History

On a cold Philadelphia day in 1986, over coffee in Houston Hall, the University of Pennsylvania's student union, two current RRAALL fellows decided to form a group that would bring them and their close friends in the field together on a regular basis. Besides conviviality, they saw it as an opportunity to promote and undertake collaborative research together.

The name Radical Reassessment of Arabic Language and Literature (RRALL) was provisionally adopted and the working group met for the first time during the Middle East Studies Association meeting in Boston in November 1986. Potential members were invited to attend that meeting, and between 1986 and 1989 the present membership was constituted and a 'manifesto' adopted.

In 1990, the group expanded its name to "RRALL: An academic alliance dedicated to collaborative research in Arab letters".

And in 1997 the name was modified to Radical Reassessment of Arabic, Arts, Languages and Literature, to include a hitherto underrepresented component of RRAALL's work.

Meetings