The Arab World Writes Itself: Contemporary Arabic Literature

Catalog description

In his seminal work Orientalism , Edward Said paraphrases Marx, and suggests that Orientalist attitudes towards the Middle East have produced a discourse in which the East must always be spoken for, and not allowed to represent itself. Said's argument has become even more relevant in the past decade, given the growing interest in the Middle East as a region in the US, coupled with a dearth of spaces where voices from the region can offer their own narratives. Designed as an introductory course to contemporary Arabic Literature, this course includes a variety of readings in translation and films from across the Arab world; it foregoes an intense exploration of one national literature for a more varied survey of the textual output of several countries. We will attempt to situate each literature within its national context and within the larger pan-Arab, regional and international context while being sensitive to the political, geographical, and historical foces that have influenced these texts, including the rise of Arab nationalism and the independence struggles of the mid-twentieth century, and immigration. We will also examine--and hopefully question--some of the discursive themes and conceptual frames that have been traditionally used to think about contemporary Arabic literature. Enrollment limited to 20.