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Title: Colonial Citizens
ISBN: 0231106610
Author:
Elizabeth Thompson
Publicate Date: 2000-01-15
Publish: 2000-01-15
List Price: $30.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $25.65
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $17.83
Amazon Merchant Price: $27.00
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Sociological Undercurrents
The sociological/psychological undercurrents of history have long fascinated me. Problematic and intangible, it is often difficult to grasp the more fragile, subtle details of past events. Often, the same difficult occurs with current events. Therefore, reconstructing and understanding historical events is even more difficult. In Colonial Citizens, Elizabeth Thompson makes an attempt at this challenging task. She frames the events of French Mandate era Syria and Lebanon in familial terms, labeling the sequence overall, a "crisis of paternity." Undoubtedly, if we were to ask any of the men in that time period the reason for their actions, they would likely give a very pragmatic, political reply. However, as Freud as illustrated, humans are often themselves unaware of their motivations. Subsequently, Thompson's argument, in many places seems on purely visceral indications to be solid. There are places in the text, however, that the familial relational terms seem strained. There are portions of the text where it seems that the events were not framed by the citizens themselves in gendered terms, but Thompson continued that language because this is the frame she chose. Gender relations is the viewpoint from which she approaches the issues, and it is possible that this perspective isn't appropriate for all the matters discussed in the text.
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2: Written excellently, but with some major flaws
Thompson's work was a good read, and her writing style was interesting and engaging. Her research is admirable as well as her clarity. However, too often she failed to make connections intended to formed between her ideology and research. There are a few key, general criticisms I have. The book has poor understanding of the term "subaltern", misidentifying it with social groups which are not. Ironically, she neglects to discuss one social group under the mandate totally, the Shi'a, thus, reconfirming their subaltern status. Morever, though she claims to have done so, she fails to say anything meaningful or significant about Islam whatsoever. Also, events and individuals are not often historicized enough in that background events are neglected and omitted which are key to understanding the time period.
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3: Award Winner
Colonial Citizens won the 2000 Joan Kelly Memorial Prize for best book in women's history from the American Historical Association.
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