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The salons of Early Modern and Revolutionary France played an integral role in the cultural and intellectual development of France.
The salons were seen by contemporary writers as a cultural hub, responsible for the dissemination of good manners and sociability.
It was not merely manners that the salons supposedly spread but also ideas, as the salons became a centre of intellectual as well as social exchange, playing host to many members of the Republic of Letters.
Women, in contrast to other Early Modern institutions, played an important and visible role within the salons.
The extent of this role is, however, heavily contested by some historians.
The tradition of women's literary circles in the Arab world dates back to the pre-Islamic period when the eminent literary figure, Al-Khansa, would stand in the 'Ukaz market in Mecca, reciting her poetry and airing her views on the scholarship of others.
From this, a culture of literary criticism emerged among Arab women, and under the Umayyad dynasty, Sukaynah Bint Al-Husayn established the first literary salon in her home.
The tradition was revived during the late nineteenth century, as a result of sweeping social, political and economic change within the Ottoman Empire and Europe's increasing political and cultural influence in the region.
The initial pioneers of the Arab salon were women from wealthy families in Greater Syria and Egypt, who returned influenced by interaction with European women during their time spent studying abroad and frequenting Parisian salons, or studying in schools run by European or American missionaries.
The salon evenings, run by women but attended by both men and women, provided a unique opportunity to have discussions about social, political and literary trends of the day.
Though the tradition died out somewhat after the Second World War, it has left a lasting legacy on literary culture and women's issues throughout the Arab world.
Indeed, more than one hundred years later, the UN Arab Human Development Report echoes what many people in Arab societies were coming to realise at that time: An Arab Renaissance cannot be accomplished without the rise of women in Arab countries.