Heritage/modernity:Arabic Lit

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Contemporary Arabic writing is characterized by ambivalent trends. On one hand we find writers experimenting with the latest trends of post- modernity and on the other hand there are authors who strive to revive the old Arabic heritage. This course has the following goals: First we will delve into the texts that take their inspiration from medieval narratives. We will examine: a. Texts that are inspired from Sufism, such as ‘tajalliyat” of the Egyptian writer, Gamal al-Ghitani, as well as the recent novel by Muhammad Arafah, ‘Tawaseen al-Ghazali.’ The sway of Sufism on contemporary Arabic writing is immense. b. Texts that take their inspiration from medieval narratives such as medieval Arab historians and geographers’ texts and folk narratives in order to rekindle the memory of the past, and, most importantly, tie it to Arab actuality. Second: we will interpret the works that experiment with the latest narrative techniques of post-modernity such as fragmenting ad infinitum the text in order to deconstruct the meaning and the form and create dizziness and uncertainty such as in Elias Khoury’s latest novel entitled Yallo. Third: the class will compare the two kinds of writings to see how they separate and how they intersect. Some pertinent questions will be raised such as: - Which trend mirrors best the qualms and expectations of Arab society today? - Are they complementary trends or opposite? Is the return to heritage in Arabic writing today caused only by the need to recuperate a lost identity? Is the play with forms and fragmentation of the text caused only by the imitation of the West? - Finally, can we reconcile the two messages through the medium of literary creativity? Lecture and format discussion within an interdisciplinary scope