Director: Roger Allen, Professor of Arabic,
University of Pennsylvania
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Seminar Timetable

WEEK 1:

Mon         Seminar organization:

                    session format, book availability, library, study space, lectures, films, paper topics [classroom presentations &
                    written versions]

                 Opening Discussion:

 TOPIC 1: CULTURES IN CONTACT: MIDDLE EAST & WEST / NORTH & SOUTH

 NOVEL: A1‑Tayyib Salih, Season of Migration to the North

 Tues             Continued discussion of Salih novel and cultures in contact, along with further texts [modern poetry]:

 Khalil Hawi, "The Mariner and the Dervish" Nizar Qabbani, "Bread, Hashish and Moonlight"

 Thurs        Guest lecture (Prof. Heather Sharkey): “Al-Tayyib Salih’s Sudan”

                  "The Power of the Word" [video]: a survey of modern Arabic literature, its genres & heritage

 TOPIC 2: JOURNEY AS ALLEGORY: RELIGION & POLITICS

Fri            NOVEL: Najib Mahfuz, Journey of Ibn Fattouma

                  Initial discussion

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 WEEK 2:

 Mon         Continued discussion of Mahfuz novel and religious and social values, with further texts [short stories]:

                     Najib Mahfouz, "Zaabalaoui"
                     Yusuf Idris, "House of Flesh," "The Greatest Sin of All"

 Tues          Issues connected with the Arabic language as a literary vehicle

  Introduction to bibliographical sources for Arabic literature; transliteration issues, availability of library resources, etc.

 Open Discussion:

The integration of Arabic literary genres into the framework of World Literature studies in school, especially in the period following Mahfuz's award of the Nobel Prize; advantages and disadvantages of the historical and generic approaches in non‑Western literature studies

 TOPIC 3: ENVIRONMENT AND TRADITION

Thurs        NOVEL: 'Abd al‑rahman Munif, Endings

 Fri            Continued discussion of Munif novel, with further texts[ancient poetry]:

                         Desert  Tracings: The mu'allaqah of Labid (6th cent. Desert ode)

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 WEEK 3:

 TOPIC 4: WOMEN'S ROLE: TRADITION & CHANGE

 Mon         NOVEL: Hanan al‑Shaykh, The Story of Zahra

 Tues         Continued discussion of al‑Shaykh novel and literature on/by women, with further texts [short stories]:

                      Zakariyya Tamir, "Face of the moon"
                      Edward al‑Kharrat, "Within the walls"
                      Salwa Bakr, "The Wiles of Men"

Thurs        Guest Lecture on women's literature in the contemporary Arab World
                 Discussion of feminism in Arab World and its literature (Prof. Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet)

Selected participants' initial presentations of seminar paper topics [I]

 TOPIC 5: MAGHRIBI SOCIETY AND MODERN FICTIONALITY

 Fri            NOVEL: Muhammad Barrada, The Game of Forgetting

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 WEEK 4:

 Mon         Continued discussion of Barrada novel and his portrayal of Moroccan life with further texts [novella & stories]:

                Moroccan short stories

         Selected participants' initial presentations of seminar paper topics [II]

TOPIC 6: THE ISSUE OF PALESTINE

 Tues         NOVEL: Emil Habibi, The Secret Life of Saeed the Ill‑fated Pessoptimist

 Thurs        Guest Lecture on the question(s) of Palestine

                 Continued discussion, with further texts:

Ghassan Kanafani, Men in the Sun and other stories
Palestinian poetry

 Selected participants' initial presentations of seminar paper topics [III]

 Fri            General discussion:

    Review of the literary texts discussed in the seminar
Brief presentations of other novels available in translation and other topic areas
The relationship of contemporary Arabic literature to other literary traditions: links and ruptures