Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-Turāb
The archive is used both literally and metaphorically as a manifestation of the ubiquity of power and the authority invested in material archives. To work from the margin and in secrecy is a trait of the subaltern quest of both Wadood the b...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pluto Journals
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Arab Studies Quarterly |
| Online Access: | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.42.4.0287 |
| _version_ | 1797687309954449408 |
|---|---|
| author | Mahmoud Abdelhamid M. A. Khalifa |
| author_facet | Mahmoud Abdelhamid M. A. Khalifa |
| author_sort | Mahmoud Abdelhamid M. A. Khalifa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The archive is used both literally and metaphorically as a manifestation of the
ubiquity of power and the authority invested in material archives. To work from
the margin and in secrecy is a trait of the subaltern quest of both Wadood the
bookseller and Dr Nameer, as well as the different characters of the De Molina
family. The official history written by the powers that be marginalizes the
other. However, the digging of the archives by the subaltern raises the hope of
an alternative history that saves the traces of the subaltern. The archive
includes physical archives, manuscripts, artefacts, stamps, cassettes, and
photos, as amply shown in Fihris. In Ḥiṣn
al-turāb , the archive has more of a metaphoric than literal
meaning: it is the spectral topos of suppressed desire and
recovered memory. The archive enables the subaltern to speak by digging up and
even making up archives. Both quests are feverish and reflect the trauma that
motivates digging up the past as recovered memory and the desire to keep traces
of the past as tokens of a marginalized identity seeking redress. Archives are
tokens of the past that threaten the integrity of the history written by the
powerful: the hunter. The victims question that history and create nuisance that
offers hope of a more just history that includes the marginalized
subalterns. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:17:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-286d9c6be4e244b1a9aedec0c4f26603 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0271-3519 2043-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:17:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Pluto Journals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arab Studies Quarterly |
| spelling | doaj.art-286d9c6be4e244b1a9aedec0c4f266032023-09-13T10:26:14ZengPluto JournalsArab Studies Quarterly0271-35192043-69202020-09-0142428730710.13169/arabstudquar.42.4.0287Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-TurābMahmoud Abdelhamid M. A. KhalifaThe archive is used both literally and metaphorically as a manifestation of the ubiquity of power and the authority invested in material archives. To work from the margin and in secrecy is a trait of the subaltern quest of both Wadood the bookseller and Dr Nameer, as well as the different characters of the De Molina family. The official history written by the powers that be marginalizes the other. However, the digging of the archives by the subaltern raises the hope of an alternative history that saves the traces of the subaltern. The archive includes physical archives, manuscripts, artefacts, stamps, cassettes, and photos, as amply shown in Fihris. In Ḥiṣn al-turāb , the archive has more of a metaphoric than literal meaning: it is the spectral topos of suppressed desire and recovered memory. The archive enables the subaltern to speak by digging up and even making up archives. Both quests are feverish and reflect the trauma that motivates digging up the past as recovered memory and the desire to keep traces of the past as tokens of a marginalized identity seeking redress. Archives are tokens of the past that threaten the integrity of the history written by the powerful: the hunter. The victims question that history and create nuisance that offers hope of a more just history that includes the marginalized subalterns.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.42.4.0287 |
| spellingShingle | Mahmoud Abdelhamid M. A. Khalifa Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-Turāb Arab Studies Quarterly |
| title | Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in
Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-Turāb |
| title_full | Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in
Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-Turāb |
| title_fullStr | Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in
Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-Turāb |
| title_full_unstemmed | Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in
Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-Turāb |
| title_short | Feverish Souls: Archives, Identity, and Trauma in
Fihris and Ḥiṣn Al-Turāb |
| title_sort | feverish souls archives identity and trauma in fihris and hisn al turab |
| url | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.42.4.0287 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mahmoudabdelhamidmakhalifa feverishsoulsarchivesidentityandtraumainfihrisandhisnalturab |