Between Word and Image: The Twentieth-Century Arab Avantgarde

Catalog description

What is the Arab avantgarde, and why is visuality its main project? How do experimental works of art and literature question dominant historical and political narratives? This seminar explores form-agitating literary and artistic works that emerged from major Arab cities in the twentieth century. It examines the role of the metaphorical and literal image as a new mode of storytelling, as an act of witnessing and documenting. Throughout the course, we will also touch on themes of memory and nostalgia, postcolonial nationalism, freedom and commitment, exile and return, as we navigate the complexities and developments of Arab cultural modernisms. Most primary texts will be read in Arabic with English translations offered when available. At least three years of Arabic (or equivalent) are required for enrollment.