Thesis--Göttingen. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-156).

"This essay represents the expansion of a dissertation offered for the degree of Ph. D. in the University of Chicago."--Pref. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thesis--Sorbonne. / Bibliographical references included in footnotes.

Thesis--Göttingen. / Cover title. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [164]-171).

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The central theme of this study is the question of turath (cultural heritage) as perceived by contemporary Arab thinkers since the Arab defeat by Israel in 1967. The diverse understandings of turath have raised various questions with respect to it, yielding a plethora of opinions that make it difficult to come up with a common definition. This unstable view of the phenomenon has led to what may be called "the problematic of turath." This study asks whether turath has the roots of the problematic or whether it is mainly the positions on it that have led to its problematization. An attempt to explore the term reveals that the contemporary meaning assigned to turath is ideological in nature, such that it is perceived as a tool for either progress or decline. To understand how this ideologization operates, the study looks at two antithetical positions on turath: that of the Islamic-modernist, H&dotbelow;asan H&dotbelow;anafi (b.1935) and that of the secular-modernist, Adonis (b. 1930). Their positions are described in the light of their intellectual and ideological backgrounds, and analyzed in view of their primary texts. The study concludes that their "imagined" visions of turath reflect biased thinking, an understanding of turath that is adapted to their own ideological stance. As an Islamic phenomenologist, H&dotbelow;anafi perceives Islamic revelation as a phenomenon present to consciousness, regarding it as authoritative due to its presumed "uncorrupted" character. This makes it suitable to any place and time and renders it the only legitimate source for renewal and progress. However, the fact that he feels a rereading of turath is necessary to achieve this goal reflects a paradox in his discourse, whereby the same turath becomes simultaneously the chief problem and the chief solution for Arab-Muslim society. By contrast, Adonis, as a secular deconstructionist, looks at the inherited turath as a "text" with a static/dynamic dualism, and tries to show that the static elements of turath, which always appear stable, logical and capable of achieving progress, make it otherwise. For him, divine revelation --- which is responsible for the predominance of the static and hence an obstacle to human freedom, creativity and progress --- must be deconstructed. This paves the way for his own agenda of replacing the static, i.e., religious elements, with dynamic or secular elements, which alone can enable the reconstruction of a new civilization. But in the process, Adonis may only be replacing the religious with the secular and merely setting in place a new static dimension.

Although gladiatorial spectacles in ancient Rome have been the subject of a great deal of recent scholarly literature, comparatively little attention has been paid to the contemporary animal spectacles and staged beast-hunts (venationes), the events most closely associated with gladiatorial combat in the imperial period. A number of different works have dealt with such topics as the origins and organization of gladiatorial combat in ancient Rome, but relatively few scholars have attempted to address similar questions concerning the venationes. Only a single monograph in English, written approximately 60 years ago, has been produced on the phenomenon of Roman animal spectacles. The purpose of .this thesis is to give a comprehensive account of Roman venationes and animal displays, incorporating, in certain cases, evidence that has only recently become available or has largely been overlooked by previous scholars. A wide variety of evidence will be used in this study, ranging from literary sources to archaeological data. The paper will trace the historical development of these spectacles, from Republican displays staged in imitation of contemporary Greek events, to the beasthunts of the Byzantine empire. Another major focus of the thesis will be the infrastructure and organization behind Roman animal spectacles, in particular the methods by which the Romans captured and transported the large numbers of animals necessary for events staged throughout the empire.