Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Note on Transliteration and Abbreviations Used
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 E. J. W. Gibb (1857–1901)
- Chapter 2 E. G. Browne (1862–1926) (Trustee 1902–26)
- Chapter 3 Guy Le Strange (1854–1933) (Trustee 1902–33)
- Chapter 4 H. F. Amedroz (1854–1917) (Trustee 1902–16)
- Chapter 5 A. G. Ellis (1858–1942) (Trustee 1902–42)
- Chapter 6 R. A. Nicholson (1868–1945) (Trustee 1902–45)
- Chapter 7 Sir Edward Denison Ross (1871–1940) (Trustee 1902–40)
- Chapter 8 Sir Charles James Lyall (1845–1920)
- Chapter 9 C. A. Storey (1888–1967) (Trustee 1926–46)
- Chapter 10 Sir Hamilton A. R. Gibb (1895–1971) (Trustee 1926–66)
- Chapter 11 Reuben Levy (1891–1966) (Trustee 1932–66)
- Chapter 12 A. J. Arberry (1905–69) (Trustee 1941–69)
- Chapter 13 A. F. L. Beeston (1911–95) (Trustee 1941–95)
- Chapter 14 Bernard Lewis (1916–2018) (Trustee 1951–88)
- Chapter 15 Ann K. S. Lambton (1912–2008) (Trustee 1956–2000)
- Chapter 16 Geoffrey L. Lewis (1920–2008) (Trustee 1959–2007)
- Chapter 17 J. D. Pearson (1911–97) (Trustee 1957–96)
- Chapter 18 M. C. Lyons (1929–2019) (Trustee 1963–97)
- Chapter 19 R. B. Serjeant (1915–93) (Trustee 1967–92)
- Chapter 20 R. C. Zaehner (1913–74) (Trustee 1971–74)
- Chapter 21 J. A. Boyle (1916–78) Trustee (1971–78)
- Chapter 22 J. Derek Latham (1927–2005) Trustee (1986–92)
- Chapter 23 A. H. Morton (1942–2011) (Trustee 1986–2011)
- Chapter 24 G. Rex Smith (b. 1938) (Trustee 1982–99)
- Appendix A Gibb Memorial Trustees
- Appendix B Publications of the Gibb Memorial Trust
- Index
Chapter 24 - G. Rex Smith (b. 1938) (Trustee 1982–99)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2025
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Note on Transliteration and Abbreviations Used
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 E. J. W. Gibb (1857–1901)
- Chapter 2 E. G. Browne (1862–1926) (Trustee 1902–26)
- Chapter 3 Guy Le Strange (1854–1933) (Trustee 1902–33)
- Chapter 4 H. F. Amedroz (1854–1917) (Trustee 1902–16)
- Chapter 5 A. G. Ellis (1858–1942) (Trustee 1902–42)
- Chapter 6 R. A. Nicholson (1868–1945) (Trustee 1902–45)
- Chapter 7 Sir Edward Denison Ross (1871–1940) (Trustee 1902–40)
- Chapter 8 Sir Charles James Lyall (1845–1920)
- Chapter 9 C. A. Storey (1888–1967) (Trustee 1926–46)
- Chapter 10 Sir Hamilton A. R. Gibb (1895–1971) (Trustee 1926–66)
- Chapter 11 Reuben Levy (1891–1966) (Trustee 1932–66)
- Chapter 12 A. J. Arberry (1905–69) (Trustee 1941–69)
- Chapter 13 A. F. L. Beeston (1911–95) (Trustee 1941–95)
- Chapter 14 Bernard Lewis (1916–2018) (Trustee 1951–88)
- Chapter 15 Ann K. S. Lambton (1912–2008) (Trustee 1956–2000)
- Chapter 16 Geoffrey L. Lewis (1920–2008) (Trustee 1959–2007)
- Chapter 17 J. D. Pearson (1911–97) (Trustee 1957–96)
- Chapter 18 M. C. Lyons (1929–2019) (Trustee 1963–97)
- Chapter 19 R. B. Serjeant (1915–93) (Trustee 1967–92)
- Chapter 20 R. C. Zaehner (1913–74) (Trustee 1971–74)
- Chapter 21 J. A. Boyle (1916–78) Trustee (1971–78)
- Chapter 22 J. Derek Latham (1927–2005) Trustee (1986–92)
- Chapter 23 A. H. Morton (1942–2011) (Trustee 1986–2011)
- Chapter 24 G. Rex Smith (b. 1938) (Trustee 1982–99)
- Appendix A Gibb Memorial Trustees
- Appendix B Publications of the Gibb Memorial Trust
- Index
Summary
Professor Rex Smith, formerly of the universities of London, Cambridge, Durham, Manchester and most recently Leeds, served as Trustee for seventeen years, retiring in 1999. He not only acted as Trustee but also published a number of volumes with the Gibb Memorial Trust, including two volumes on Ayyubid Yemen and, with Daniel Varisco, The Manuscript of al-Malik al-Afdal (1998). He kindly agreed to be interviewed for this volume, giving his reflections on his career, the role of the Gibb Memorial Trust and on the past, present and future of Arabic studies.
Robert Gleave [RG]: Well, Rex, thank you so much for joining me for this conversation around the Gibb Memorial Trust and the impact it has made on the field, and particularly your own career in teaching and researching Arabic texts. Yours were the first classes I took when I began learning Arabic at Manchester, so it is a special pleasure and privilege to talk with you some thirty years later. The first question to ask is: how did you become interested in Arabic in the first place?
Rex Smith [RS]: It's a long time ago, of course – way back as a schoolboy in the 50s. I developed a very keen interest in the Middle East. I went to a very good co-educational grammar school in South Yorkshire, which provided me with a good education. I was taught languages there – extremely well – and I seemed to get on well with them. If nothing else, I ended up with three A-levels in French, Latin and Greek. I had been persuaded by the headmaster, because of my interest in the Middle East, to try the London scholarship exams. I actually went for what was called a ‘Governing Body Scholarship’ in 1956 at the School of Oriental and African Studies. I decided to do my national service in the army first – which was a big mistake because national service was abolished as I was actually doing my two years. So, I eventually went to SOAS in 1958, and I did my first degree.
RG: What was the teaching of Arabic like in those days?
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- Information
- A Short History of the Gibb Memorial Trust and its TrusteesA Century of Oriental Scholarship, pp. 199 - 206Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2023