Talk:Tawfiq Canaan

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Former good articleTawfiq Canaan was one of the Natural sciences good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
Did You Know Article milestones
DateProcessResult
December 21, 2007Good article nomineeListed
December 27, 2007Featured article candidateNot promoted
August 25, 2009Featured article candidateNot promoted
March 31, 2012Good article reassessmentDelisted
Did You Know A fact from this article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "Did you know?" column on August 27, 2007.
The text of the entry was: Did you know ...that Tawfiq Canaan, a Palestinian physician and medical pioneer, was also known for his research on Palestinian popular heritage?
Current status: Delisted good article

GA review[edit]

GA review (see here for criteria)
  1. It is reasonably well written.
    a (prose): b (MoS):
  2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.
    a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):
  3. It is broad in its coverage.
    a (major aspects): b (focused):
  4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.
    Fair representation without bias:
  5. It is stable.
    No edit wars etc.:
  6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.
    a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
  7. Overall:
    Pass/Fail:

This is a very good article. I noticed some things that should be addressed before it can pass GA, however.

  • First is citation number one. When i visited the website it stated "To view the complete article, please see the accompanying PDF file." I would cite the PDF file instead of the website, because only a minimal amount of information is shown there.
  • Secondly, citation number four is extremely overcited; consider not citing it as much or combining cites. For example: "In 1913, the Journal of the German Palestine Society published Canaan's article on "The Calendar of Palestinian Peasants," his first work in the field of Palestinian folklore.[4] A year later, he published his first book, Superstition and Popular Medicine.[4]" could become "In 1913, the Journal of the German Palestine Society published Canaan's article on "The Calendar of Palestinian Peasants," his first work in the field of Palestinian folklore. A year later, he published his first book, Superstition and Popular Medicine.[4]"
  • Thirdly, I would consider, but do not deem it nessecery, that a seperate article be created to focus solely on his published works. Perhaps Published works of Tawfiq Canaan.

Let me know when you have addressed these and I will promote to GA. Best, Happyme22 (talk) 00:29, 21 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Done, per the message at your talk page. Thank you again. Tiamut 02:00, 21 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you. I am passing this article per the GA criteria and comments left on User_talk:Happyme22. Happyme22 (talk) 04:21, 21 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Missing Reference[edit]

Looks like the whole site ref #4 was pointing to has gone missing. No More Mr Nice Guy (talk) 13:55, 21 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

not really; it is just moved from to http://www.jerusalemquarterly.org/details.php?cat=5&id=198 to http://www.jerusalemquarterly.org/ViewArticle.aspx?id=133, Cheers, Huldra (talk) 22:40, 15 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Minor concern[edit]

In the Published works section is there a reason that some of the books' titles are italicized while other are in quotation marks? --Al Ameer son (talk) 05:19, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think its because more than one person added them (or I added them at different times and forgot how I was formatting). Anyway, what does the MoS say about it? Should they be italicized or in quotes? Or does it not matter as long as the format is internally consistent? Tiamuttalk 05:27, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ok Just looked and it says the titles should be in italics. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Italics. On a side note, fantastic job on the article Tiamut. I'll read through it and give my opinion and possibly suggestions at the FAR soon. --Al Ameer son (talk) 05:32, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
You know what, you should also check with one of the reviewers for a tip of advice on this, because I don't how MoS rules on the English translations of the Arabic titles, whether or not there should be Arabic titles, and whether or not you italicize the publishers. --Al Ameer son (talk) 06:45, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, I tried to standardize the use of italics in the article. I'm still italicizing journal names though and any foreign language article names (between quotes). I'll ask about that at the FA review page and see what people say. Thanks again. Tiamuttalk 14:26, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright concerns[edit]

In addition to close paraphrasing with the flagged source, a spot-check reveals paraphrasing issues with other sources as well. It is very difficult to tell how comprehensive this is, and the only step towards rewriting was to copy over the article as it existed prior to blanking to the temporary space. (This has been deleted, since rewrites should be done from scratch.)

For instance, the article says:

This group was driven by the concern that the "native culture of Palestine", and in particular peasant society, was being undermined by the forces of modernity

Salim Tamari's Mountain Against the Sea says, at page 97:

Canaan and his circle were driven by one overriding preoccupation: that the native culture of Palestine and that of peasant society in particular, was being undermined by the forces of modernity

The article says:

Canaan believed there was a close relationship between popular beliefs and superstitions marshalled to cure diseases, and scientific medicine.

Al-Jubeh, here, says:

Dr. Canaan collected these objects from his patients, recognizing that there was a close relationship between the popular beliefs and superstitions used in curing diseases and scientific medicine.

Are there plans by interested contributors to address this? It's really a shame to lose so much content based on copyright concerns, but even a stub would be better than nothing. If people wish time for a rewrite, we can extend the listing period for another week or so. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 23:11, 24 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'd like more time to address this. I was not aware that close paraphrasing which cited sources at the end of each sentence was unacceptable. Indeed, in this topic area, it was often the only way to get editors to accept mterial with Povs they found difficult to stomach. Unfortunately, I am very busy in real life right now. A week may not even be enough for me, but I'll try to do my best with whatever time I can muster. Sorry for all the problems this has caused. Tiamuttalk 15:46, 25 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Just a request to get me startedon the right path ... could you provide a rephrase for one or both of the sentences you quoted above? I'd like to better understand how to incorporate such ideas without doing a close paraphrase. Tiamuttalk 17:42, 25 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Tiamut. I've had look at the Al-Jubeh source and the amount of material in the article based on it which will need re-writing is pretty extensive (in addition to the all the material based on the Nashef source). See this for an indication. The problem is that rephrasing one sentence at a time is not going to work, and almost invariably results in producing a derivative copy. I usually advise people who need to re-write an article to start from scratch by making an outline only with the basic facts jotted down from the sources (minus adjectives etc., just the facts). Then re-write based on your outline only—without having looked at the sources at all for a few days.
This is such a lengthy and detailed article, that it might be better to make a copy of it offline and then work on the rewrite slowly without having to rush to get it back up within a week or even 10 days. The article's lead seems OK from the close paraphrasing angle and is quite substantial and informative. I'd suggest reducing the article to simply the lead for now and re-expanding it when you have more time. Voceditenore (talk) 18:17, 25 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
That's a good suggestion Voceditenore. Thank you and thanks for salvaging Nabulsi soap, I really appreciate it. I'll place the intro and published works section and maybe awards? in a temp page and add to it as I have time. Its very frustrating to have to redo the entire article, which has already been edited for FAC review and thereafter too. But I guess I didn't understand the close paraphrasing issue as well as I should have. Tiamuttalk 17:57, 26 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I am implementing. You can work on the article here, as I've reduced it to the lead and the additional sections you propose. They should constitute no copyright issue so long as they evolved naturally. A "select" bibliography may be creative and might not be usable if copied from somebody else. :) If that's the case, please remove or rewrite that list. I'm sorry for the difficulties here and particularly sorry that the systems that should have caught the issue earlier and saved you a lot of time failed you. I've delisted the article, as it would not at this point qualify. Please feel free to relist it once the rewrite is complete. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 12:25, 31 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Correction re spelling[edit]

I wrote that Mohammedan Saints & Sanctuaries was published as Tewfik. That's what appears on a facsimile edition I have and I can't explain why it differs from the linked or original version. This name has been spelt in many of the 24 variations T{aw,ew,au}fi{k,q} {C,K}anaan. I don't see a good reason for listing just two variants in the first sentence. Maybe a footnote? Zerotalk 02:25, 26 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Agree there are several variations & no need to highlight any I think. Best just to make redirects for all the possible permutations. Nice to see you again Zero. Tiamuttalk 10:52, 27 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society[edit]

Hi, Tiamut (talk · contribs). There is more to discover about Canaan's role in the Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society. In the Palestine Gazette of Aug 24, 1933, there is a notice: "Notice is hereby given that a permit. No. J. 31, has been granted on the 8th day of August, 1933, under the hand of the District Commissioner; Jerusalem District, to DR. T. CANAAAN, residing at Jerusalem, to publish quarterly at the printing press situated at Schneller Quarter, Jerusalem, a newspaper in the Arabic, English, German, French and Hebrew languages entitled “The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society” treating of archaeological, historical, religious and biblical subjects and under the editorship of DR. HERBERT DANBY. —— S. MOODY, Acting Chief Secretary, 12th August, 1933." The need for a permit in 1933 is because of the Press Ordinance 1933 and it doesn't imply that Canaan only started as publisher then. The interest in this source is that Canaan was for a time the official publisher, and not just an occasional contributor. It would be great if you can find more about this. Zerotalk 03:33, 30 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Will try but would appreciate any more diggining you can do too. Tiamuttalk 06:46, 30 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Palestine ethnographers" category needed[edit]

I have opened a discussion here. Arminden (talk) 19:59, 14 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Original name?[edit]

Does anyone know what the German name of the article "The Calendar of Palestinian Peasants" in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins in 1913 was? Huldra (talk) 23:46, 27 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Huldra: T. Cana'an (1913). "Der Kalender des palästinensischen Fellachen". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins (1878-1945). 36 (4): 266–300. I'll email you a copy. Zerotalk 23:59, 27 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! got it. Also found it on archive.org ...when I had the name, Huldra (talk) 20:34, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Zero0000: Do you happen to have same author’s ‘The Saqr Bedouin of Bisan’? —Al Ameer (talk) 00:04, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Al Ameer son: I don't see it immediately but I'm late for an appointment. I'll look more later. Zerotalk 00:16, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
No worries, thanks! —00:18, 28 September 2022 (UTC)
@Al Ameer son: It should arrive in a day or two. Zerotalk 08:38, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Zero0000: Excellent, I appreciate you taking the trouble. Al Ameer (talk) 19:14, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Gustaf Dalman[edit]

Hi, @Huldra:, as you are most-likely aware, Tawfiq Canaan is often cited by German orientalist Gustaf Dalman. Dalman seemed to have drawn immensely from Canaan's vast knowledge of agricultural practices by the local Arab peasants in Palestine. I think that it would be of great interest to our readership to elaborate more in-depth on Canaan's invaluable contributions to the study of Palestinian agriculture in the early 20th-century.Davidbena (talk) 01:15, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry, @Davidbena:, that I don't know more about it. As Zero mentioned above; a lot is not mentioned in the article. (Eg; he seems to have been involved with the construction of Jerusalem International YMCA?) Huldra (talk) 20:32, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
No problem. I'm finding parallels being farming practices of the Arab peasantry in this country and of Jewish farmers in the 2nd-century of our Common era. Many of the old farming techniques are mentioned in the Mishnah, a work compiled in 189 CE.Davidbena (talk) 22:22, 28 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]