SAUDI ARABIA Archive Wars: The Politics of History in Saudi Arabia, by Rosie Bsheer. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2020. 379 pages. $30 paper.

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-334
Author(s):  
Thomas Demmelhuber
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Stanford University ◽  
Politics Of History

W(h)ither Arabian Peninsula Studies?

2017 ◽  
pp. 383-405
Author(s):  
Rosie Bsheer
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Global Flow ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Politics Of History ◽  
Cultural Networks ◽  
Petroleum Reserves

The Arabian Peninsula has played a central role in modern history. It is the birthplace of Islam and where Mecca, the destination of the annual Muslim pilgrimage, is located. It holds the world’s largest petroleum reserves and has been central to the global flow of economic, political, intellectual, and cultural networks since the early twentieth century. Yet these realities are not reflected in the scholarship on the Middle East. If anything, the latter largely approaches the peninsula as a backwater of politics, culture, and civilization. This chapter interrogates the politics of knowledge production on the peninsula, especially as they intersect with questions of power, culture, and imperialism. Addressing some of the critical scholarship in Arabian Peninsula studies, it moves on to a discussion of the politics of history-making in Saudi Arabia before concluding with a brief note on the role of Yemen therein.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document