(Re)defining the First Mark of Development: Lebanese Feminist Discourse in Al-Raida, 1976–1985

Abstract

This article is a feminist history of Al-Raida, a Lebanese feminist journal launched in 1976 by the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World at the Lebanese American University. The article outlines the journal’s role in the foundation of modern Lebanese feminist discourse, and in particular traces the dominant strand of discourse on development during the journal’s first decade. By situating this strand within both dominant and local historical contexts, the article analyzes the ways in which the journal positioned arguments for development, presented research studies, and employed methodologies in order to forge solutions to Arab women’s issues while maintaining international visibility through the use of normative and transnational language.