Center for Arts and Humanities
American University of Beirut
The Center for the Arts and Humanities (CAH) aims to lead the reinvigoration of a vibrant humanistic environment for research and education at American University of Beirut (AUB) and at similar institutions in the region. At this critical moment in the Middle East, AUB is strongly positioned to engage with contemporary issues and is dedicated to humanistic education, and research in response to regional and global needs. This interdisciplinary Center for the Arts and Humanities at AUB will reinforce its role as a humanistic knowledge hub for the region and beyond.
The environment for the arts in our region faces many challenges. Beirut is the cosmopolitan heart of Lebanon’s vibrant arts scene, which has few competitors in the Arab world despite the country’s relatively small size and population. Yet, unlike in the United States and Europe, there has been little critical reflection and research focusing on art history, theory, and production, particularly works created in modern Arab societies, thus minimizing their broader influence. This is equally true of the visual and performing arts and of certain areas of the humanities, such as literature written in Arabic or in French or English, but utilizing Arabic themes and structures. Support for critical reflection and research on artistic and humanistic production, is necessary to increase their cultural impact in the region and internationally.
AUB is uniquely positioned institutionally and contextually to articulate the region’s rich cultural legacy, and to lead the reinvigoration of artistic, literary, and scholarly analysis and production.
Relationships and collaborations with other institutions in the region will provide opportunities for mutual learning and exchange of new approaches in critical inquiry and methodologies.
Contact Information
Maher Jarrar, Professor
Bassil Rita, Coordinator
PO Box 11-0236
Beirut,
Lebanon http://www.aub.edu.lb/cah/Pages/index.aspx
cah@aub.edu.lb
009611364374 ext 4530
Region
Middle East
Year Established
2015
Fellowships and Potential Scholarly Affiliations
Center for Arts and Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship