Poets of the Desert: Readings in Early Arabic Poetry

Undergraduate / Graduate

Arabic poetry has been a major force in Middle Eastern societies since the seventh century when it became the elite culture of the Arabo-Islamic empire until today. Early Arabic poetry especially-rooted in the oral traditions of the nomadic people of pre-Islamic Arabia-is treasured as the core of the Arabic classics. People have never stopped memorizing not only for its own sake but also as a key to the intricacies of the Arabic language and as a way to elucidate the meanings of the Qurʾān. This course will focus on close reading of Arabic poetry (in the original) from the pre-Islamic period until the end of the Umayyad era (sixth century-750CE). While the focus will be on the texts themselves, we will also explore some of the major debates in the field of classical Arabic poetry, e.g., Is this poetry authentic? How does this "areligious" poetry of the desert fit in the broader world of Late Antiquity in which it was born and what transformations did it undergo under the new Islamic order? How was it used to negotiate rank and status and to recognize and challenge political and religious legitimacy? The course is intended for students with three years of Arabic or equivalent.