DESCPTION

Arabic literature has occupied a prominent position within world cultures, both past and present. In this text-based and research-based course, students explore the distinct and varied prose and poetry genres in Arabic literature and their development in the history of Arabic writing. Students become familiar with the main Arabic literary genres, their historical developments and the cultural context of their production. They explore major authors and works in divergent regions of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and other areas that produced Arabic literature. Students develop their cultural literacy, and linguistic and critical skills grounded in close analysis of literary expressions and situate their aesthetics, ethics and politics in the intertextual dialogue between the ancient and the modern, and global context of intercultural exchange. Students articulate orally and in writing the major critical issues relevant to Arabic literature and literary studies. They also conduct research by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems in relation to the development, influence, and role of Arabic literature in local and global contexts.