AUB Press

​​​This is a collection of papers presented at a 2008 conference sponsored by the American University of Beirut's Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan Chair of Islamic Studies of the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies and the Margaret Weyerhaeuser Jewett Chair of Arabic of the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages. The volume includes sixteen articles by scholars from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Lebanon, and is divided into two parts: the first dealing with classical and premodern poetry, and the second with modern and contemporary poetry, with three articles focusing on the work of the poet Mahmoud Darwish. It serves to better illuminate some aspects of the relationship between the fields of poetry and history, and represents a significant contribution to the field of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.

​Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut (AUB) has had a positive and transformative impact on Lebanon, the Middle East, and the world. Published on the occasion of AUB's 150th anniversary, this commemorative volume serves as a lasting testimony to the extraordinary influence of AUB in its first 150 years and sets the stage for its future. This volume examines AUB's history from diverse perspectives and points of view. It deals with key moments in the early history of the University, and with its current position as a local agent with global concerns, also focusing on its complex relations with the USA and the rest of the world. Some of the chapters highlight salient personalities and important constituencies who have contributed to the legacy of AUB. Parts of the book also focus on the campus and its location within Ras Beirut, as well as their resulting interaction and mutual impact over years of growth and transformation. The book is organized according to five themes: Early History, AUB, the USA, and the World, Space, Academic/Scientific Contributions, and Salient Personalities​

​George Miles was the curator of Islamic coins for the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and later their chief curator and executive director. The essays in this volume, chosen to mark his retirement, concentrate on the subjects that occupied his scholarly research: numismatics, epigraphy, iconography, and the history of the Islamic, pre-Islamic, and Byzantine worlds. ​

Editors: Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil, and Mohammed Rustom

The first book of its kind in Lebanon, Mute Movements, documents the emergence of a performance art scene in Lebanon. The book illustrates the collective work of students and artists under the direction of Cornelia Krafft, former assistant professor at AUB. Captured in high-quality photographs and narrated through the performers' own words, Mute Movements invites the reader to embark on an inspirational journey through modern-day Lebanon as seen through the eyes of these young artists striving to confront their internal and external challenges on the personal, national, and regional levels. Their “mute" performances, situated in provocative locations, demanded attention and triggered debate. Played out in unorthodox settings – abandoned buildings, war ruins, along the sea-shore, in city streets and run-down cinemas – these performances required almost as much of the spectators as of the players with their fundamental questioning of issues of collective relevance: social responsibility, personal and regional identity, cultural heritage, censorship, conflict, freedom, and repression. Across the pages of the book, each performance unfolds in documentary-like fashion. The underlying theme, the evolution of performance art in Lebanon across five fertile years of artistic endeavor, lays the groundwork for years to come. While the focus is Lebanon and its youth, the bigger picture is a work in progress which is applicable far beyond the borders of one small country, making Mute Movements a valuable as well as highly enjoyable reference work. ​The overall minimalistic aesthetic and design of the book envelopes an extraordinary sample of strong artistic encouragement through contemporary education in the fields of performance, set design, and visual arts; the result is a document of international importance.