Intro Arabic Short Story

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Language of Instruction: Arabic Prerequisite: ARAB216 or ARAB221 or placement by exam This course deals with the Arabic short story, covering its genesis and major developments, trajectories, contexts, and authors in the past century. It introduces students to the main influences that had an impact on the pioneers of the genre. Students will learn about the major social, political, and aesthetic themes of the Arabic short story and the various techniques and styles that writers employed to create their fictional worlds, such as realism, allegory, fantasy, and the narrative mode. Additionally, the course will ask why these Arab authors used the short story genre rather than poetry or the novel to convey their worldviews, dreams, and disillusions, exploring throughout the readings the potentials of the genre. A tentative list of authors may include Yusuf Idris, Baha’ Tahir, Zakariyya Tamir, Fu’ad al-Takarli, Ghada al-Samman, and Salwa Bakr. The course will be taught in Arabic. In addition to reading short stories in Arabic, students will read relevant critical and historical articles in both Arabic and English.