Introduction
The majority of current research on Arabic-speaking countries is focused on the political-economy and state domination or co-optation. This book shows that literature is a part of cultural expressions that contribute to societal growth. Throughout this monograph, I outline the text and context of online literary developments in Egypt, Lebanon, and a few Gulf states, while occasionally adding examples from other countries.
Text and context are essential parts of this monograph. All close-readings and in-depth examples of literary online texts are from various countries of the Gulf; for detailed analyses of Egypt ās and Lebanon ās digital literary field, I rely on text analyses performed by fellow researchers. The datasets of original sources of online literature on which this book is based have been downsized according to specific criteria such as frequency and typicality in representationāthis shows the interdiscursivity, uniqueness, and redundancy in the selection of examples. It is not a large-scale collection of original sources and focuses on aspects that make online literature what it is. However, I use detailed case studies on the macro level and apply linguistic analysis as well as context analysis: changing social, historical, and political contexts are analysed and connections among fields of action, genres, discourses, and text are highlighted using a selection of relevant conceptual tools.
The chapters are arranged according to how digital text is perceived, starting with a look at the outer shellāits make-up and visual components. This is followed by what strikes the reader most after reading a first selection of texts: language and narration are notable in that they immediately render the communicative part of digital literature visible. These features are highlighted in the chapter on participation culture that introduces more aspects of interactivity which distinguishes digital literature from printed publications. Participation is activated through an emotional or intellectual connection to stories and poems. An important part of identification is through the protagonist, or main āheroā of the storyāthis aspect is elucidated in the subsequent chapter on portrayal of heroes. Within the analysis of heroesā portrayal , it becomes obvious that constraints and challenges are part of the overall writing and distribution process. Discussing these issues helps one understand the genre in its political context.
As part of the text analysis, I discuss visual aspects as well as socio-politically relevant issues that are brought up in a number of text, often represented through narration and the portrayal of main characters. This portrayal is a relevant aspect of my reading of short stories , especially the relationship between individual identities in contrast to collective ideals. The chapter Narration and Language analyses a variety of perspectives on text. It is important for reading the sources because it reflects stylistic and aesthetic distinctions that are apparent in literary texts from the region. Tarek El-Ariss points out that āforms of techno-writingā undergo structural and linguistic transformation.1 These changes apply to the script as well as language use of English, dialect, and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). A way to look at the media make-up is to discuss its aesthetics. Distance and perspective are two important aspects of literary texts published online.2
As for the reading of context, I look at the media make-up of the text, discussing participation culture as well as issues of publishing restrictions. The chapter Participatory Culture draws on a different methodological approach because, here, forums and blogs are analysed by identifying their function for readers and writers.
Within this introductory chapter, I would like to guide the reader through some essential pointers on theory as well as on socio-political circumstances in the countries that are part of literary and contextual analysis. Comprehending the theoretical approaches adopted in this book is key to appreciating the general framing of the issue at hand.
Reading Text in Theoretical Context
While every chapter in this book introduces its theoretical framework separately with respect to the issue being examined, it is useful to provide a summary of the theoretical approaches adopted in the book in order to establish a clear direction of thought. The interdisciplinary analysis of the texts includes theory and practices that are problem-oriented. The theoretical approaches used in this book consist of two types: on the one hand, theories that deal with literature in general, and on the other hand, theories related to digital culture.
I should note one important definition for the texts I read within my analysis. Despite most texts in this monograph being taken from non-official and established sources such as publishing houses, they carry an aesthetic significance as representatives of popular culture. Reuven Snir ās definition of what literature is helps to understand the choices I made in my selection.
A literary text may be defined as any text that in a given community has been imbued with cultural value and that allows for high levels of complexity and significance in the way it is constructed. At the same time, the designation āliterary textā points not to an inherent property of certain kinds of objects, but rather to a quality assigned by people involved in producing, reading and analysing those objects. Texts perceived as literary by one culture or community are seen as non-literary by another.3
My study of digital literature focuses on interactions, texts, and contexts of short texts that are published not only in forums and blogs , but also on other digital platforms.
Looking at Literature
Earlier research on printed Arabic literature serves as the theoretical base for my findings. Scholars such as El-Ariss , Sabry Hafez , Stephan Guth , Angelika Neuwirth , Andreas Pflitsch , and Christian Junge provide in-depth analysis of postmodern Arabic writing. For the Gulf region in particular, Gail Ramsay is an active researcher of online text. For blog literature in Egypt, Teresa Pepe ās insights serve as a great resource.
Delving more into specificities of the literariness of my sources, the findings of the following researchers serve as a solid foundation for my study. The question of modernity and postmodernity has been heavily discussed in recent years. Guth analyses changes in contemporary Arabic literature and discusses a countering modernity as well as a āreviving literary heritageā as the main findings of his work on culture and identity in post-1980s literature in the Arab world.
Neuwirth is one of the editors of Arabic Literature: Postmodern Perspectives.4 Her research on contemporary literature deals with ideas of memory and identity and collective memory; this is valuable for my research because identity representation in the form of the heroesā portrayal is an essential part of my discussion of short stories published online. Individual identity can be seen in contrast to collective ideals, as will be presented in the chapter on portrayal of heroes .
Ramsay is one of the few scholars who has conducted research on Arabic literary blogs . She studies short stories (in print) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, and issues of globalisation in the Gulf as well as the āpost-structural concepts of cultural representationā.5 In her recent monograph Blogs & Literature & Activism she studies Egyptian literary blogs. This work draws on Pepe ās thoughts on autofictionality in Egyptian literary blogsāa remarkable and important examination of literary writing online. Ramsay works on the connection of literary texts and activism, a unique approach to studying Arabic literary production on the internet; this is especially relevant throughout the Arab Uprisings, as political messages and art were closely connected during this time. Ramsay avoids the trap of strong comparisons to European traditions and looks at blogs as a form of inner-Egyptian resistance.
Pepe offers an in-depth analysis of the literariness of Egyptian blogs in her discussion on the term adab. In her paper she points to literary critics who find blogging to be ādevaluing the prestige of adab in high literatureā.6 Her analysis is of great importance as it contextualises terminology and criticism in Egypt. Another significant contribution by Pepe is her situating of the literary quality of Egyptian blogging within the context of a bigger transformation of literature.7
El-Ariss makes clear the need to renegotiate āWesternā literary theory when it is applied to Arabic texts because an interpretation of the cultural, literary, and historic background a...