Oriental Tales after the 1001 Nights

The translation of The Thousand and One Nights in the early 18th century ushered a new kind of narrative fiction and inspired a true literary revolution: countless imitations, retellings, adaptations, and sequels were published in the wake of the book’s immense popularity. This course will study the impact of this text on world literature. We will read some of the re-writings of the Nights stories in European, American and contemporary Arabic fiction as well as in literary criticism and study the metamorphoses of Scheherazade as modern story-teller and feminist heroine. Texts will include fairy tales, philosophical tales and fantastic tales.