Books published by The American University in Cairo Press

A leading-edge study of Arabic varieties and how they are used, written by distinguished scholars in the field El-Said Badawi's seminal Mustawayat al-'arabiya al-mu'asira fi Misr (Levels of Contemporary Arabic in Egypt) was first published in Arabic in 1973. Its theory of interrelated language levels that are ever-changing along a sociolinguistic continuum inspired a generation of Arabists and Arabic-language educators to re-examine Arabic varieties from a wide range of perspectives, transforming the way scholars carried out research on language variation, lexicography, and teaching Arabic as a foreign language. Since that time, Arabic has witnessed major changes in the way its spoken and written forms are practiced, but informed, scholarly publications on the current reality of the linguistic landscape have been few and far between. This collective study, with contributions from renowned scholars of Arabic applied linguistics, draws on empirical data to bring together original new research on spoken and written language varieties in Egypt today. Thematically, Revisiting Levels of Contemporary Arabic in Egypt explores three broad but interconnected areas: Arabic varieties in context, challenges to Badawi's Levels model, and the pedagogical implications of varying levels in teaching Arabic as a foreign language. It not only discusses the current applicability of Badawi's model to contexts such as contemporary Egyptian newspapers and Facebook, but looks at empirical data related to colloquial varieties in Egypt and elsewhere, the role of context in their current use, and the approaches to documenting and deriving colloquial lexicons. It also examines linguistic styles in different genres and contexts and for different audiences. Contributors: Muhammad Abdel Haleem, University of London, EnglandMona Farrag Attwa, University of Colorado, Boulder, COMichael G. Carter, University of Oslo, NorwayMona Kamel Hassan, The American University in Cairo, EgyptMargaret Larkin, University of California, Berkeley, CAGunvor Mejdell, University of Oslo, NorwayMustafa Mughazy, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MIKarin Christina Ryding, Georgetown University, Washington, DCWaheed Samy, The American University in Cairo, Egypt; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MIDevin J. Stewart, Emory University, Atlanta, GAWillem Stoetzer, Leiden University, NetherlandsZeinab A. Taha, The American University in Cairo, EgyptHanady Tawwakol, The American University in Cairo, EgyptKees Versteegh, Radboud University, Nijmegen, NetherlandsLisa J. White, The American University in Cairo, EgyptManfred Woidich, University of Amsterdam, NetherlandsShahira Yacout, The American University in Cairo, Egypt Munther Younes, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

A serial killer taunts Casablanca's most famous detective, Hanash, in this nail-biting Moroccan noir, a follow-up to Bled Dry A series of gruesome murders shakes the city of Casablanca. The killer knows exactly how the police will pursue him and how to obliterate evidence that could lead them to identify his victims. Fear spreads throughout the city as rumors abound that a serial killer is on the loose. Detective Hanash, despite his reputation, has hit a dead end. But he knows the killer will make a mistake, and it is up to him and his team to hunt down and capture this brutal criminal. Then comes the most audacious homicide yet: the victim is found on the first day of the Eid holiday, directly outside the police headquarters in the center of town. Is the killer taunting the police and its famous detective? And could this be the crime that contains the clue that Hanash has been waiting for?

The artistry and splendor of ancient Egyptian jewelry in fifty masterpieces Jewelry was worn by ancient Egyptians at every level of society and, like their modern descendants, they prized it for its aesthetic value, as a way to adorn and beautify the body. It was also a conspicuous signifier of wealth, status, and power. But jewelry in ancient Egypt served another fundamental purpose: its wearers saw it as a means to absorb positive magical and divine powers-to protect the living, and the dead, from the malignant forces of the unseen. The types of metals or stones used by craftsmen were magically important, as were the colors of the materials, and the exact positioning of all the elements in a design. Ancient Egyptian Jewelry: 50 Masterpieces of Art and Design draws on the exquisite collections in the archaeological museums of Cairo to tell the story of three thousand years of jewelry-making, from simple amulets to complex ritual jewelry to the spells that protected the king in life and assisted his journey to the Otherworld in death. Gold, silver, carnelian, turquoise, and lapis lazuli were just some of the precious materials used in many of the pieces, and this stunningly illustrated book beautifully showcases the colors and exceptional artistry and accomplishment that make ancient Egyptian jewelry so dazzling to this day.

This issue of Alif explores drama in its many manifestations--textual plays, performances, folk drama, choreographed story-telling, staged poetry recitals, and protest songs-as well as presenting modes of directing and production, comparative dramaturgy, specialized theater journals, experimental and independent troupes, testimonies and interviews. The issue covers dramatic works from eighteenth-century France to twenty-first century Britain and covers geographically Senegal to Lebanon, the US to China, while highlighting major dramatists from Egypt, Syria, and Morocco. The translations in this issue cover manifestos towards a new Arab Theater and an introduction to the recently published plays of Frantz Fanon.

In this surrealist novel with political and religious aspects and an edge of satire, the narrator is an unseen, unheard presence with the privilege of observing events from the past. A sense of displaced time saturates the blending of real and unreal events, such as the fight in the desert around Karbala against Israel and the forces of the West (including William Casey (the former CIA director), the narrator's father, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and al-Husayn). Nasser, who has miraculously reappeared after his death, is shocked and appalled to find that peace has been brokered with Israel and that Israelis have made Egypt a holiday destination.

A young student's dreams for a better future are shattered after he assaults one of his instructors for discriminating against him. From then on, he begins his descent into the underworld.

While most courses in Egyptian Arabic teach the essentials of syntax, morphology, and vocabulary, this resource book takes the student a step beyond. Intended for the advanced learner of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic who has mastered the basics, this third in a series of three books (following Volume 1, Adjectives and Descriptions, and Volume 2, Proverbs) focuses on colorful expressions used by native speakers. The learner will advance from knowing how to form a good sentence to being able to express his or her thoughts about the ups and downs of daily life using culturally appropriate expressions. Exercises are included.

Self-presentation is the oldest and most common component of ancient Egyptian high culture. It arose in the context of private tomb records, where the character and role of an individual-invariably a well-to-do non-royal elite official or administrator-were presented purposefully: published by inscription and image, to a contemporary audience and to posterity. Living Forever: Self-presentation in Ancient Egypt looks at how and why non-royal elites in ancient Egypt represented themselves, through language and art, on monuments, tombs, stelae, and statues, and in literary texts, from the Early Dynastic Period to the Thirtieth Dynasty. Bringing together essays by international Egyptologists and archaeologists from a range of backgrounds, the chapters in this volume offer fresh insight into the form, content, and purpose of ancient Egyptian presentations of the self. Applying different approaches and disciplines, they explore how these self-representations, which encapsulated a discourse with gods and men alike, yield rich historical and sociological information, provide examples of ancient rhetorical devices and repertoire, and shed light on notions of the self and collective memory in ancient Egypt.

Egyptian cuisine is one of the world's oldest and yet least know food traditions. This charming, pocket-sized collection of recipes is the perfect introduction to Egyptian cooking. From classic starters and breakfast dishes like ta'miya (falafel) and fuul medammis (slow-cooked fava beans), to well-loved main meals such as stuffed cabbage leaves (mahshi cromb), and mouthwatering almond pudding and fritter balls soaked in syrup, Egyptian Flavors leads you on a wonderful discovery of this unique and delightful cuisine. Dyna Eldaief offers 50 easy-to-follow recipes that are rich with the vegetables, legumes, and meats that are central to Egyptian cooking, calling forth the sun-baked land of the Nile and inviting expert and novice alike to bring exciting new flavors to their home kitchen.

This easy-to-use beginner's level guide to Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) grammar is the ideal supplement for students of ECA as a foreign language. Keda Mazbuut is divided into twenty-five lessons, each devoted to a key grammatical rule, with examples to illustrate usage followed by a variety of exercises. Drawing on twenty-five years of experience as a full-time teacher of Arabic, Mona Hassan has organized the lesson topics to gradually progress in difficulty, from basic nominal sentences to more complex grammatical structures such as the imperative and conditional sentences. All rules are explained in straightforward English, while words and phrases are provided in both Arabic script and transcribed Arabic, accompanied by audio files to facilitate students' ECA pronunciation. With its clear, user-friendly structure, Keda Mazbuut is designed to encourage students to work through grammatical rules at home, allowing them to devote more class time to the speaking activities that reinforce those rules.

A comic novel from the award-winning author of The Lodging House

Hawa is a child of the grinding hardship of a Palestinian refugee camp. She has had to survive the camp itself, as well as the humiliation and destruction of an abusive family life. But now, later in life, something most unexpected has happened: she has fallen in love. Velvet unfolds over a day in Hawa's life, as she makes plans for a new beginning that may take her out of the camp.

The history of the struggles for control over Egypt's antiquities, and their repercussions during a period of intense national ferment.

Mastering the conjugation of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) verbs is an essential part of the student's learning process, and it is equally challenging for instructors to ensure that the student has internalized them correctly. Yalla! Let's Learn Egyptian Colloquial Arabic Verbs is a practical tool to help both students and teachers of Arabic in the classroom. The book presents the three hundred most frequently used verbs in ECA, each one categorized according to ECA verb patterns, which are based on those used in Modern Standard Arabic.The verbs are fully conjugated in the present/imperfect and past/perfect tenses in the affirmative and the negative, each entry also listing imperatives and active participles. This resource focuses on pronunciation, rather than reading or writing, in order to help students gain fluency in spoken Egyptian Arabic. To this end, each verb in the book is spelled phonetically.

Arab graphic design emerged in the early twentieth century out of a need to influence, and give expression to, the far-reaching economic, social, and political changes that were taking place in the Arab world at the time. But graphic design as a formally recognized genre of visual art only came into its own in the region in the twenty-first century and, to date, there has been no published study on the subject to speak of. A History of Arab Graphic Design traces the people and events that were integral to the shaping of a field of graphic design in the Arab world. Examining the work of over eighty key designers from Morocco to Iraq, and covering the period from pre-1900 to the end of the twentieth century, Bahia Shehab and Haytham Nawar chart the development of design in the region, beginning with Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy, and their impact on Arab visual culture, through to the digital revolution and the arrival of the Internet. They look at how cinema, economic prosperity, and political and cultural events gave birth to and shaped the founders of Arab graphic design. Highlighting the work of key designers and stunningly illustrated with 360 colour images, A History of Arab Graphic Design is an invaluable resource tool for graphic designers, one which, it is hoped, will place Arab visual culture and design on the map of a thriving international design discourse.

A courageous young woman from the Gulf must overcome conservatism and oppression from her own family to live and love as she chooses

Songs are a great way to learn a language, and popular songs can reveal much about the culture and traditions of a country where the language is spoken. 20 Egyptian Songs to Learn and Sing brings together twenty songs performed by popular Egyptian singers, from iconic twentieth-century diva Umm Kulthum to present-day singing sensation Amr Diab. Following on the success of Kilma Hilwa: Egyptian Arabic through Popular Songs: Intermediate Level and Musiqa al-Kalimat: Modern Standard Arabic through Popular Songs: Intermediate to Advanced (AUC Press, 2015 and 2017), Bahaa Ed-Din Ossama and Tessa Grafen build a lively variety of language lessons around each song, accompanying them with notes on vocabulary, grammar and usage, and exercises. Aimed at beginner learners of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic and fans of Arab popular music, 20 Egyptian Songs to Learn and Sing is a motivational and highly enjoyable approach to learning Egyptian Arabic.Suitable for use in the classroom or for self-study. Includes songs by: Dina El Wedidi, Amr Diab, Sayed Darwish, Shadia, Mohamed Monir, Umm Kulthum, Suad Hosni, Nancy Agram, Dalida, and Rema Kheshesh