Arab France: Islam and the Making of Modern Europe, 1798-1831 - Hardcover

Coller, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520260643 ISBN 13: 9780520260641

Publisher: University of California Press, 2010

Synopsis

Many think of Muslims in Europe as a twentieth century phenomenon, but this book brings to life a lost community of Arabs who lived through war, revolution, and empire in early nineteenth century France. Ian Coller uncovers the surprising story of the several hundred men, women, and children―Egyptians, Syrians, Greeks, and others―who followed the French army back home after Napoleon’s occupation of Egypt. Based on research in neglected archives, on the rediscovery of forgotten Franco-Arab authors, and on a diverse collection of visual materials, the book builds a rich picture of the first Arab France―its birth, rise, and sudden decline in the age of colonial expansion. As he excavates a community that was nearly erased from the historical record, Coller offers a new account of France itself in this pivotal period, one that transcends the binary framework through which we too often view history by revealing the deep roots of exchange between Europe and the Muslim world, and showing how Arab France was in fact integral to the dawn of modernity.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"Ian Coller's fascinating book explores the making of modern France during the Napoleonic period and under the Restoration 'from the outside inward'. He examines the life of Arab migrants in France: their role as outsiders, and victims, but also as participants in the creation of the modern nation and its empire. In the process he also throws much light on the history of the contemporary Arab Middle East and North Africa."―C.A. Bayly, University of Cambridge

About the Author:

Ian Coller is a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0520260643
• ISBN 13: 9780520260641
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304