The Arabic Novel

Catalog description

This course offers students both a foundation in the “classics” of Arabic fiction and a foray into recent experimentations with form and langauge. We’ll spend the first half of the semester with Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, tracing his evolution from Victor Hugo-esque chronicler of life in Cairo to Faulknerian experimentalist. We’ll then examine the works of authors who deem themselves “post-Mahfouzian,” including Gamal al-Ghitani, Sonallah Ibrahim, Elias Khoury, and Hanan al-Shaykh. Students will emerge with a transnational, inclusive understanding of the Middle East glimpsed through the region's literature. No Arabic necessary; students with Arabic may read in the original.