Involuntary History: Writing Levantines into the Nation

Abstract

This article looks at drug trafficking, trade, and pilgrimage between Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine during the mandate period, arguing that a Levantine geography continued both as lived experience and conceived space even after the introduction of borders post-WWI. Drawing on the work of Patrick Hutton, it argues that Levantine geography can only be understood by reformulating the relationship between history and memory and bringing in the lived experience of Levantines into the writing of history.