Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores the role of academics as nation-builders and key players in the game of literaryrecognition. More specifically, it examines the nationalistic motivations behind the canonization process to which the literature of the Lebanese-American poet Gibran Kahlil Gibran has been subjected, focusing on the work of Suheil Bushrui, the Lebanese founding director of Gibran Chair. The article argues that his canonization activities led to the entry of Gibran’s literature into multiple book series of classics in world literature, while also promoting Lebanon’s national identity andburnishing its image during and after the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990). The findings suggest that academics play a crucial role as gatekeepers behind the canon. No matter how widely read aliterary work is, its inclusion in major collections of world literature depends on the judgment of specialized scholars. However, the article underscores a significant shift in the game of literaryrecognition: the rise of social media influencers as gatekeepers.
Source: Interférences Litteraires
Author: Ali, Hisham Muhammad
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W6983196585
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