Darwin and the Crisis of 1882 in the Medical Department

Shafik Jeha, translated by Sally Kaya

This book tells the story of the 'Lewis Affair' at the American University of Beirut (then the Syrian Protestant College), when mention of Charles Darwin in the course of a commencement address by Professor Edwin Lewis had drastic ramifications, including faculty resignations, student suspensions, the first student protest in the Arab World, a drop in student enrollment, and the imposition of a Declaration of Principles on AUB faculty.  It was a momentous event in the history of the American University of Beirut, and reverberations were felt in intellectual circles throughout the Arab World.  

A foreword by AUB President John Waterbury outlines how the issues underlying the ‘Lewis Affair’, which include the controversy generated by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the struggle between conservative and liberal elements of academia, and the question of academic freedom, remain pertinent to this day.

English, 2004, 197 pages, hardcover, $25