Becoming theMuʿallim: how tradition and innovation made aNahḍaicon

Abstract

AbstractOne cannot speak of the nineteenth-century BeirutNahḍaand not mentionMuʿallimBuṭrus al-Bustānī (1819–83). This article examines how al-Bustānī utilized the Arabic oratorical tradition and the innovative medium of print to create theMuʿallimbrand. The first section analyses hisKhuṭba fī Ādāb al-ʿArab(An Oration on the Culture of the Arabs, 1859) to illustrate how he operationalized the Arabic rhetorical style to position himself as an eloquent public intellectual. This article next discusses how he built parts of this lecture onsariqāt(literary thefts/legitimate borrowings) from his contemporaries and participated in the collective practice of knowledge production. Lastly, al-Bustānī's advertising tactics in print to promote his public persona are explored. This article demonstrates that al-Bustānī successfully established himself as theMuʿallimby coupling the enduring cultural power of Arabic oration with the modern might of print.