Book Overview

The Arab modernity enterprise has never thrived because it only embraced the ostensible manifestations and the technical aspects of the concept, which in the first place demands a process of a long–term, thoughtful rationalization. Although one form of modernized thought took shape in the Arab Region, it was only a pseudo–modernity– an exact reproduction of the Western version. In addition, it was confined to an intellectual elite that failed to have an effective impact on the Arab reality. Modernity in literature, on the other hand, flourished. Modernist writers rely on the power of creativity to bring about change; they play a revolutionary role by changing language and style; and they destructand reconstruct to produce an alternative that is cleaner, fairer and more beautiful.