Dr. Ziad Abu-Rish
Dr. Ziad Abu-Rish, Assistant Professor of History at Ohio University, was part of a Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars panel discussion marking the launch of the History and Public Policy Program’s latest addition to its digital archive: The Emir Farid Chehab Collection.
According to a Wilson Center announcement,
The Emir Farid Chehab Collection contains the personal papers of Lebanese spymaster, Emir Farid Chehab, the first director of Lebanon’s intelligence agency, the Surete Generale. The papers extend from the beginning of Chehab’s career in the Lebanese police during the French Mandate in the 1930s all the way through his career as a diplomat into the 1980s.\
Panelists during the event. Photo courtesy of Wilson Center and Youmna Asseily.
The Wilson Center marked the launch with a panel discussion about the Chehab Collection in relation to broader questions of Lebanese history and research about that history. Jane Harman, Director, President, and CEO of the Wilson Center kicked off the panel by welcoming the audience and introducing Dr. Christian Osterman, director of the History and Public Policy Program, who provided an overview of the Chehab Collection. The panel discussion followed, featuring commentary by Youman Asseily (Chehab’s daughter and curator of the collection), former US Ambassador Richard Murphy, Dr. Paul Salem (Director of the Middle East Institute), and Abu-Rish.
Abu-Rish speaking during the event, flanked by Asseily to his right and Salem to his right. Photo courtesy of Wilson Center and Youmna Asseily.
Abu-Rish’s own research focuses on state institutions in Lebanon during the 1940s and 1950s. He himself has made extensive use of this archive (prior to its digitization) in the preparation of the his current book manuscript. It was for this reason that The Wilson Center invited Abu-Rish to participation in the archive launch panel event. During his comments, Abu-Rish explained the collection’s significance to the historiography of the Middle East during the Cold War and to Lebanese history in particular. He specifically discussed the ways in which access to this collection opens up new possibilities for historical research and critical analysis of state formation, institutional building, political mobilization, and much more regarding Lebanon.
For more on Abu-Rish’s research interests, visit his departmental profile.
For more on the Farid Chehab, check out the collection.
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