George Eden Kirk
George Eden Kirk | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 February 1911 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Died | 18 February 1993 (aged 82) |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Professor emeritus, University of Massachusetts at Amherst |
| Known for | A Short History of the Middle East (1948) |
George Eden Kirk (3 February 1911 – 18 February 1993) was
professor emeritus of history at the University of Massachusetts
and an authority on the history and politics of the Middle East.
Born in England, he graduated from the
Second World War
. He taught there after the war before holding a number of academic positions during which he produced A Short History of the Middle East in 1948 which received seven editions.
In 1957, he joined
polemicist and he admitted that some of his writing would be found "prejudiced, overstated, and tendentious" but he hoped that it would provoke others to provide their own interpretations.[1]
Early life and education
George Kirk was born in
Palestine Exploration Quarterly but his archaeological activities were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War in which he served in the British Army in the Middle East as an intelligence officer.[2]
Career
After the end of the war, Kirk taught at the
The Western Political Quarterly for excelling in "impartial objectivity" in an area known for the strong emotions it evoked.[4]
He subsequently worked for the
Suez crisis which Kirk saw as a betrayal by the United States of their British allies.[5] Hussein K. Selim in The Middle East Journal was forced to agree with the author's self-assessment in the introduction that some readers would find parts of the book "prejudiced, overstated, and tendentious" but disagreed with Kirk's claim that such an approach was worthwhile if it provoked others to publish their counter-views. Selim described the book as failing to "demonstrate cause and effect, or to elucidate basic factors or principles" which was combined with a "theme-song" of "intemperate condemnation" of Arab aspirations as based on a grandiose and false reading of their own past, and an unwillingness to accept that there was an Arab point of view.[1]
Kirk became a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1966 where he taught ancient history and ended his career as professor emeritus. He enjoyed hiking and was a long-standing member of the Appalachian Mountain Club.[2]
Death
Kirk died in Amherst on 18 February 1993 after suffering from cancer. He received an obituary from his former student
Middle East Studies Association Bulletin who described him as a person of strong views, sometimes seen by both Arab and Israeli as a polemicist, but able to accept a contrary opinion if it was supported by facts and a strong argument.[2]
Selected publications
Articles
- "Archaeological Exploration in the Southern Desert", Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol. 70 (1938), No. 4, pp. 211–235.
- "The Era of Diocletian in Palestinian Inscriptions", Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, Vol. 18 (1938), pp. 161–166.
- "Early Christian Gravestone-Formulae of Southern Palestine", Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol. 71 (1939), No. 4, pp. 181–186.
- "The Negev, or Southern Desert of Palestine", Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Vol. 73 (1941), No. 2, pp. 57–71.
Books
- A Short History of the Middle East: From the rise of Islam to modern times. Methuen, London, 1948.
- The Middle East in the War. Oxford University Press, London, 1952.
- Survey of International Affairs: 1939-1946. Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1952.
- The Middle East, 1945-1950. Oxford University Press, London, 1954.
- Contemporary Arab Politics: A Concise History. Methuen, London, 1961.[5]
References
- ^ a b Kirk, George E.; Selim, Hussein K. (Summer 1961). "Contemporary Arab Politics, A Concise History". The Middle East Journal. 15 (3): 338.
- ^ .
- ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (26 December 2020). "George Blake obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- JSTOR 443003.
- ^ JSTOR 1570244.
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
