Sonja Mejcher-Atassi is Assistant Professor in the Civilization Sequence Program at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Her research focuses on modern Arabic literature and art, interarts studies and book art.

John Pedro Schwartz is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the American University of Beirut, where he specializes in modern British and American literature.

Contents: Introduction: challenges and directions in an emerging field of research, Sonja Mejcher-Atassi and John Pedro Schwartz; Part I Local Representations of Modernity: Collecting the nation: lexicography and national pedagogy in al-nahda al-'arabiya, Nadia Bou Ali; Between looters and private collectors: the tragic fate of Lebanese antiquities, Hélène Sader; Tawfik Canann - collectionneur par excellence: the story behind the Palestinian amulet collection at Birzeit University, Vera Tamari. Part II Collecting Practices, Historiographic Practices: The good, the bad and the ugly: collector, dealer and academic in the informal old-paper markets of Cairo, Lucie Ryzova; The reform of history school textbooks in Lebanon: collecting conflict memories in a peace-building process (1996-2001), Betty Gilbert Sleiman; The Beit Beirut project: heritage practices and the Bakarat building, Sophie Brones. Part III From Institutional to Artistic Practices of Collecting: The formation of the Khalid Shoman private collection and the founding of Darat al Funun, Sarah A. Rogers; The ecstasy of property: collecting in the United Arab Emirates, Emily Doherty; Collecting modern Iraqi art, Nada Shabout; Collecting the uncanny and the labour of missing, Walid Sadek; Index.

This unique book is the first to explore collecting practices in archives and museums in the modern Arab Middle East, featuring case studies of collecting practices in countries ranging from Egypt and Lebanon to Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and the Gulf states, and providing a theoretical and methodological basis for future research. The book will be of great interest not only to scholars and students of the modern Arab world but also to professionals in museums and collections in the region, as well as around the world.