Reflecting cutting-edge scholarship and covering more than two centuries of change, this seminal collection represents key trends in the historiography of the modern Middle East. The authors each combine a methodological theme with concrete, original research, relating theoretical issues to the actual writing of history. Their topics range from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to globalization, from well-established historical figures to new actors, from the elite to broader strata of society. Applying new kinds of methodology—showing new ways of "doing history"—the book serves as a singular guide to current developments in the field.

Doing History: Modern Middle Eastern Studies Today—I. Gershoni and U. Wokoeck.
NEW DIMENSIONS OF MODERNIZING PROCESSES.
The Great Ottoman Debasement, 1808-1844: A Political Economy Framework—S. Pamuk.
A Prelude to Ottoman Reform: Ibn ‘Abidin on Custom and Legal Change—W.B. Hallaq.
The Damascus Affair and the Beginnings of France's Empire in the Middle East—M.C. Wilson.
The Gender of Modernity: Reflections from Iranian Historiography—A. Najmabadi.
GLOBALIZATION THEN AND NOW.
From Liberalism to Liberal Imperialism: Lord Cromer and the First Wave of Globalization in Egypt—R. Owen.
Late Capitalism and the Reformation of the Working Classes in the Middle East—J. Beinin.
RECOVERING LOST VOICES IN THE AGE OF COLONIALISM.
Exploring the Field: Lost Voices and Emerging Practices in Egypt, 1882-1914—Z. Lockman.
Slaves or Siblings?: Abdallah al-Nadim's Dialogues About the Family—E.M. Troutt Powell.
Shaikh al-Ra'is and Sultan Abdülhamid II: The Iranian Dimension of Pan-Islam—J.R.I. Cole.
CONSTRUCTING IDENTITIES, DEFINING NATIONS. Recruitment for the "Victorious Soldiers of Muhammad" in the Arab Provinces, 1826-1828—H. Erdem.
The Politics of History and Memory: A Multidimensional Analysis of the Lausanne Peace Conference, 1922-1923—F.M. Göçek.
Arab Society in Mandatory Palestine: The Half-Full Glass?—R. Khalidi.
Manly Men on a National Stage (and the Women Who Make Them Stars)—W. Armbrust.
CONCLUSION.
The Return of Concrete?—I. Gershoni and U. Wokoeck.