Book Review - Laroui Asks Himself about Self and Nation: A Reading of “Istibana”

Abstract

The writings of Laroui enjoy an academic following not only because of their subject and the deep concepts the works address, but because of the range of approaches used. The combination allows Laroui to go beyond his passion for history with a style he considers "more of an art than a science; more of a novel than an analytical article." His work draws on politics, sociology, philosophy, and other disciplines to help him with probing questions. If his academic publications vary in terms of subjects studied and methods used, they all reflect his commitment to a theoretical framework marked by a unity of content and intellectual production. Each of his works aim to understand both self and reality. They are all inspired by the hope that individuals within the Arab world will think deeply about the determinants of their individual and collective existence within the context and challenges of modernizatio