Spring 2009

MES 381 • NEW GENERATION OF ARAB AUTHORS

Course Description

In this graduate seminar we will explore the writings of a new generation of Arab authors. Students and I will trace the literary development to social and political struggles within the Arab world, the advent of Satellite TV and the Internet, and the effects of globalization, more generally. We will raise the following questions: What forms of literary consciousness arise from these new texts? What are their relations to Western cultural productions on the one hand, and to the canon of Arabic letters, on the other? What new multilingual and interactive domains shape and define this new literature? We will read works by Muhammad Aladdin, Siba al-Hirz, Raja al-Sanea, Ahmed al-Aidy, Rabih Alameddine, Hamdi Abu Golayyel, and Khalid al-Khamissi.

Grading Policy

Class Participation 20%, 2 Reaction Papers 20%, Final Paper 60%.

Texts

Course Packet.

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