Books by Esther Moeller
Late Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon were characterized by an exceptionally dense concentration... more Late Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon were characterized by an exceptionally dense concentration of diverse educational institutions. Research on education in Bilad al-Sham during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has hithterto focused on individual institutions or movements. Stemming from an international workshop held at the Orient Institute of Beirut in April 2012, this volume challenges the established narrative by presenting twelve innovative studies of local and foreign schools that emphasize the entanglements of individuals, concepts and practices. Situated within the field of transnational history, the chapters of this volume illuminate the manifold conversations that entwined students, teachers and the public in debates over how to create a modern Arab society and the role of education within.
English Abstract:
This book deals with the history of French schools in Lebanon in a context of i... more English Abstract:
This book deals with the history of French schools in Lebanon in a context of increasing colonial domination. By covering the period from the end of the Ottoman empire through the French mandate in Lebanon, it analyzes the extent to which French schools acted in the interest of the French government on the one hand, and the Lebanese population on the other.
German Abstract:
Im Zentrum dieses Werkes stehen die französischen Schulen im Libanon in der historischen Zeitepoche der wachsenden französischen Einflussnahme von 1909 bis 1943. Anhand der verschiedenen politischen Regime des Osmanischen Reiches und des französischen Völkerbundmandats über den Libanon wird die These untermauert, dass diese Schulen immer stärker zu Instrumenten kolonialer Machtausübung wurden. Gleichzeitig zeigt Esther Möller, dass die Bildungseinrichtungen ebenso stark von der Akzeptanz und den Erwartungen der libanesischen Bevölkerung abhingen und von dieser zur kulturellen, religiösen und nationalen Identitätsstiftung genutzt wurden. Indem die Studie die komplexen Prozesse aufzeigt, welche die französische Zivilisierungsmission im Libanon begleiteten, leistet sie einen wichtigen Beitrag zur hochaktuellen Debatte um Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten und Grenzen von Zivilisierungsmissionen.
Journal Articles by Esther Moeller
Endowment Studies, 2022
The article investigates the emergence and transformation of humanitarian associations in Egypt f... more The article investigates the emergence and transformation of humanitarian associations in Egypt from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. It argues that on the one hand these associations were new institutions echoing the foundation of new charitable organisations worldwide and in Egypt. The colonial domination of Egypt and its refusal by the Egyptians thereby played a prominent role. On the other hand, the humanitarian associations have to be seen in the continuity of long-established practices and discourses of charity, performed in particular by religious endowments (awq f). Based on the example of the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is explored through a wide range of un explorer Egyptian, British and Swiss archives as well as a broad historiography in European and Arabic languages, this article emphasises the interconnections between international, regional, national and local institutions in Egypt in the !eld of philanthropy.
The Suez Crisis of 1956 is generally seen in historical research as a moment both of Great Britai... more The Suez Crisis of 1956 is generally seen in historical research as a moment both of Great Britain’s imperial decline and of Egyptian and Arab political self-determination in the Middle East. Yet the humanitarian aspect of this crisis is still neglected, even though it provoked important humanitarian engagements from different sides, Arab as well as Western. By focusing on the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement, this article investigates not only motives, forms and structures of humanitarian relief, but also analyses the successes and difficulties of transnational co-operation between Western and non-Western agencies with a special focus on the application of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Finally, the article addresses the political dimension beyond concrete forms of help by arguing that the Suez Crisis attested to both the persistence of post-colonial structures and the institutionalisation of new, transnational patterns of co-operation.
Gescichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht 66, Heft 1/2, Themenheft "Menschenrechte und Humanitarismus", Jan 2015
Humanitarianism without frontiers? The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the Israel/Palestin... more Humanitarianism without frontiers? The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the Israel/Palestine conflict 1948/1949
This contribution looks at humanitarian cooperation between European and Non-European organizations by focusing on the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Although this movement proclaimed and often acted beyond national, religious or ethnic borders, its national societies were nonetheless influenced by different political and religious considerations which created also conflicts between them. The question of the Palestinian refugees in 1948/1949 was such a conflict where diverse perspectives of historical, political and religious dimension influenced the Red Cross and Red Crescent socities’ activities. With a focus on the Egyptian Red Crescent on the one hand and the British Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross on the other, this contribution tries to shed light on the possibilities and limits of humanitarian cooperation between the “West” and “the Arab World”.
Conference Presentations by Esther Moeller
When looking at archives of French schools in Mandate Lebanon, one is struck by the sudden appear... more When looking at archives of French schools in Mandate Lebanon, one is struck by the sudden appearance in the 1930s and 1940s of sports as an important aspect. Physical education became not only an inherent part of the curriculum, but of the school life in general: teachers highlighted the benefits of sports, competitions were organized between different French schools and even with other foreign and local schools in Lebanon. Finally, the political dimension of sports was also underlined by both educators and parents, as they considered physical exercises as an element of decolonization and nationalism.
The influence of sports on nationalist movements has been already dealt with in research on national, but also on colonial and postcolonial societies (see for example Claire E. Nolte, The Sokol in the Czech Lands to 1914: Training for the Nation, Basingstoke 2002; Stefan Hübner, “The Fourth Asian Games (Jakarta 1962) in a Transnational Perspective: Japanese and Indian Reactions to Indonesia’s Political Instrumentalisation of the Games,” in: International Journal of the History of Sport 29,9 (2012), 1295-1310, or the current research project by Harald Fischer-Tiné/ETZ Zuerich, „Muscling in on Asia: the Y.M.C.A in India and Ceylon, c. 1890-1950“). Yet, its interlinkage with education and educational institutions seems still a research lack.
This is where my presentation wants to step in and investigate the relationship between sports, education and decolonization. It asks, in how far French schools in Lebanon, by suddenly highlighting the importance of sports, were influenced by both American educational institutions and Lebanese nationalist groups in the country and how they conceived their sports offers as part of the decolonization and nation-building process in Lebanon. Special attention will be paid to the following questions: which kind of activities were exactly introduced in and by the schools, were these Western or Non-Western sports? What were the students’ and parents’ reactions to these offers? How did political groups, both colonial administrators and national politicians try to use this interest in sports for their own political agenda, thus defending their „bulding of the body of tomorrow“?
The analysis will be based on archives from France and Lebanon which include state archives, as well as archives of the different educational institutions. Especially the latter contain rich records of photos, speeches and correspondences highlighting the importance of sports for both educational and political purposes.
Networks by Esther Moeller
From the mid-19th century until the 1970’s, the Middle East witnessed the presence of various Eur... more From the mid-19th century until the 1970’s, the Middle East witnessed the presence of various European missionaries who played a fundamental role in the birth and the development of humanitarianism. Since these Christian missionaries were well integrated in the local Middle Eastern societies via their investment in health, they were the favourite intermediaries for foreign diplomats. This project seeks to explore the points of contact between European ‘humanitarian diplomacy’ (praxis and law) and the missionaries.
Select Invited Talks in Research Seminars by Esther Moeller
Call for Papers by Esther Moeller
This conference will discuss the relationship between gender and humanitarian discourse and pract... more This conference will discuss the relationship between gender and humanitarian discourse and practice in the twentieth century. Although the history of humanitarianism has recently attracted attention from scholars working in a variety of fields, surprisingly little has been said about the workings of gender in this globalizing enterprise. To fill this gap, this interdisciplinary conference will analyze the ways in which constructions and ideologies of gender shaped and were shaped by humanitarian practices, interactions, ideas, and bodies. We invite innovative contributions from historians, anthropologists, social scientists and from the humanities discussing twentieth-century humanitarian actors (organizations, movements, and individual activists), discourses and practices in the context of gender. The conference particularly emphasizes the time between the First World War and the end of the Cold War, with a special focus on the (re)production of humanitarian structures, organizations and orders in both postwar periods and in the context of heightened colonialism and decolonization.
Book Chapters by Esther Moeller
Entangled Education: Foreign and Local Schools in Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon (19th-20th centuries), 2016
Late Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon were characterized by an exceptionally dense concentration... more Late Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon were characterized by an exceptionally dense concentration of diverse educational institutions. Research on education in Bilad al-Sham during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has hithterto focused on individual institutions or movements. Stemming from an international workshop held at the Orient Institute of Beirut in April 2012, this volume challenges the established narrative by presenting twelve innovative studies of local and foreign schools that emphasize the entanglements of individuals, concepts and practices. Situated within the field of transnational history, the chapters of this volume illuminate the manifold conversations that entwined students, teachers and the public in debates over how to create a modern Arab society and the role of education within.
Julia Hauser, Christine B. Lindner and Esther Möller, eds., Entangled Education: Foreign and Local Schools in Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon (19th-20th centuries), Beiruter Texte und Studien (BTS) | 137, (Würzburg: Ergon-Verlag, 2016), ISBN 978-3-95650-101-2
Articles by Esther Moeller
Menja Holtz/ Esther Möller/ Franziska Torma (Hg.): Spuren. Zur Materialität kultureller Begegnungen (= Saeculum), 2016
Papers by Esther Moeller
Endowment studies, Dec 30, 2022
The article investigates the emergence and transformation of humanitarian associations in Egypt f... more The article investigates the emergence and transformation of humanitarian associations in Egypt from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. It argues that on the one hand these associations were new institutions echoing the foundation of new charitable organisations worldwide and in Egypt. The colonial domination of Egypt and its refusal by the Egyptians thereby played a prominent role. On the other hand, the humanitarian associations have to be seen in the continuity of long-established practices and discourses of charity, performed in particular by religious endowments (awq f). Based on the example of the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is explored through a wide range of un explorer Egyptian, British and Swiss archives as well as a broad historiography in European and Arabic languages, this article emphasises the interconnections between international, regional, national and local institutions in Egypt in the !eld of philanthropy.
The research program "Humanitarian Policy Group" at the British research institute ODI ... more The research program "Humanitarian Policy Group" at the British research institute ODI (Overseas Development Institute) in London has recently published the first results of its project on "The global history of humanitarian action", focusing on the history of humanitarian action in the Middle East and North Africa. This study, edited by Eleanor Davey and Eva Svoboda, offers interesting insights into both the still unexplored history of humanitarianism in the Arab World and its important link...
Civilizing Missions in the Twentieth Century, 2020
European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire, 2016
The Suez Crisis of 1956 is generally seen in historical research as a moment both of Great Britai... more The Suez Crisis of 1956 is generally seen in historical research as a moment both of Great Britain's imperial decline and of Egyptian and Arab political self-determination in the Middle East. Yet the humanitarian aspect of this crisis is still neglected, even though it provoked important humanitarian engagements from different sides, Arab as well as Western. By focusing on the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement, this article investigates not only motives, forms and structures of humanitarian relief, but also analyses the successes and difficulties of transnational cooperation between Western and non-Western agencies with a special focus on the application of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Finally, the article addresses the political dimension beyond concrete forms of help by arguing that the Suez Crisis attested to both the persistence of post-colonial structures and the institutionalisation of new, transnational patterns of cooperation .
Journal of Jesuit Studies, 2017
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte Mainz Beihefte, 2013
* Der Sammelband ist das Ergebnis eines konzeptionellen und inhaltlichen Diskussionsprozesses übe... more * Der Sammelband ist das Ergebnis eines konzeptionellen und inhaltlichen Diskussionsprozesses über »Bildungsräume« im Rahmen des Forschungsbereichs »Raumbezogene Forschungen zur Geschichte Europas« am Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte. Die Herausgeber danken allen Teilnehmern am initialen Workshop und den übrigen Autoren für ihre Anregungen. Ein besonderer Dank geht an stud. phil. Sara Mehlmer für ihre tatkräftige Mithilfe bei der Redaktion sowie an Dr. David Käbisch und Dr. Thomas Weller für ihre kritischen Anmerkungen zur Einleitung. 1 Vgl. Eckhardt FUCHS / Sylvia KESPER-BIERMANN, Regionen in der deutschen Staatenwelt. Bildungsräume und Transferprozesse im 19. Jahrhundert, in: Eckhardt FUCHS / Sylvia KESPER-BIERMANN / Christian RITZI (Hg.), Regionen in der deutschen Staatenwelt. Bildungsräume und Transferprozesse im 19. Jahrhundert, Bad Heilbrunn 2011, S. 9-27. 2 Zu unterschiedlichen Ansätzen und Themen einer transnationalen Geschichtsschreibung vgl.:
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte Mainz, 2013
Anhand des Verhältnisses katholischer Missionare und des französischen Kolonialstaates in Indochi... more Anhand des Verhältnisses katholischer Missionare und des französischen Kolonialstaates in Indochina, Polynesien und Madagaskar konnte der Autor zeigen, dass vor Ort pragmatische Bündnisse oft wichtiger waren als ideologische Unterschiede, dass letztere aber auch hitzige Debatten über das Gesicht Frankreichs in der Welt auslösten. Vgl. auch die Aufsätze in Philippe delisle (Hg.), L'anticléricalisme dans les colonies françaises sous la Troisième République, Paris 2009. 45 Vgl. Henry laurens, La présence française au Proche-Orient du XVII e siècle à la Première Guerre mondiale, in: Bernard delPal / Bernard hours / Claude Prudhomme (Hg.
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Books by Esther Moeller
This book deals with the history of French schools in Lebanon in a context of increasing colonial domination. By covering the period from the end of the Ottoman empire through the French mandate in Lebanon, it analyzes the extent to which French schools acted in the interest of the French government on the one hand, and the Lebanese population on the other.
German Abstract:
Im Zentrum dieses Werkes stehen die französischen Schulen im Libanon in der historischen Zeitepoche der wachsenden französischen Einflussnahme von 1909 bis 1943. Anhand der verschiedenen politischen Regime des Osmanischen Reiches und des französischen Völkerbundmandats über den Libanon wird die These untermauert, dass diese Schulen immer stärker zu Instrumenten kolonialer Machtausübung wurden. Gleichzeitig zeigt Esther Möller, dass die Bildungseinrichtungen ebenso stark von der Akzeptanz und den Erwartungen der libanesischen Bevölkerung abhingen und von dieser zur kulturellen, religiösen und nationalen Identitätsstiftung genutzt wurden. Indem die Studie die komplexen Prozesse aufzeigt, welche die französische Zivilisierungsmission im Libanon begleiteten, leistet sie einen wichtigen Beitrag zur hochaktuellen Debatte um Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten und Grenzen von Zivilisierungsmissionen.
Journal Articles by Esther Moeller
This contribution looks at humanitarian cooperation between European and Non-European organizations by focusing on the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Although this movement proclaimed and often acted beyond national, religious or ethnic borders, its national societies were nonetheless influenced by different political and religious considerations which created also conflicts between them. The question of the Palestinian refugees in 1948/1949 was such a conflict where diverse perspectives of historical, political and religious dimension influenced the Red Cross and Red Crescent socities’ activities. With a focus on the Egyptian Red Crescent on the one hand and the British Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross on the other, this contribution tries to shed light on the possibilities and limits of humanitarian cooperation between the “West” and “the Arab World”.
Conference Presentations by Esther Moeller
The influence of sports on nationalist movements has been already dealt with in research on national, but also on colonial and postcolonial societies (see for example Claire E. Nolte, The Sokol in the Czech Lands to 1914: Training for the Nation, Basingstoke 2002; Stefan Hübner, “The Fourth Asian Games (Jakarta 1962) in a Transnational Perspective: Japanese and Indian Reactions to Indonesia’s Political Instrumentalisation of the Games,” in: International Journal of the History of Sport 29,9 (2012), 1295-1310, or the current research project by Harald Fischer-Tiné/ETZ Zuerich, „Muscling in on Asia: the Y.M.C.A in India and Ceylon, c. 1890-1950“). Yet, its interlinkage with education and educational institutions seems still a research lack.
This is where my presentation wants to step in and investigate the relationship between sports, education and decolonization. It asks, in how far French schools in Lebanon, by suddenly highlighting the importance of sports, were influenced by both American educational institutions and Lebanese nationalist groups in the country and how they conceived their sports offers as part of the decolonization and nation-building process in Lebanon. Special attention will be paid to the following questions: which kind of activities were exactly introduced in and by the schools, were these Western or Non-Western sports? What were the students’ and parents’ reactions to these offers? How did political groups, both colonial administrators and national politicians try to use this interest in sports for their own political agenda, thus defending their „bulding of the body of tomorrow“?
The analysis will be based on archives from France and Lebanon which include state archives, as well as archives of the different educational institutions. Especially the latter contain rich records of photos, speeches and correspondences highlighting the importance of sports for both educational and political purposes.
Networks by Esther Moeller
Select Invited Talks in Research Seminars by Esther Moeller
Call for Papers by Esther Moeller
Book Chapters by Esther Moeller
Julia Hauser, Christine B. Lindner and Esther Möller, eds., Entangled Education: Foreign and Local Schools in Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon (19th-20th centuries), Beiruter Texte und Studien (BTS) | 137, (Würzburg: Ergon-Verlag, 2016), ISBN 978-3-95650-101-2
Articles by Esther Moeller
Papers by Esther Moeller
This book deals with the history of French schools in Lebanon in a context of increasing colonial domination. By covering the period from the end of the Ottoman empire through the French mandate in Lebanon, it analyzes the extent to which French schools acted in the interest of the French government on the one hand, and the Lebanese population on the other.
German Abstract:
Im Zentrum dieses Werkes stehen die französischen Schulen im Libanon in der historischen Zeitepoche der wachsenden französischen Einflussnahme von 1909 bis 1943. Anhand der verschiedenen politischen Regime des Osmanischen Reiches und des französischen Völkerbundmandats über den Libanon wird die These untermauert, dass diese Schulen immer stärker zu Instrumenten kolonialer Machtausübung wurden. Gleichzeitig zeigt Esther Möller, dass die Bildungseinrichtungen ebenso stark von der Akzeptanz und den Erwartungen der libanesischen Bevölkerung abhingen und von dieser zur kulturellen, religiösen und nationalen Identitätsstiftung genutzt wurden. Indem die Studie die komplexen Prozesse aufzeigt, welche die französische Zivilisierungsmission im Libanon begleiteten, leistet sie einen wichtigen Beitrag zur hochaktuellen Debatte um Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten und Grenzen von Zivilisierungsmissionen.
This contribution looks at humanitarian cooperation between European and Non-European organizations by focusing on the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Although this movement proclaimed and often acted beyond national, religious or ethnic borders, its national societies were nonetheless influenced by different political and religious considerations which created also conflicts between them. The question of the Palestinian refugees in 1948/1949 was such a conflict where diverse perspectives of historical, political and religious dimension influenced the Red Cross and Red Crescent socities’ activities. With a focus on the Egyptian Red Crescent on the one hand and the British Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross on the other, this contribution tries to shed light on the possibilities and limits of humanitarian cooperation between the “West” and “the Arab World”.
The influence of sports on nationalist movements has been already dealt with in research on national, but also on colonial and postcolonial societies (see for example Claire E. Nolte, The Sokol in the Czech Lands to 1914: Training for the Nation, Basingstoke 2002; Stefan Hübner, “The Fourth Asian Games (Jakarta 1962) in a Transnational Perspective: Japanese and Indian Reactions to Indonesia’s Political Instrumentalisation of the Games,” in: International Journal of the History of Sport 29,9 (2012), 1295-1310, or the current research project by Harald Fischer-Tiné/ETZ Zuerich, „Muscling in on Asia: the Y.M.C.A in India and Ceylon, c. 1890-1950“). Yet, its interlinkage with education and educational institutions seems still a research lack.
This is where my presentation wants to step in and investigate the relationship between sports, education and decolonization. It asks, in how far French schools in Lebanon, by suddenly highlighting the importance of sports, were influenced by both American educational institutions and Lebanese nationalist groups in the country and how they conceived their sports offers as part of the decolonization and nation-building process in Lebanon. Special attention will be paid to the following questions: which kind of activities were exactly introduced in and by the schools, were these Western or Non-Western sports? What were the students’ and parents’ reactions to these offers? How did political groups, both colonial administrators and national politicians try to use this interest in sports for their own political agenda, thus defending their „bulding of the body of tomorrow“?
The analysis will be based on archives from France and Lebanon which include state archives, as well as archives of the different educational institutions. Especially the latter contain rich records of photos, speeches and correspondences highlighting the importance of sports for both educational and political purposes.
Julia Hauser, Christine B. Lindner and Esther Möller, eds., Entangled Education: Foreign and Local Schools in Ottoman Syria and Mandate Lebanon (19th-20th centuries), Beiruter Texte und Studien (BTS) | 137, (Würzburg: Ergon-Verlag, 2016), ISBN 978-3-95650-101-2