• Sound Minds in Sound Bodies: Transnational Philanthropy and Patriotic Masculinity in al-Nadi al-Homsi and Syrian Brazil, 1920–32

    Author(s):
    Stacy Fahrenthold (see profile)
    Date:
    2014
    Group(s):
    History
    Subject(s):
    Emigration and immigration, History, Latin America, Middle East, Transnationalism, Historiography
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    gender, lebanon, migration, Orphans, syria, Gender studies, Immigration history, Latin American history, Middle Eastern history, Transnational history
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6ZB7X
    Abstract:
    Established in 1920, al-Nadi al-Homsi in Sao Paulo, Brazil was a young men’s club devoted to ˜Syrian patriotic activism and culture in the American mahjar (diaspora). Founded by a transnational network of intellectuals from Homs, the fraternity committed itself to what it saw as a crucial aspect of Syrian national independence under Amir Faysal: the development of a political middle class and a masculine patriotic culture. Al-Nadi al-Homsi directed this project at Syrian youth, opening orphanages, libraries, and schools in both Syria and in Brazil. In these spaces, men and boys congregated to celebrate a polite male culture centered on secular philanthropy, popular education, and corporeal discipline through sports. This article argues that during the 1920s and 1930s, al-Nadi al-Homsi’s politics of benevolence was part of a larger social milieu that drew analogies between strong Syrian minds and bodies and a sovereign, independent Syrian homeland.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Journal article    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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