Arabic Literature: The Qur'an to Darwish

The course offers an introduction to Arabic literature from ancient Arabian poetry to contemporary Palestinian novels. Topics include desert poetry, the Qur’an, medieval Muslim court literature, popular literature, Arabic literary theory, and the emergence of modern Western genres, with a focus on Palestinian literature as a test-case. We will engage first-hand with Imru’ al-Qays’ Qifa Nabki , al-Jahiz’s Books of Misers, Ibn Hazm’s theories about love, Mahmoud Darwish’s I Come from There, and Emile Habiby’s The Pessoptimist. All readings are in English.