… something newʼ (al-Tahtawi, An Imam in Paris , 259). al-Tahtāwī examined and classified the various French cultural associations: akadima (académie), majma‘ (société), majlis (conseil), institūt (institut), kūlayj (collèges), …
… in each city along with accompanying anecdotes of high-spirited or boorish behaviour. Nevertheless, even this informal associational homosociability had its value. Jason M. Kelly describes such activities as a ‘laboratory for social …