Palestine Across Millennia: A History of Literacy, Learning and Educational Revolutions

Nur Masalha

Feb 2022 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this ebook

In this magisterial cultural history of the Palestinians, Nur Masalha illuminates the entire history of Palestinian learning with specific reference to writing, education, literary production and the intellectual revolutions in the country. The book introduces this long cultural heritage to demonstrate that Palestine was not just a 'holy land' for the four monotheistic religions – Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Samaritanism – rather, the country evolved to become a major international site of classical education and knowledge production in multiple languages including Sumerian, Proto-Canaanite, Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. The cultural saturation of the country is found then, not solely in landmark mosques, churches and synagogues, but in scholarship, historic schools, colleges, famous international libraries and archival centres.
This unique book unites these renowned institutions, movements and multiple historical periods for the first time, presenting them as part of a cumulative and incremental intellectual advancement rather than disconnected periods of educational excellence. In doing so, this multifaceted intellectual history transforms the orientations of scholarly research on Palestine and propels current historical knowledge on education and literacy in Palestine to new heights.

About the author

Professor Nur Masalha is a Palestinian writer, historian and academic. He is a member of the Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS, University of London, UK, and editor of Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies. His books include Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History (2018), An Oral History of the Palestinian Nakba (with Nahla Abdo, 2018), The Palestine Nakba (2012) and The Bible and Zionism (2007).