Explore new books from the AUC Press and community from the animals of ancient Egypt to Youssef Chahine's cinema.
A Trade in Dreams: A Century of Egyptian Print Advertising
Bahia Shehab (MA ’09), Professor of Practice, Department of the Arts
A visual and cultural history of print advertising in Egypt, this book traces how consumer imagery shaped ideas of modernity between 1880 and 1980. Drawing on more than 350 magazine and newspaper ads, Shehab examines advertising as a powerful force within a rapidly shifting political and economic landscape shaped by industrialization and colonial influence. She explores how European and American goods entered the Egyptian market as symbols of aspiration while also provoking forms of resistance. At once archival and analytical, the book reveals advertising as a mirror of evolving dreams, identities and a nation in transition.
The Arab National Project in Youssef Chahine’s Cinema
Malek Khouri, Professor and Film Program Director, Department of the Arts
This study offers a critical examination of the iconic Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine’s work, focusing on his cinematic engagement with Arab nationalism and postcolonial identity. Khouri analyzes how Chahine’s films navigate the tensions between personal expression, political ideology and artistic form while maintaining a commitment to broad popular audiences. The book situates his oeuvre within wider debates in cultural studies and film history, highlighting his distinctive visual language and evolving ideological concerns. It presents Chahine as a filmmaker whose work consistently interrogates questions of unity, identity and resistance in the Arab world.
The Animals of Ancient Egypt: Then and Now
Richard Hoath, Senior Instructor II, Department of Rhetoric and Composition and Salima Ikram (YAB ’86), Distinguished University Professor Department of Sociology, Egyptology and Anthropology
This richly illustrated guide presents over 60 animal species found in both modern Egypt and ancient Egyptian art, religion and burial practices. Combining contemporary photography with tomb paintings, carvings and archaeological evidence, it traces the biological characteristics of each species alongside its symbolic and ritual significance in antiquity. The book also highlights where these animals appear across temples, tombs and museum collections — situating them within wider ecological and historical contexts. An introductory section covers Egypt’s biogeography, chronology and wildlife heritage, offering both a reference work and a visual journey across time.
Arab Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide 1873-1999
Radwa Ashour, Hasna Reda-Mekdashi and Ferial Ghazoul, Professor, Department of English and Comparative Literature
Originally published in Arabic in 2004 and first released in English translation by AUC Press in 2008, this landmark reference work is now reissued in paperback following strong demand after the previous edition sold out. It offers a comprehensive study of Arab women’s writing from the late 19th century to the end of the 20th, beginning with pioneering figures such as ‘A’isha al-Taymuriya and Zaynab Fawwaz. Combining nine critical essays with an extensive bibliography of over 1,200 writers, the volume traces the evolution of women’s literary production across the Arab world — spanning fiction, poetry, drama and autobiography as well as works in translation.