Institutions, Civilisation, and Freedom: Taha Hussein’s Anti-Colonial Project
Titre : Institutions, Civilisation, and Freedom: Taha Hussein’s Anti-Colonial Project
Invité : Hussam R. Ahmed (History Department, Carleton University)
Résumé : Taha Hussein (1889-1973) is often remembered as a literary critic, man of letters, and advocate of modern education. Yet his broader intellectual project can also be understood as a response to what he perceived as a civilizational challenge posed by European domination in the modern era. Drawing upon the Nahda’s commitment to critical engagement with both Arab-Islamic heritage and modern knowledge, Taha Hussein sought neither the rejection of Europe nor its wholesale imitation. Instead, he envisioned universities, language academies, and democratic institutions as the foundations of cultural renewal. He believed such institutions would create the conditions under which Egyptians could participate as equal contributors to modern civilization. For Taha Hussein, this goal was inseparable from freedom, understood through the cultivation of knowledge, critical inquiry, citizenship, and self-government. This lecture examines the intellectual and institutional dimensions of Taha Hussein’s anti-colonial project and situates it within broader debates on colonialism, modernity, and the future of the Arab world.
Date, horaires : mardi 20 octobre, 14h00-17h00
Lieu : Maison de la recherche de l’Inalco (2, rue de Lille, 75007) - Salle Silvestre de Sacy
Coordination de l'axe Afrique (WP6) : Laetitia Bucaille (Inalco), Gilles Dorronsoro, Alia Gana (Université Paris 1 Sorbonne) et Valentina Napolitano (IRD) avec Jan-Markus Vömel, chercheur postdoctorant, programme DÉCRIPT.
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