War and Memory in Lebanon

Hardback

Main Details

Title War and Memory in Lebanon
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Sune Haugbolle
SeriesCambridge Middle East Studies
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:280
Dimensions(mm): Height 235,Width 160
Category/GenreThe arts - general issues
World history - from c 1900 to now
Military history
ISBN/Barcode 9780521199025
ClassificationsDewey:956.92044
Audience
Professional & Vocational

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 15 March 2010
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

From 1975 to 1990, Lebanon endured one of the most protracted and bloody civil wars of the twentieth century. Sune Haugbolle's book chronicles the battle over ideas that emerged from the wreckage of that war. While the Lebanese state encouraged forgetfulness and political parties created sectarian interpretations of the war through cults of dead leaders, intellectuals and activists - inspired by the example of truth and reconciliation movements in different parts of the world - advanced the idea that confronting and remembering the war was necessary for political and cultural renewal. Through an analysis of different cultural productions - media, art, literature, film, posters, and architecture - the author shows how the recollection and reconstruction of political and sectarian violence that took place during the war have helped in Lebanon's healing process. He also shows how a willingness to confront the past influenced the popular uprising in Lebanon after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Author Biography

Sune Haugbolle is Assistant Professor in Arabic in the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen. He is the coeditor of The Politics of Violence, Truth and Reconciliation in the Arab Middle East (2009).

Reviews

'With great analytical skill, Haugbolle presents a fascinating account of the different ways in which the Lebanese remember their civil wars in opposition to an official stance that, far from seeking truth and reconciliation, attempts to distort the memories and even obliterate them from popular culture.' Michael Johnson, Former Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Sussex and the author of All Honourable Men: The Social Origins of War in Lebanon