Omar W. Nasim's Books

The Astronomer's Chair

A Visual and Cultural History

By: Omar W. Nasim

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The Astronomer's Chair

A Visual and Cultural History

By: Omar W. Nasim

The astronomer’s observing chair as both image and object, and the story it tells about a particular kind of science and a particular view of history. The astronomer’s chair is a leitmotif in the history of astronomy, appearing in hundreds of drawings, prints, and photographs from a variety of sources. Nineteenth-century stargazers in particular seemed eager to display their observing chairs—task-specific, often mechanically adjustable observatory furniture designed for use in conjunction with telescopes. But what message did they mean to send with these images? In The Astronomer’s Chair, Omar W. Nasim considers these specialized chairs as both image and object, offering an original framework for linking visual and material cultures. Observing chairs, Nasim ingeniously argues, showcased and embodied forms of scientific labor, personae, and bodily practice that appealed to bourgeois sensibilities. Viewing image and object as connected parts of moral, epistemic, and visual economies of empire, Nasim shows that nineteenth-century science was represented in terms of comfort and energy, and that “manly” postures of Western astronomers at work in specialized chairs were contrasted pointedly with images of “effete” and cross-legged “Oriental” astronomers. Extending his historical analysis into the twentieth century, Nasim reexamines what he argues to be a famous descendant of the astronomer’s chair: Freud’s psychoanalytic couch, which directed observations not outward toward the stars but inward toward the stratified universe of the psyche. But whether in conjunction with the mind or the heavens, the observing chair was a point of entry designed for specialists that also portrayed widely held assumptions about who merited epistemic access to these realms in the first place. With more than 100 illustrations, many in color; flexibound.

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Page Count

311

Publisher

MIT Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0262045532

ISBN 13

9780262045537

Observing by Hand

Sketching the Nebulae in the Nineteenth Century

By: Omar W. Nasim

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Observing by Hand

Sketching the Nebulae in the Nineteenth Century

By: Omar W. Nasim

Today we are all familiar with the iconic pictures of the nebulae produced by the Hubble Space Telescope’s digital cameras. But there was a time, before the successful application of photography to the heavens, in which scientists had to rely on handmade drawings of these mysterious phenomena. Observing by Hand sheds entirely new light on the ways in which the production and reception of handdrawn images of the nebulae in the nineteenth century contributed to astronomical observation. Omar W. Nasim investigates hundreds of unpublished observing books and paper records from six nineteenth-century observers of the nebulae: Sir John Herschel; William Parsons, the third Earl of Rosse; William Lassell; Ebenezer Porter Mason; Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel; and George Phillips Bond. Nasim focuses on the ways in which these observers created and employed their drawings in data-driven procedures, from their choices of artistic materials and techniques to their practices and scientific observation. He examines the ways in which the act of drawing complemented the acts of seeing and knowing, as well as the ways that making pictures was connected to the production of scientific knowledge. An impeccably researched, carefully crafted, and beautifully illustrated piece of historical work, Observing by Hand will delight historians of science, art, and the book, as well as astronomers and philosophers.

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Page Count

313

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022608440X

ISBN 13

9780226084404

Observing by Hand

Sketching the Nebulae in the Nineteenth Century

By: Omar W. Nasim

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Observing by Hand

Sketching the Nebulae in the Nineteenth Century

By: Omar W. Nasim

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313

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022608440X

ISBN 13

9780226084404

My Life as a Palestinian from a Place Called Bani Naim

By: Professor Omar Manasreh

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My Life as a Palestinian from a Place Called Bani Naim

By: Professor Omar Manasreh

This book is composed of short essays (stories) based on true events that the author experienced since his childhood. Many people read these poignant essays at the time when they were written and told the author they laughed and cried at the same time. These short stories reflect the sense of humor of the author as he described painful events. His journey from the Middle East to the USA was summarized in the story entitled Go West, Young Man. There are funny stories in this book, such as Neighbors in Bellbrook, Ohio, City of Outlaws, How a Puerto Rican Policeman Changed My Attitude and Ethics, and Clashes of Cultures. On the other hand, there are sad stories such as Go to Your Cousins in the East, Memories, When I Die, Bury Me in Yageen, and the Tragedy of Multiple Sclerosis. The author grew up in a very small town in Palestine called Bani Naim. This town was the subject of many of his stories, such as I Left My Soul in Bani Naim, Antiquity of Bani Naim, and Lonesome Without You. The author left his hometown (Bani Naim) at the age of sixteen, then he went back for a visit after forty-four years later to see the town was transformed into a small-sized city. In this visit, he wrote the story Bani Naim Gave Me Back My Soul to close the cycle of his painful journey. The author wrote several essays in this book that are related to the brouhaha status of the Middle East. The stories in this book were randomly listed, since the author believes there are opportunities in chaos.

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Page Count

150

Publisher

Xlibris Corporation

Published Date

ISBN 10

1543411347

ISBN 13

9781543411348

A Tale of Two Omars

A Memoir of Family, Revolution, and Coming Out During the Arab Spring

By: Omar Sharif

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A Tale of Two Omars

A Memoir of Family, Revolution, and Coming Out During the Arab Spring

By: Omar Sharif

A powerful and essential memoir of self-discovery . . . Brimming with beautiful remembrances of his grandfather and terrifying stories of abuse and homophobia, this is an essential book that shines a much-needed light on the intersection of Arab and queer identity." —Abdi Nazemian, Lambda Literary Award–winning author of Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book The grandson of Hollywood royalty on his father’s side and Holocaust survivors on his mother’s, Omar Sharif Jr. learned early on how to move between worlds, from the Montreal suburbs to the glamorous orbit of his grandparents’ Cairo. His famous name always protected him wherever he went. When, in the wake of the Arab Spring, he made the difficult decision to come out in the pages of The Advocate, he knew his life would forever change. What he didn’t expect was the backlash that followed. From bullying, to illness, attempted suicide, becoming a victim of sex trafficking, death threats by the thousands, revolution and never being able to return to a country he once called home, Omar Sharif Jr. has overcome more challenges than one might imagine. Drawing on the lessons he learned from both sides of his family, A Tale of Two Omars charts the course of an iconoclastic life, revealing in the process the struggles and successes that attend a public journey of self-acceptance and a life dedicated in service to others.

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Publisher

National Geographic Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1640095586

ISBN 13

9781640095588

Book's by Omar W. Nasim

The Astronomer's Chair

The Astronomer's Chair

Observing by Hand

Observing by Hand

Observing by Hand

Observing by Hand

My Life as a Palestinian from a Place Called Bani Naim

My Life as a Palestinian from a Place Called Bani Naim

A Tale of Two Omars

A Tale of Two Omars

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