St. Joseph's University in Beirut and Its Institutions: Places of Knowledge of the Orient in the Christian East.

This article examines the various institutions of the Université Saint- Joseph (U.S.J.) in Beirut, the works of its scholars, and their contributions to the knowledge of the Orient in the Christian East. The research question is the following: Were these prestigious institutions all "cultural symbols" of the knowledge of the Orient in the Christian East at the time? In order to answer the question, we particularly refer to the Oriental Library (La Bibliothèque Orientale); the creation of the Oriental Faculty; its publications, including the faculty's organ entitled Les Mélanges de la Faculté Orientale (Mélanges of the Eastern Faculty); the Catholic Printing Press, the journals Al-Machriq and Al-Bashir; and various other publications. Indeed, these institutions expanded the knowledge of the Orient to the students of the Université Saint-Joseph. This study is part of the scientific debate dealing with cultural, political history in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]