Political Memoirs

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The practice of writing biographies and autobiographies has a long history in both Western and Arabic civilizations. Historians have been challenged by the subjectivity of personal memoirs since the days of chronicling the Romans. Given the lack of archival resources in the Arab world, the recollections gathered in memoirs of all types can help bring the past to life in remarkable ways. The course will present both academic discussions of memoirs and then readings from different countries in all the important political spheres of life in the region. Memoirs shedding light on the military, political parties, economy, security services, and cult of personality will be read and discussed. In some cases, we will read from different angles: for example, with regard to security services, we will study both memoirs of security chiefs and political prisoners. Many readings will be in Arabic but ability to read fluently is not a prerequisite.