This second edition focuses on the "Arabic novel in light of Social and Cultural Change". Supervised by critic and academic Sabri Hafiz, this edition contains the following contributions: "The New Novel in Morocco and the Challenge of Engagement with Social Transformation," (Yahya ibn al-Walid); "The Construction of Societal Imagery in the Moroccan Novel" (Shuayb Halifi); "The Algerian Novel during the 1990's: Writing Tragedy or the Tragedy of Writing?" (Abdullah Shattah); "Political Transformation in the Tunisian Novel" (Mahmoud Tarchouna); "The Transformations in the Sudanese Novel in the 1990's and Beyond," (Hashim Mirghani); "The Aesthetics and Concerns of the Novel in Syria " (Nabil Suleyman); "Changes in  the New Palestinian Novels" (Walid Abu Bakr); "The Political, Social, and Aesthetic Transformations in the Palestinian Novel on the Eve of the Twenty-First Century" (Najma Khalil Habib) "The Iraqi Novel: Recording the Destruction of Iraq in Times of Dictatorship, Wars, Occupation, and Sectarian Rule" (Salam Ibrahim).

In addition to the above dossier, this issue of Tabayyun includes studies such as the essay by Mouchir Bassil Aoun on the fate of philosophy in the Arab World, the study of Abdelhamid Hénia on the experience of research within the Dirasat Magharibiya journal, and the contribution of Mohammed el-Cheikh on "The Teaching of Philosophy in Morocco: The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Ben M'sik as Example". Furthermore, the quarterly offers a translation of and an introduction to the work of Franco Moretti by the journal's editor-in-chief Thaer Deeb under the title "The Novel: History and Theory". Also included in this issue is an interview with Syrian novelist Fawwaz Haddad, "Reality First: Testimony of the Novel," and a review of the book Politics, Law, and Society in Islamic Thought: The Ibn Taimiya Moment. Finally, a report is featured on the American University of Beirut workshop help in May 2012 "Lord of Many Homes: In Celebration of the Life and Works of Kamal al-Salibi" by Abdul Rahim Abu Husayn.