Historians, State and Politics in Twentieth Century Egypt: Contesting the Nation

This book deals with the relationship between historical scholarship and politics in 20th century Egypt. It examines the changing roles of the academic historian, the university system, the state and non-academic scholarship and the tension between them in contesting the modern history of Egypt. In a detailed discussion of the literature, the study analyses the political nature of competing interpretations and uses the examples of Copts and resident foreigners to demonstrate the dissonant challenges to the national discourse that testify to its limitations, deficiencies and silences.

Anthony Gorman lectures at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.