Lit. of N. Africa & M. East

Catalog description

The course will focus on the Arabic literature of North Africa and the Middle East and will provide an overview of the wide range and themes of this literature as presented by the authors whose works we will examine this semester. The course will focus on a century of modern Arabic literature and the development of representation of women, men in their various ascribed roles in Arabic-Islamic societies and how these roles are being challenged by colonialism, post colonialism and Imperialism/globalization. The remarkable experiences the characters go through and the struggles that the writers document to make their voices heard within their respective societies is quite an achievement in its own. A new model of the Arabic person emerged encouraging (albeit timidly) both men and women to liberate themselves, manage their own lives, unravel societal hypocrisies and to do away with things past that restrict their pursuit of happiness and self-realization (e.g., career, social or political movement or, even, new styles of love and life defying convention and social norms). As the West grew more powerful it began launching expeditions to investigate how non-Western societies functioned and how to overcome them and eventually add them to its growing empires. The seminar explores many themes and works by Arabic writers who created new narratives, poetic and visual languages and a new consciousness about the modern Arabic World both in Africa and Asia. Some of the works we will read will examine not only the relationship of the West with the Arabic World, but issues that existed before colonialism and during the difficult birth of the various Arabic “Nation States”. This course is offered in the spring.