This thesis is based upon ethnographic fieldwork on the process of becoming married in Cairo. It focuses specifically upon the experiences of Cairene Muslims, and centres on the profound sense of anxiety and uncertainty which so frequently surrounds the marriage-making process. This thesis is an attempt to make sense of the salience of these emotions, against a backdrop of economic and political instability, a broader interest in modesty and decorum, and public concern about an alleged ‘marriage crisis’. It also explores the various ways in which prospective affines seek to manage the pervasive sense of anxiety and uncertainty associated with the production of marriage in Cairo. To this end, the thesis examines the ways in which phenomena, ranging from assessments about the ‘suitability’ of a given conjugal home to the perceived outcome of a particular form of petitionary prayer, enter into decisions about whom to marry and come to affect confidence in a given choice. The thesis thus presents a complex picture of the agency of prospective affines, and pays particular attention to the relationship between agency and knowledge.

This thesis comprises a comparative typological study of Egyptian Judaeo-Arabic folk tales' and letters' grammatical features from the Ottoman period, with the aim of establishing the degree to which variation exists between two genres of written Judaeo-Arabic, and how it manifests itself. Within Judaeo-Arabic textual studies, the dominant trend is to examine a single genre of this written form of Arabic from one or more chronological period in isolation. As such, we know much about the linguistic features of business letters (Khan 1992, 2006, 2013; Wagner 2010, 2014), Biblical translations (Hary 1992, 2009) and folk tales (Palva 2007-2008; Hasson-Kenat 2016; Ørum 2017). Yet, our understanding of the extent and nature of linguistic variation between genres of written Judaeo-Arabic is somewhat limited. This research project addresses this disciplinary desideratum, working predominantly with previously unedited and untranslated manuscripts and adopting an inter-genre and diachronic comparative approach, throughout. The scope of this thesis is limited to two genres of written Judaeo-Arabic, focsuing on a small number of corpora (which each contain three to five manuscripts) from the fifteenth-nineteenth centuries. The thesis is divided into two main sections. The first of these examines the orthographical and (limited) phonological data available in these corpora. Among the more notable contributions in this section are: (i) a (re)-examination of the diacritical dot, both in relation to the much discussed Arabic letter ğīm, and other graphemes, which have been all but neglected in existing scholarship; (ii) an exploration of the potential motivations behind the separation of the definite article, a key feature of late written Judaeo-Arabic; and (iii) an investigation into the plene spelling of short vowels and the information contained therein. The second section is devoted to a detailed study of diachronic developments and inter-genre variaton in subordination, divided into three sub-sections. In the first of these sub-sections, I focus on syndetic and asyndetic forms of complementation, complement types, the modalities of complementtaking predicates, and complementisers. The second sub-section builds on previous studies of relative clauses in written Judaeo-Arabic (cf. e.g., Wagner 2010). The final sub-section centres on analysis of adverbial subordination and adverbial clause markers. The results of these explorations demonstrate that with regard to written Judaeo-Arabic, we may speak of consistent differences in styles unique to each genre. I conclude by expressing the intention of expanding this research to include an intergenre, diachronic study of written Judeao-Arabic morphological features, at a future date.

No description available.

Fourteenth-century Cairo saw a movement towards abstract, geometric art. This movement reflected contemporary intellectual interests and represents the culmination of the ascendancy of Islamic philosophy over the humanist vocabulary of art. The thesis seeks explanations for the positive, i.e. for the forms which art actually took, rather than concentrating on prohibitive mechanisms. In architecture, the disappearance of stucco vegetal decoration may have been partly due to the effects of an outbreak of plague, but the main influences on contemporary art and architecture came from the esoteric habits of thought induced by sufism, alchemy and hermeticism, and from the dualist concerns of Islamic philosophy. The thesis discusses the continuity between sufism and Shī'ism, the history of sufism in Cairo as it affected art and architecture, concepts of the microcosm and the macrocosm, and theories of colour, substance and gilding. The thesis examines talismans and other esoteric material. It discusses architectural incorporata, presents a catalogue of Pharaonic material re-used in Islamic architecture, and argues that blocks bearing Pharaonic hieroglyphs represented Hermetic lore and, at entrances to buildings, paralleled the use of Pharaonic references at the beginning of esoteric manuscripts. The detailed discussion of architecture takes the form of an examination of a religious building, scrutinising the underlying principles of decoration and then moving on to specific elements such as the entrance and the mihrab. The thesis discusses, and dissents from, iconographic interpretations of architectural imagery. It attempts to evolve a terminology for discussion and concludes that 'mamluk' is inappropriate as a cultural term, since the influence of the individual patron on art and architecture was less innovative than the intellectual background of the period, and the dissociation of the patron from contemporary society has been over-estimated. It comes to the conclusion that 'an art of the bāṭin' would more effectively express the major influence on the art and architecture of fourteenthcentury Cairo.

Nos estudos sobre as cidades islâmicas, poucos são os que tratam dos edifícios que pertencem a outros grupos confessionais que não o dos muçulmanos, no sentido de analisá-los como agentes na evolução da configuração urbana das cidades que estiveram sob governo islâmico. Os estudos existentes sobre esses edifícios seguem sempre uma orientação em analisá-los dentro de seus próprios elementos, ou seja, um edifício cristão ou judaico dentro do seu próprio contexto que é o de servir a sua própria comunidade confessional. A tese mostra que a sinagoga é um elemento que também constrói e participa da dinâmica da cidade, e seu estudo auxilia tanto na compreensão da urbe árabe-islâmica, como também no entendimento da dinâmica da sociedade entre os séculos X-XIII. Ao analisar a Sinagoga de Ben Ezrá localizada no Cairo portanto no contexto da cidade islâmica e não apenas sob seus aspectos estéticos ou estilísticos, busca entender como o edifício dialoga com a cidade no sentido da construção de suas territorialidades. E também, no sentido inverso: como a cidade e um tipo de linguagem islâmica dialogam com o edifício judaico. A grande extensão geográfica conquistada pelo Islã produziu uma multiplicidade de formas e empréstimos e, ao mesmo tempo, devido à facilidade de ir e vir das pessoas e as novas conquistas, forjou-se uma certa unificação na linguagem. As trocas e as assimilações não só foram e são inevitáveis, como fazem parte das relações e convívio entre os grupos em qualquer momento. A Sinagoga de Ben Ezrá foi desde a sua fundação, um elemento organizador do espaço urbano ao seu redor, organizador da distribuição dos habitantes ligados à comunidade judaica, não apenas da comunidade rabínica da palestina mas das outras comunidades judaicas babilônica e caraíta, entre os séculos X ao XIII. E desempenhou um papel de articulador de multiterritorialidades. Esta análise vem ampliar o conhecimento acerca desse edifício, e principalmente, das relações entre as comunidades judaica, islâmica e cristã entre a conquista fatímida do Egito (969 E.C.) e o fim da dinastia aiúbida (1254 E.C.) / In studies of Islamic cities, there are few that deal with buildings that belong to other faith groups other than Muslims, in the sense of analyzing them as agents in the evolution of the urban configuration of the cities that were under Islamic government. The existing studies about these buildings always follows the line of analyzing them inside their own elements, in other words, a Christian or Jewish building within their own context, which is to serve its own confessional community. The thesis shows that the synagogue is an element that also builds and participates in the dynamics of the city, and its study helps both in the comprehension of the Arab-Islamic metropolis, but also in understanding the dynamics of society between the X-XIII centuries. By analyzing the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, located just in the context of the Islamic city, not only in its aesthetics or stylistic aspects, aims to understand how the building dialogues with the city in the sense of the construction of its territorialities. And also, in reverse: how the city and a kind of Islamic language dialogue with the Jewish building. The big geographic extension conquered by the Islam produced a multiplicity of forms and loans and, at the same time, due to the facility of coming and going of the people and the new conquests forged a certain unification in the language. The exchanges and the assimilations not only were and are inevitable, as they are part of the relations and living together among the groups at any time. The Ben Ezrá Synagogue was since its foundation, an organizing element of the urban space around, organizer of the distribution of the inhabitants linked to the jewish community not only the rabbinic of Palestine but for others jewish communities babylonic and Karaite, between the X-XIII centuries. And it played a role of articulator of multiterritorialities. This analysis comes to enlarge the knowledge about this building, and mainly, of the relations among the communities Judaic, Islamic and Christian - between the Fatimid conquest of the Egypt (969 e.C.) and the end of the Ayyubid dynasty (1254 E.C)

Thesis. 1978. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 88-91. / M.C.P.

Nos estudos sobre as cidades islâmicas, poucos são os que tratam dos edifícios que pertencem a outros grupos confessionais que não o dos muçulmanos, no sentido de analisá-los como agentes na evolução da configuração urbana das cidades que estiveram sob governo islâmico. Os estudos existentes sobre esses edifícios seguem sempre uma orientação em analisá-los dentro de seus próprios elementos, ou seja, um edifício cristão ou judaico dentro do seu próprio contexto que é o de servir a sua própria comunidade confessional. A tese mostra que a sinagoga é um elemento que também constrói e participa da dinâmica da cidade, e seu estudo auxilia tanto na compreensão da urbe árabe-islâmica, como também no entendimento da dinâmica da sociedade entre os séculos X-XIII. Ao analisar a Sinagoga de Ben Ezrá localizada no Cairo portanto no contexto da cidade islâmica e não apenas sob seus aspectos estéticos ou estilísticos, busca entender como o edifício dialoga com a cidade no sentido da construção de suas territorialidades. E também, no sentido inverso: como a cidade e um tipo de linguagem islâmica dialogam com o edifício judaico. A grande extensão geográfica conquistada pelo Islã produziu uma multiplicidade de formas e empréstimos e, ao mesmo tempo, devido à facilidade de ir e vir das pessoas e as novas conquistas, forjou-se uma certa unificação na linguagem. As trocas e as assimilações não só foram e são inevitáveis, como fazem parte das relações e convívio entre os grupos em qualquer momento. A Sinagoga de Ben Ezrá foi desde a sua fundação, um elemento organizador do espaço urbano ao seu redor, organizador da distribuição dos habitantes ligados à comunidade judaica, não apenas da comunidade rabínica da palestina mas das outras comunidades judaicas babilônica e caraíta, entre os séculos X ao XIII. E desempenhou um papel de articulador de multiterritorialidades. Esta análise vem ampliar o conhecimento acerca desse edifício, e principalmente, das relações entre as comunidades judaica, islâmica e cristã entre a conquista fatímida do Egito (969 E.C.) e o fim da dinastia aiúbida (1254 E.C.) / In studies of Islamic cities, there are few that deal with buildings that belong to other faith groups other than Muslims, in the sense of analyzing them as agents in the evolution of the urban configuration of the cities that were under Islamic government. The existing studies about these buildings always follows the line of analyzing them inside their own elements, in other words, a Christian or Jewish building within their own context, which is to serve its own confessional community. The thesis shows that the synagogue is an element that also builds and participates in the dynamics of the city, and its study helps both in the comprehension of the Arab-Islamic metropolis, but also in understanding the dynamics of society between the X-XIII centuries. By analyzing the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, located just in the context of the Islamic city, not only in its aesthetics or stylistic aspects, aims to understand how the building dialogues with the city in the sense of the construction of its territorialities. And also, in reverse: how the city and a kind of Islamic language dialogue with the Jewish building. The big geographic extension conquered by the Islam produced a multiplicity of forms and loans and, at the same time, due to the facility of coming and going of the people and the new conquests forged a certain unification in the language. The exchanges and the assimilations not only were and are inevitable, as they are part of the relations and living together among the groups at any time. The Ben Ezrá Synagogue was since its foundation, an organizing element of the urban space around, organizer of the distribution of the inhabitants linked to the jewish community not only the rabbinic of Palestine but for others jewish communities babylonic and Karaite, between the X-XIII centuries. And it played a role of articulator of multiterritorialities. This analysis comes to enlarge the knowledge about this building, and mainly, of the relations among the communities Judaic, Islamic and Christian - between the Fatimid conquest of the Egypt (969 e.C.) and the end of the Ayyubid dynasty (1254 E.C)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Art History, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 461-484). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 461-484). Also available on the Internet.