Prof. Dr. Haitham Sarhan, Professor of Literature, Criticism and Discourse at Qatar University, gave a lecture entitled (Travellers' Narration and Cultural Policies in the Nineteenth Century/The Journey of the Mark of Iraq, Abu al-Thana’ al-Alusi to Islambol) on Wednesday evening, March 16, 2022, at 9 PM, from the electronic platform of the College of Arts within the College's Cultural and Scientific Program.
Dr. Haitham Sarhan stated that the travellers narration originated in the context of the Arab Renaissance, which was shared by trends of tradition and modernization. He stated that cultural contexts are a set of components that govern the travellers narration and define the goals, objectives and purposes of the travellers. He said that in the travellers narration in general and the travellers narration of Abi al-Thana’ al-Alusi, there are fixed elements related to the author’s ideological positions and what he possesses of linguistic and heritage culture that defines the discourse, and variable or sociocultural elements related to the variables of the Renaissance, and the latter plays a major role in the formation of various images and representations in the travellers narration.
Dr. Sarhan pointed out that Al-Alusi’s journey narration embodies the author’s aspiration to create an Arab identity capable of facing other cultures by relying on the Islamic depth represented by the Ottoman Caliphate. As the trip to Islambol - says Dr. Sarhan - represents a response to trips that went to the West. Islampol represents, according to Al-Alusi, a cultural imaginary parallel to the centrality of Paris and European cities.
It is worth mentioning that the lecture comes within the cultural and scientific program of the college, which is prepared by the cultural unit in it, and is supervised by the Dean of the College, Prof. Dr. Majid Abdul Hameed Al Kaabi. It has hosted a number of Arab, Iraqi and foreign university professors on various topics that represent the concerns of modern research. It seeks to bring together the views of university professors and professors at the University of Basrah, and to exchange scientific and cultural experiences.
