The collection begins with an introduction to the various ways of looking at text, from hermeneutics to philology, historiography and social anthropology, and a survey of the methodologies of modern Islamic studies. The importance of the text in Islamic culture is explored in close analysis of hadith; a survey of Arab historians; an account of the texts that can provide context for the historian of the Arab city; an examination of the current contest over the conservation of Fatimid Cairo. The collection concludes with a look at how mass education and mass communication are changing the approach to traditional texts in Islamic societies. Contributors include R. Stephen Humphreys, David A. King, Paula Sanders and Dale F. Eickelman.