Sarah Cavanaugh PS258 Book Review

Regardless of who holds the dominant narrative in a society, groups who are repressed are still able to react and adjust to their constraints. In Farha Ghannams Remaking the Modern: Space, Relocation and the Politics of Identity in a Global Cairo, the reader is introduced to the issue of forced relocation of residents from the lower-class neighborhood of Bulaq to a statesupported modernized housing project in 20th century Cairo, and how their identity has been shapedfor worse and for betterin the past few decades. Ghannam utilizes her ability to slip in and out of Egyptian society extraordinarily well, and emerges with a comprehensive study of those affected by the relocation and their lives today, taking into account such factors as gender, religion, and class. Relating this specific case to other examples of transformed factions of societies in times of modern change could have strengthened Ghannams study, but her account and evaluation are nonetheless valuable and worth measuring against similar situations in todays global world. Ghannam argues that Sadats modernization agenda was not only expressed in Egypts policies, but in the daily lives of working-class people as well. The results of this agenda, she argues, were manifested in positive and negative ways. Some aspects of modernity put in place by the state were embraced, while others were rejected. Both outcomes, however, have influenced the relocated group from Bulaqs cultural identity and practices. Ghannams argument comes from her years of fieldwork in Cairo in the early 90s, and is based on numerous interviews, observations, and social media outlets such as newspapers and television. She focuses on the issue of modernity in the politics of selectionthe idea, as she defines it, that there is a general feeling that one should be selective about what to appropriate and what to discard (21). To present her case, Ghannam examines how the modern has been accepted or rejected in Cairo and how this is linked to spatial practices of the working-class of al-Zawiya.

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She also argues that the adoption of certain modern practices differs among men and women, older and younger generations, and richer and poorer members of the relocated group. Ghannam first introduces us to the issue of the relocation from Bulaq to al-Zawiya by providing us the reasoning behind President Sadats policies of westernizing and modernizing Cairo (and Egypt as a whole.) She argues that these policies directly depended on keeping out the decrepit, lower class infrastructure of neighborhoods such as Bulaq. Sadats ability to mobilize support for relocation projects was dependent on the states discourse, which focused on highlighting the negative aspects of Bulaq and ignoring the positive. The majority of her argument, however, comes not from the state, but from the people themselves. While it was the state that relocated the residents of Bulaq, Ghannam concentrates on how the relocated group reacts and adapt to their new apartments and lifestyle. Ghannam places much importance on space, because, she argues, it is one of the most influential factors in defining the peoples cultural identity and how they relate to others. The modern space given to them by the state, Ghannam argues, has also allowed for a unified cultural identity as former residents of Bulaq. Additionally, she contends that the relocation resulted in a loss of familiarity and rootedness, which provided them with a sense of security in Bulaq. Ghannam also differentiates between gender, and the power that men felt they had to assert over women to maintain the social order that was being threatened by the move to al-Zawiya by restricting their access to public spaces. Ghannam also argues that this gap between the genders is pacified by religion, and contends that the mosque is seen by residents of al-Zawiya as not only a safe haven, but as a space for regaining the collective identity they lost through the relocation process. The mosque, Ghannam argues, has become the premier area for shaping a

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cultural identity outside of the home, but it has also paved the way for forming the interactions between the diverse groups of people that have come to live in al-Zawiya. To substantiate her claims, Ghannam presents the reader with numerous anecdotes, interviews, and observations she encountered during her years of fieldwork in Cairo. The majority of her evidence is a firsthand account of the relocated group from Bulaq, but she also utilizes alternative case studies from other anthropologists to reinforce her arguments, such as Pierre Bourdieus study of a relocation project in Algeria during the 1960s. Rooted mostly on her own observations and interactions with the residents of al-Zawiya, Ghannam concludes that her numerous contentions are supported through the first-hand accounts of the people who lived through the relocation, as well as a thorough observation of how they have responded to the move from Bulaq to al-Zawiya. Overall, Ghannams argument is effective and convincing. As a semi-insider (a Muslim born Palestinian raised in Jordan) Ghannam is able to interact with those she came across when doing fieldwork. It also allowed her to incorporate the interactions and conversations she had while going about her daily life in Cairo. Yet Ghannam was removed enough from the intricate social networks of settled life in Cairo (and specifically al-Zawiya) to allow her to remove herself from situations and take an objective view. She was also inhibited by her gender and religion, which diminished many chances at in-depth conversations or interactions with men or Christians. Her case is especially strong when examining the role of Islam and the importance of gender. Both of these factors have deeply-rooted functions in the day-to-day lives of those Ghannam observes, and she gives well-documented examples of just how important these characteristics are to individuals and the group or society as a whole.

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Ghannams weakness comes from over-emphasizing the notion of a global Cairo. The entire first chapter is devoted to President Sadats policies aimed at westernizing and modernizing Cairo. However, this idea of global as a relevant theme to the relocation of the lower-class residents of Bulaq is mostly deserted in the following chapters. It is revisited in only a couple of Ghannams anecdotes, such as the example of the horse farmer, Mohammad. Ghannam addressed the issue of Cairos globalization by discussing how as the link between Mohammad (and in a broader, more symbolic sense, Egypt itself) and the United States strengthened, his familys roots to their traditional culture weakened. It was one of the strongest, most effective anecdotes, and the relative absence of examples similar to it resulted in a huge weakness in what could have been Ghannams strongest argument. This first chapter also focuses on the policies of westernization that Sadat enacted as President. As a history major, I believe that no examination of events is thorough without an examination of what led up to them. Unfortunately, this is largely left out in Ghannams summary of Sadats economic and social policies. Prior to the 70s when these reforms were enacted, Egypt was closed off to the West, but it held a close relationship with the Soviet Union. For me, the lack of notation on the importance of this to Egypts reforms and its effects on its citizens was glaring, but then again, it is entirely possible that Ghannam considered this and in the end felt it was not essential to the overall point of her argument. Personally, however, I would have included it when addressing the drastic economic and social reforms enacted during this time. The authors conceptualization of modern also leads to a weakness in her argument. Ghannam never takes a firm stance on what it means to be modern. Instead, she focuses on the states conceptualization of modernization. While this is a fine definition, it would have helped to discuss what the residents of al-Zawiya conceptualize the modern. Finally, it could have added to Ghannams argument

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to pan out from the relocated members of Bulaq and look at how all the residents of al-Zawiya have adjusted to the modernized housing. The patterns that Ghannam highlights are not specific to the neighborhoods of Bulaq and al-Zawiya, nor are they an isolated incident. It would have added to the effectiveness of the argument to note this. These are all trivial complaints, and they do not drastically deter from the effectiveness of Ghannams portrayal of a working-class Cairo neighborhood. Remaking the Modern captures the complex and varied reactions to local change in an increasingly global world, and allows the reader to examine the advantages and disadvantages of modernizationand, indeed, what it even means to be modern. The state may pervade a societys customs, lifestyle, and personal freedoms, but they cannot foresee or control how its citizens will react to such constraints, and Ghannam does an excellent job of analyzing this phenomenon.