this time of the massive uprisings … Jadaliyya has been the place where some of the best “ethnographic” writing about the region in this time of incredible transformation and change is to be found.[7]

Media outlets such as The Atlantic,[8] The Christian Science Monitor,[9] The Chronicle of Higher Education,[10] The Guardian,[11][12][13]Inter Press Service,[14]La Stampa,[15] London Review of Books,[16] The New York Times,[17][18][19][20][21] NPR,[22] and PBS[23][24] have also referenced Jadaliyya when discussing events related to the Arab Uprisings, as well as the Middle East more generally. Furthermore, The Guardian states that "the Arab [Studies] Institute’s Jadaliyya website is an invaluable resource”[12] while Al-masry Al-youm (English Edition) suggests that it “quickly became a port of call for many wanting to understand the tumultuous events unfolding across the region” by offering “more nuanced, in-depth coverage than most, but without the delays and exclusivity of academic journals.”[3] In addition, Portal 9 refers to Jadaliyya as "an essential resource for many in and outside the Arab world"[1] while Today's Zaman calls it "one of the leading English language Arab websites."[25]

Various international and regional media outlets including the Agence France-Presse (AFP),[26] Al Jazeera English,[27][28]BBC,[29]China Central Television,[30]China Radio International,[31] CNN,[32] Democracy Now,[33]Deutsche Welle,[34]El Mundo,[35] The Guardian,[36]Le Figaro,[37]MSNBC,[38]The PBS NewsHour,[39]Russia Today,[40]The Wall Street Journal,[41] and The Washington Post[42] have featured interviews with Jadaliyya Co-Editors. In addition, media outlets such as The Guardian[43] and Courrier International[44] have republished Jadaliyya articles either in their original form[45][46][47][48] or translated them into different languages.[49][50]

Book

The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order?, (Pluto Press, 2012) is edited by three of Jadaliyya's co-editors, Bassam Haddad, Rosie Bsheer, and Ziad Abu-Rish.[51][52][53] Composed of twenty essays originally published in Jadaliyya,[54] the text (according to the editors) sheds "light on the historical background and initial impact of the mass uprisings which have shaken the Arab world since December 2010 [….] while the book focuses on those states that have been most affected by the uprisings it also covers the impact on Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq."[51]

Timothy Mitchell, professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Columbia University, observes that "as the work of scholars and activists with a rich knowledge of the region's histories and political aspirations, the essays offer lasting insights into the forces shaping a new moment in world history."[51] Laleh Khalili, Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics, SOAS, University of London suggests that The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order? is "a very rare combination - scholarly but also accessible for a broad public." She also argues that it will be "a much-treasured volume for undergraduate students, and its sophistication will also benefit postgraduates and academics."[51]CUNY anthropologist Talal Asad frames the text as "perhaps the best introduction to the political movements that have shaken that region since January 2011. It represents a set of intelligent commentaries on revolutionary events in almost every Arab country, and their repercussions in the area generally and beyond. Essential reading."[51] Lisa Wedeen, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, refers to it as "a primer of importance not only to students of the 'Arab spring,' but also to those concerned with protest more generally, this collection represents relevant writings from the early months of the uprisings. Registering both the exhilarating optimism and crushing disappointment of contemporary political life, this volume is recommended for anyone interested in the interrelationships among domestic, regional, and international affairs; it gives voice to some of the possibilities for and impasses to political transformation."[51] Naira Antoun of Al-masry Al-youm (English Edition) suggests that the essays “offer informed analysis of the region, one that challenges Eurocentric approaches and incorporates political economy, as well as taking account of each country’s regional and international positioning.”[3]

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Muller, Nat; Kholeif, Omar (Autumn 2012). "Reviews and Critique: Jadaliyya". Portal 9.
  2. 1 2 "Arab Studies Institute". Arab Studies Institute. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  3. 1 2 3 Antoun, Naira (2012-11-02). "Documenting hope: Jadaliyya publishes collection on Arab uprisings". Al-masry Al-youm (English Edition). Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Lindsey, Ursula (2014-09-29). "Arab-Studies E-Zine Hopes to Counter Mainstream Narrative". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
  5. ↑ "Faculty and Staff: Bassam S. Haddad". George Mason University. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  6. ↑ "Jadaliyya Turns One". Jadaliyya.com. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  7. ↑ Haddad, Bassam (2013-05-15). "Jadaliyya: A New Form of Producing and Presenting Knowledge in/of the Middle East (Interview by Julia Elyachar)". Cultural Anthropology: Journal for the Society of Cultural Anthropology. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
  8. ↑ Hamid, Shadi (2012-08-20). "Egypt's Uncomfortable Challenge: Balancing Security and Civil Liberties". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  9. ↑ The Editors (2011-11-29). "Who's Who in Egypt's Election". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  10. ↑ DeSantis, Nick (2012-10-31). "Dean at U. of Jordan Is Reportedly Removed Over Sexual-Harassment Video". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  11. ↑ The Editors (2011-12-09). "Syria: Homs massacre warning - Friday 9 December 2011". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  12. 1 2 The Editors (2011-12-02). "Syria, Egypt and Middle East unrest - Friday 2 December". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  13. ↑ Greenwald, Greg (2012-12-26). "Obama's gift to al-Qaida, support for tyranny, and FBI monitoring of dissent". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  14. ↑ Hitchon, Joe (2013-04-13). "High Stakes for Engaging Morsi’s Egypt". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  15. ↑ "Egitto, così Morsi "il polipo" prepara il referendum sulla nuova costituzione". La Stampa. 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  16. ↑ The Editors (2011-12-04). "Khoury on Syria". London Review of Books. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  17. ↑ Mackey, Robert (2012-01-18). "Taking to the Streets of Cairo, Wielding Video Projectors". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  18. ↑ Goodman, David (2012-05-15). "Rappers Do Not Delight in Morocco and Iran". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
  19. ↑ Mackey, Robert (2012-09-29). "Iranian News Agency Plagiarizes The Onion". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
  20. ↑ "Egyptian Judges Break Ranks to Support Morsi Vote Request". The New York Times. 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  21. ↑ Mackey, Robert (2012-12-11). "Evidence of Torture by Egyptian Islamists". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  22. ↑ Memmott, Mark (2011-12-02). "Egyptian Elections: 62 Percent Turnout". NPR. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  23. ↑ "Frontline: Revolution in Cairo-Day to Day Timeline: Jan. 31". PBS. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  24. ↑ "Frontline: Revolution in Cairo-Day to Day Timeline: Feb. 1". PBS. 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  25. ↑ LAGENDIJK, JOOST (2012-01-03). "No responsibility to protect in Syria?". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  26. ↑ The Editors (2012-06-12). "Political chaos as Egypt chooses a new president". AFP. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  27. ↑ The Editors (2011-09-21). "Al-Jazeera Interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor Noura Erakat on PLO/PA Strategy at the UN". Jadaliyya/Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  28. ↑ The Editors (2013-03-30). "Listening Post - Media mea culpas and the Iraq war". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  29. ↑ The Editors (2011-12-07). "BBC Interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor Bassam Haddad on Asad's ABC Interview". Jadaliyya/BBC. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  30. ↑ "Studio interview: Egyptians vote on constitution". China Central Television,. 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
  31. ↑ "2012-11-21 Palestine seeking statehood in the UN". China Radio International. 2012-11-21. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
  32. ↑ Dow, Nicole (2012-05-16). "Syrian outcome could alter its neighbors' future". CNN. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  33. ↑ "Democracy Now! Interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor Mouin Rabbani on Palestinian Statehood Bid". Jadaliyya/Democracy Now!. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  34. ↑ The Editors (2013-03-15). "Quadriga - Invasion Anniversary - Iraq’s Lost Decade?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  35. ↑ Carrión, Francisco (2012-08-14). "Las rivalidades dentro del Ejército consolidan el poder de Mursi en Egipto". El Mundo. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  36. ↑ Black, Ian (2012-11-23). "Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi proves a deft, adroit and ruthless leader". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
  37. ↑ Mayault, Isabelle (2012-08-13). "L'Égypte s'interroge après le coup de force de Morsi". Le Figaro. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  38. ↑ "MSNBC Up With Chris Hayes: Israel and Gaza". MSNBC. November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
  39. ↑ "On Defections and Developments in Syria: PBS NewsHour Interview with Bassam Haddad and David Lesch". Jadaliyya/PBS NewsHour. 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  40. ↑ "CrossTalk: Gaza Reprieve". Russia Today. 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
  41. ↑ Bradley, Matt (2012-08-13). "Egypt's New Top General Has U.S. Ties". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  42. ↑ Sullivan, Kevin (2012-12-03). "In Saudi Arabia, unemployment and booming population drive growing poverty". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  43. ↑ Idilbi, Salma (2012-01-31). "How could those who left Syria call on those inside to embrace death?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  44. ↑ "Jadaliyya". Courrier International. 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  45. ↑ Bali, Asli; Abu-Rish, Ziad; et al. (2011-03-20). "The drawbacks of intervention in Libya". Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  46. ↑ Hajjar, Lisa (2011-02-07). "Suleiman: The CIA's man in Cairo". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  47. ↑ Al-Khalsan, Mohamed (2011-12-24). "The army and the economy in Egypt". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  48. ↑ Al Qassemi, Sultan (2012-02-03). "Tribalism in the Arabian Peninsula: It’s A Family Affair". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  49. ↑ Aouragh, Miriyam (2011-02-07). "Na Oslo: Europa, de islam en de normalisering van het racisme, Door Miriyam Aouragh & Richard Seymour". Eutopian Institute. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  50. ↑ Sallam, Hisham (2012-11-24). "Mursi y la nacionalización de la Revolución: algunas reflexiones iniciales". Rebelion. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pluto Press Books, Middle East Studies - The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order?". Pluto Press. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  52. ↑ "Macmillan: Pluto Press Books - The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order?". Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  53. ↑ "Jadaliyya's First Book is Now Available from Pluto Press". Jadaliyya. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  54. ↑ "Pluto Press Books marketing - The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order?" (PDF). Pluto Press. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
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