Fall 2003

ANT 324L • Intro to Arabic Literature

Course Description

This course is a survey of Arabic literature from the pre-Islamic to the modern era. It will provide students with a basic introduction to literature in the Arabic language produced by many ethnicities. Students will discover fifteen hundred years of poetry, ballads, essays, and stories in translation. We will focus on literature that is both classical and modern, urban and rural, courtly and folk, as well as religious and secular. Students will study Arabic literature within the context of social life. Literature in Arab society was not only read, it was memorized for public recitation as part of a long tradition of ritual performance and storytelling. Students will gain an understanding of the literary work, not as "words on the page", but as a "cultural practice" that both reflects and shapes Arab society. Students are encouraged to engage literature fully in comparison with other works in world literature.

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