Reporting on Egyptian Education: Western Press Coverage and Misrepresentation of Egyptian Education Reform at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Standing
Graduate (Masters)
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Shauna Huffaker
Proposal
The Western press seemed to have a lot to say about the affairs of Egypt at the turn of the twentieth century, and particularly about the education of Egyptians. The country under British occupation from 1882 to 1922 saw the rise of colonial educational reforms, American missionary projects, and foreign-subsidized schools. Consequently, newspapers in North America reported extensively on these European and American educational excursions.
In the view of the reporters writing in these publications, the so-called “enlightenment” of Egyptians was dependent on their adoption of Western moral ideals and instructional models. The main criticisms levelled at Egyptian education centred on what was viewed as the “incompetence” of native instructors and schools, namely Muslim ones, as well as the need for the modern education of young women. Moreover, Christian or Western schooling was posited as the way to “civilize” these indigenous populations.
However, the realities on the ground, as covered in Egyptian sources, tell a much more different and complicated story in which Egyptians are advancing their own projects of reform, and in which foreign education is inadequate in meeting their needs. This study of collected articles in North American and Egyptian sources at the time reveals these stark contrasts and highlights the central role of education in debates on social, moral, and political transformation. Ultimately, this project also points to the role Western journalism has played, then and now, in shaping discourse on affairs abroad while failing to accurately represent the agency of the societies on which it reports.
Availability
Any
Reporting on Egyptian Education: Western Press Coverage and Misrepresentation of Egyptian Education Reform at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
The Western press seemed to have a lot to say about the affairs of Egypt at the turn of the twentieth century, and particularly about the education of Egyptians. The country under British occupation from 1882 to 1922 saw the rise of colonial educational reforms, American missionary projects, and foreign-subsidized schools. Consequently, newspapers in North America reported extensively on these European and American educational excursions.
In the view of the reporters writing in these publications, the so-called “enlightenment” of Egyptians was dependent on their adoption of Western moral ideals and instructional models. The main criticisms levelled at Egyptian education centred on what was viewed as the “incompetence” of native instructors and schools, namely Muslim ones, as well as the need for the modern education of young women. Moreover, Christian or Western schooling was posited as the way to “civilize” these indigenous populations.
However, the realities on the ground, as covered in Egyptian sources, tell a much more different and complicated story in which Egyptians are advancing their own projects of reform, and in which foreign education is inadequate in meeting their needs. This study of collected articles in North American and Egyptian sources at the time reveals these stark contrasts and highlights the central role of education in debates on social, moral, and political transformation. Ultimately, this project also points to the role Western journalism has played, then and now, in shaping discourse on affairs abroad while failing to accurately represent the agency of the societies on which it reports.