Featured Article
Waines, David, “Ibn Baṭṭūṭa”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
Illustration 1. Map of the travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa according to his own account.
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
- Encyclopaedia of Islam This link opens in a new window Includes "articles on distinguished Muslims of every era and origin, on tribes and dynasties, on crafts and sciences, on political and religious institutions, on the geography, ethnography, flora and fauna of the various countries and on the history, topography and monuments of the major towns and cities" of the Islamic world.
- Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures This link opens in a new window Focuses on women and the civilizations and societies in which Islam has played a historic role. Surveys all facets of life (society, economy, politics, religion, the arts, popular culture, sports, health, science, medicine, environment, etc.) of women in these societies.
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam by
Designed for general readers with little or no knowledge of Islam, this superb Oxford Dictionary provides more than 2,000 vividly written, up-to-date, and authoritative entries organized in an easy-to-use, A-to-Z format. The Dictionary focuses primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, stressing topics of most interest to Westerners. What emerges is a highly informative look at the religious, political, and social spheres of the modern Islamic world. Naturally, readers will find many entries on topics ofintense current interest, such as terrorism and the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, the PLO and HAMAS. But the coverage goes well beyond recent headlines. There are biographical profiles, ranging from Naguib Mahfouz (the Nobel Prize winner from Egypt) to Malcolm X, including politicalleaders, influential thinkers, poets, scientists, and writers. Other entries cover major political movements, militant groups, and religious sects as well as terms from Islamic law, culture, and religion, key historical events, and important landmarks (such as Mecca and Medina). A series of entrieslooks at Islam in individual nations, such as Afghanistan, the West Bank and Gaza, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the United States, and there are discussions of Islamic views on such issues as abortion, birth control, the Internet, the Rushdie Affair, and the theory of evolution. Whether we are listening to the evening news, browsing through the op-ed pages, or reading a book on current events, references to Muslims and the Islamic world appear at every turn. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam offers a wealth of information for anyone curious about this burgeoning andincreasingly important world religion.
Location: Mugar Reference X BP40 .O95 2003 and OnlinePublication Date: 2003
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World by
This title looks at Islam's role in the modern world, doing so in the context of the religion's history and development over the last 13 centuries. Containing thematic articles, biographies of key figures, definitions, illustrations, maps and more, this new encyclopedia fills a need in this key area of religious studies.
Location: Mugar Reference X BP40 .E525 2004Publication Date: 2003
An Historical Atlas of Islam by
"An Historical Atlas of Islam" by William C. Brice was originally published by Brill in 1981. In 2001, Brill published a new edition of "An Historical Atlas of Islam / Atlas Historique de l'Islam," completely revised and substantially augmented by Professor Hugh Kennedy. This unique publication provides an overview of Islamic history from its inception up to the beginning of the twentieth century.
Location: Mugar Reference X G1786.S1 H6 2002 and OnlinePublication Date: 2001
Encyclopaedia of the Qur'An by
"The Qur'an is the primary religious text for one-fifth of the world's population and has been an object of reverence and of intense study for centuries. Drawing upon a rich scholarly heritage, Brill's Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an contains alphabetically arranged articles about the contents of the Qur'an. It is an encyclopedic dictionary of qur'anic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history, and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within qur'anic studies. With over 750 entries, the EQ is the first comprehensive, multivolume reference work on the Qur'an to appear in Western languages."
Location: Mugar Reference X BP133 .E53 2001 and OnlineISBN: 9004114653Publication Date: 2002-09-12
Guides to the Literature
Travel: a Literary History by
No previous generation has ever travelled so energetically or so obsessively as ours, nor has travel writing ever been so much in fashion as it is now. But behind the self-conscious literary artistry of today's narratives there lies a rich and fascinating history of travel writing, stretching back over several thousand years.Travel writing has emerged from migration, war, exploration, trade, conquest, pilgrimage, science, and poetic longing. But when they recorded their travels, the military commanders of Greece and Rome, the navigators of the Age of Discovery, the diplomats and missionaries of the seventeenth century, the dilettantes who set out on the Grand Tour, the romantic travellers and the scientists of the nineteenth century all had one thing in common: they were re-imagining the world, re-interpreting it in their own minds and for their readers.This is the first general survey of the entire history of travel literature, with illustrations reproduced from manuscripts and books in the Bodleian Library's collections. Writers covered include Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville, Thomas Coryate, Captain Cook, T.E. Lawrence, and Christopher Columbus as well as Boswell and Johnson, Byron, Ruskin, Defoe, Conrad, and James. This book highlights over a hundred texts, showing how one motive for travelling has been succeeded by another, and how travel writing has often inhabited a strange borderland between truth and imagination, fact and fiction. It demonstrates how travel writers have slowly outgrown their traditional stance of superiority to all things 'foreign', and have moved towards a deeper sensitivity to other lands and other cultures.
Location: Mugar Stacks PN56.T7 W535 2011Publication Date: 2012
The Cambridge Introduction to Travel Writing by
Critics have long struggled to find a suitable category for travelogues. From its ancient origins to the present day, the travel narrative has borrowed elements from various genres - from epic poetry to literary reportage - in order to evoke distant cultures and exotic locales, and sometimes those closer to hand. Tim Youngs argues in this lucid and detailed Introduction that travel writing redefines the myriad genres it comprises and is best understood on its own terms. To this end, Youngs surveys some of the most celebrated travel literature from the medieval period until the present, exploring themes such as the quest motif, the traveler's inner journey, postcolonial travel and issues of gender and sexuality. The text culminates in a chapter on twenty-first-century travel writing and offers predictions about future trends in the genre, making this Introduction an ideal guide for today's students, teachers and travel writing enthusiasts.
Location: Mugar Stacks PR756.T72 Y68 2013Publication Date: 2013
The Routledge Companion to Travel Writing by
As many places around the world confront issues of globalization, migration and postcoloniality, travel writing has become a serious genre of study, reflecting some of the greatest concerns of our time. Encompassing forms as diverse as field journals, investigative reports, guidebooks, memoirs, comic sketches and lyrical reveries; travel writing is now a crucial focus for discussion across many subjects within the humanities and social sciences. An ideal starting point for beginners, but also offering new perspectives for those familiar with the field, The Routledge Companion to Travel Writing examines: Key debates within the field, including postcolonial studies, gender, sexuality and visual culture Historical and cultural contexts, tracing the evolution of travel writing across time and over cultures Different styles, modes and themes of travel writing, from pilgrimage to tourism Imagined geographies, and the relationship between travel writing and the social, ideological and occasionally fictional constructs through which we view the different regions of the world. Covering all of the major topics and debates, this is an essential overview of the field, which will also encourage new and exciting directions for study. Contributors: Simon Bainbridge, Anthony Bale, Shobhana Bhattacharji, D#65533;nlaith Bird, Elizabeth A. Bohls, Wendy Bracewell, Kylie Cardell, Daniel Carey, Janice Cavell, Simon Cooke, Matthew Day, Kate Douglas, Justin D. Edwards, David Farley, Charles Forsdick, Corinne Fowler, Laura E. Franey, Rune Graulund, Justine Greenwood, James M. Hargett, Jennifer Hayward, Eva Johanna Holmberg, Graham Huggan, William Hutton, Robin Jarvis, Tabish Khair, Zo#65533;insley, Barbara Korte, Julia Kuehn, Scott Laderman, Claire Lindsay, Churnjeet Mahn, Nabil Matar, Steve Mentz, Laura Nenzi, Aed#65533;N#65533;oingsigh, Manfred Pfister, Susan L. Roberson, Paul Smethurst, Carl Thompson, C.W. Thompson, Margaret Topping, Richard White, Gregory Woods.
Location: Mugar Stacks PR756.T72 R68 2016Publication Date: 2015
Anthologies and Literary Collections
Other Routes : 1500 years of African and Asian travel writing by
... brings new insights into the colonial relationship while challenging the unspoken temptation that this was a distinctly European period." --Simon Gikandi Other Routes collects important primary work by travel writers from Asia and Africa in English translation. An introduction by Tabish Khair discusses travel literature as a genre, the perception of travel and writing about travel as a European privilege, and the emergence of new writings that show that travel has been a human occupation that crosses time and culture. This original and significant book will interest armchair travelers and others in views of people and places away from the European traveler's gaze. Selections include "The Travels of a Japanese Monk" (c. 838), "Al-Abdari, the Disgruntled Traveller" (c. 1290), "A Korean Official's Account of China" (1488), "The Poetry of Basho's Road" (1689), "Malabari: A Love-Hate Affair with the British" (1890).
Location: Mugar Stacks G460 .O84 2005Publication Date: 2006
From Stonehenge to Samarkand: an anthology of archaeological travel writing by
Ever since Roman tourists scratched graffiti on the pyramids and temples of Egypt over two thousand years ago, people have traveled far and wide seeking the great wonders of antiquity. In From Stonehenge to Samarkand, noted archaeologist and popular writer Brian Fagan offers an engaginghistorical account of our enduring love of ancient architecture--the irresistible impulse to visit strange lands in search of lost cities and forgotten monuments. Here is a marvelous history of archaeological tourism, with generous excerpts from the writings of the tourists themselves. Readers will find Herodotus describing the construction of Babylon; Edward Gibbon receiving inspiration for his seminal work while wandering through the ruins of the Forum inRome; Gustave Flaubert watching the sunrise from atop the Pyramid of Cheops. We visit Easter Island with Pierre Loti, Machu Picchu with Hiram Bingham, Central Africa with David Livingstone. Fagan describes the early antiquarians, consumed with a passionate and omnivorous curiosity, pondering themysteries of Stonehenge, but he also considers some of the less reputable figures, such as the Earl of Elgin, who sold large parts of the Parthenon to the British Museum. Finally, he discusses the changing nature of archaeological tourism, from the early romantic wanderings of the solitary figure,communing with the departed spirits of Druids or Mayans, to the cruise-ship excursions of modern times, where masses of tourists are hustled through ruins, barely aware of their surroundings. From the Holy Land to the Silk Road, the Yucatan to Angkor Wat, Fagan follows in the footsteps of the great archaeological travelers to retrieve their first written impressions in a book that will delight anyone fascinated with the landmarks of ancient civilization.
Location: Mugar Stacks G156.5.H47 F34 2006Publication Date: 2006
Travel Writing, 1700-1830 by
'How is the mind agitated and bewildered, at being thus, as it were, placed on the borders of a new world!' - William Bartram'Thus you see, dear sister, the manners of mankind do not differ so widely as our voyage writers would have us believe.' - Mary Wortley MontaguWith widely varied motives - scientific curiosity, commerce, colonization, diplomacy, exploration, and tourism - British travellers fanned out to every corner of the world in the period the Critical Review labelled the 'Age of Peregrination'. The Empire, already established in the Caribbean andNorth America, was expanding in India and Africa and founding new outposts in the Pacific in the wake of Captain Cook's voyages. In letters, journals, and books, travellers wrote at first-hand of exotic lands and beautiful scenery, and encounters with strange peoples and dangerous wildlife. Theyconducted philosophical and political debates in print about slavery and the French Revolution, and their writing often affords unexpected insights into the writers themselves. This anthology brings together the best writing from authors such as Daniel Defoe, Celia Fiennes, Mary Wollstonecraft,Olaudah Equiano, Mungo Park, and many others, to provide a comprehensive selection from this emerging literary genre.
Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2006
From Cairo to Baghdad : British travellers in Arabia by
Until the 1880s, British travelers to Arabia were for the most part wealthy dilettantes who could fund their travels from private means. With the advent of an Imperial presence in the region, as the British seized power in Egypt, the very nature of travel to the Middle East changed. Suddenly, ordinary men and women found themselves visiting the region as British influence increased. Missionaries, soldiers and spies as well as tourists and explorers started to visit the area, creating an ever bigger supply of writers, and market for their books. In a similar fashion, as the Empire receded in the wake of World War II, so did the whole tradition of Middle East travel writing. In this elegantly crafted book, James Canton examines over one hundred primary sources, from forgotten gems to the classics of T. E. Lawrence, Thesiger, and Philby. He analyzes the relationship between Empire and author, showing how the one influenced the other, leading to a vast array of texts that might never have been produced had it not been for the ambitions of Imperial Britain. This work makes for essential reading for all of those interested in the literature of Empire, travel writing and the Middle East.
Location: Mugar Stacks DS44.98 C25 2011Publication Date: 2011
Literary Biography
- Contemporary Authors This link opens in a new window A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields.
- Gale in Context: Biography This link opens in a new window Biography In Context offers biographical information about historically significant figures as well as present-day newsmakers. It includes reference content alongside magazine and journal articles, primary sources, videos, audio podcasts, and images.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature by
The Encyclopedia of Arabic Literatureis an authoritative reference source on the most important authors, works, genres, key terms, concepts and issues in the Arabic literary tradition. The Encyclopediacovers the classical (pre-Islamic to 1258), transitional (1258-1798) and modern periods within a single work. In over 1300 separately-authored entries, many of the world's experts combine current research with traditional study to provide authoritative analysis and commentary on a wide range of areas. These include major authors, important works, and a variety of literary terms. Also covered are forms such as poetry, drama and newspaper writing and key critical concepts of Arabic literature.
Location: Mugar Reference X PJ7510 .R76 2010Publication Date: 2010
Arab Women Writers by
An invaluable new reference source and critical review of Arab women writers from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century .Arab women's writing in the modern age began with 'A'isha al-Taymuriya, Warda al-Yaziji, Zaynab Fawwaz, and other nineteenth-century pioneers in Egypt and the Levant. This unique study-first published in Arabic in 2004-looks at the work of those pioneers and then traces the development of Arabwomen's literature through the end of the twentieth century, and also includes a meticulously researched, comprehensive bibliography of writing by Arab women. In the first section, in nine essays that cover the Arab Middle East from Morocco to Iraq and Syria to Yemen, critics and writers from the Arab world examine the origin and evolution of women's writing in each country in the region, addressing fiction, poetry, drama, and autobiographical writing. The second part of the volume contains bibliographical entries for over 1,200 Arab women writers from the last third of the nineteenth century through 1999. Each entry contains a short biography and a bibliography of each author's published works. This section also includes Arab women's writing inFrench and English, as well as a bibliography of works translated into English. With its broad scope and extensive research, this book is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in Arabic literature, women's studies, or comparative literature.
Location: Mugar Reference X PJ7525.2 .D413 2008 and OnlinePublication Date: 2008
Improbable women : five who explored the Middle East by
Improbable Women examines the lives of five women writers, all upper-class British women, who rebelled against the conventions of their own societies and lived, traveled and explored the Middle East.
Location: Mugar Stacks G490 .C64 2013 and OnlinePublication Date: 2013
