EarlyArabicPtry:RitualOralityP

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Early Arabic Poetry: Ritual, Orality and Performance seeks to situate the pre- and early Islamic qasida within the purview of contemporary literary critical approaches as a basis for the close reading, translation and interpretation of the original Arabic texts. Special attention will be given to the transition from the Jahiliyyah to Islam. Class time will be divided between discussions of the literary critical readings, the translation (including issues of philology and grammar) of the texts, and the literary interpretation of texts. Except for the translation segment, the class will be conducted primarily in Arabic. The course will be conducted in seminar format: that is, the students are expected to prepare to translate and to present and discuss the critical readings in class. Some of the readings and translations will be divided in small group assignments to enable us to cover all the material.