Halim Barakat

Halim Barakat was a prominent Arab sociologist, intellectual, and teacher who explored the complexities of Arab identity, culture, and society in the twentieth century. He was also a creative writer who used symbolism and allegory to portray the social and political realities of the Arab world. He was born into a Greek-Orthodox Arab family in Kafroun, Syria, and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology from the American University of Beirut. He moved to the United States in 1962 to pursue his doctoral studies in social psychology at the University of Michigan. He taught at various institutions, including the American University of Beirut, Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Georgetown University, where he was a professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies for 27 years. He retired in 2002 and continued to write and publish until his death in 2023. He was a prolific scholar who authored seventeen academic books and numerous essays and articles on topics such as alienation, exile, civil society, democracy, secularism, and nationalism in the Arab world. His most influential book, The Arab World: Society, Culture, and State, published in 1993, is considered a classic in the field of Arab studies. He was also a novelist and short story writer who published seven novels and a collection of stories in Arabic. His novels were rich with imagery and metaphors that reflected his personal experiences and his vision for a better Arab nation. Two of his novels, Six Days and The Crane, were translated into English. He received several awards and honors for his academic and literary contributions, such as the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation Award, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences Award, and the Mahmoud Darwish Award for Creativity. He was also a member of the Arab Writers Union and the Arab American National Museum. He was married to Nadia Barakat, a Lebanese journalist and writer, and lived in Washington, DC, until his death. He was mourned by his colleagues, students, and readers as a critical voice of conscience and a bridge between the academic and literary communities.