Albert Hourani
- Died
- 1413 AH
- Born in
- -
Albert Hourani (1334–1413 AH / 1915–1993 CE) was a British-Lebanese historian and scholar of Middle Eastern and Arab intellectual history, best known for his study Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1798–1939.
Early life and education
Albert Fadlo Hourani was born in Manchester to a Lebanese family whose head had emigrated from southern Lebanon to Britain. He received his primary and secondary schooling in British schools before attending Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, where he specialized in Arabic and Islamic studies. He subsequently enrolled at the American University of Beirut to study history and political science.
Career and scholarship
With the outbreak of the Second World War, Hourani returned to Britain, where he worked in the British Foreign Office and later at the Arab Office. In his academic career, he served as a professor at the University of Oxford and was also a visiting professor at Harvard University.
Hourani's scholarship analyzed the development of modern Arab political and social reflection from the early nineteenth century onward, examining how Arabic-speaking intellectuals sought to reconcile traditional concepts with Western institutions and modernity. Among his major historical writings are A History of the Arab Peoples and Minorities in the Arab World.
Death
Hourani died in a British hospital in 1413 AH / 1993 CE.
Answer updated
List of Works
Al-Fikr al-Arabi fi Asr al-Nahda (Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1798–1939) is an intellectual study examining the evolution of modern Arab political and social thought from the early nineteenth century to the outbreak of the Second World War. It analyzes the stream of reflection that emerged as Arabic-speaking intellectuals encountered modern European institutions, exploring how they sought to adopt Western ideas to revitalize their societies while preserving their Arabic and Islamic heritage.