Spring 2006

ARA 360K • THE ARABIAN NIGHTS

Course Description

This course provides students with an introduction to the Arabian Nights [i.e., A Thousand and One Nights or Alf Layla wa-Layla] in translation. Students will have an opportunity to read and discuss major stories on a regular basis and identify the structure of narratives and the social functions of storytellers. In addition, we will focus on medieval literary attitudes toward death, madness, and love as they emerge in the imaginative world of the Nights. The course will end with a glimpse of how the Nights was received by Western authors, such as Boccaccio, E. A. Poe, Irwin, and Barth.

Grading Policy

Twp papers (4pp. each), 8-10 response papers (1-2pps), regular readings (50-150pp./wk), attendance and discussions.

Texts

Dawood, N. J., trans. Tales from a thousand and one nights. New York: Penguin Classics, 1973.

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