Social and Cultural Changes 1900-1960, Part 2

Question 1: Describe the relation between nationalism and newspapers (and literary arts) in the Middle East.

Answer 1: The number of newspapers (and the size of their circulations) increased in the 20th century in the Middle East. In addition, the novel and the short story began to develop. The language used in these publications was commonly Arabic, and writers often expressed nationalist ideas in literature. For example, the Egyptian writer Taha Hussein wrote of the “literary spirit of Egypt,” including the “Arab element” and the Arabic language. The poet Ahmad Shawqi drew on the Egyptian past through icons such as the Sphinx, writing of dark phases of Egyptian history and looking forward to a new and better future for Egypt. Sometimes writers described through fiction the struggles related to a changing Middle East, including changes related to European influence. By looking at a shared past, emphasizing a common language (Arabic), and sometimes writing critically of European influence, newspapers and literature expressed and fostered nationalism.

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Question 2: Explain how mass urbanization contributed to changes in Middle Eastern culture.

Answer 2: In the 20th century, many Europeans lived in some of the major Middle Eastern cities such as Cairo and Baghdad. Although Arab migrants from the countryside often tended to keep to themselves in their adopted cities, many people were exposed to European customs, attitudes, and beliefs. Such exposure influenced Middle Eastern customs, attitudes, and beliefs. For example, some Middle Easterners began to dress more like Europeans; some Muslim women wore only light veils or no veils at all. In addition, newspapers and radio stations were established, and local stations provided a way for people to exchange ideas, such as nationalist ideas. Other radio stations picked up European broadcasts, which further spread European influence, such as an increase in speaking English and French. European influence helped lead to the development of the novel in the Middle East and the emergence of written music.

Question 3: Describe how mass urbanization helped change certain economic trends in the Middle East (independent of oil).

Answer 3: The mass urbanization trend that began in the Middle East after World War I helped shift some of the economies of the Middle East from an economy based on subsistence agriculture to economies based on other sectors. Of particular importance was the emergence of the service economy, beginning around 1960. Middle Eastern cities also engaged in manufacturing to a certain extent, but manufacturing was overshadowed by providing services. Agriculture continued to be important, but with a rise in population and a trend toward mechanization in the Middle East, fewer people were needed to actually work the land even as agricultural output actually increased. In some countries, therefore, large areas of fertile land tended to be held by companies (some of them foreign) or individual people, while those with much smaller areas of land had fewer resources and produced less.

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