Modern a|est|n|an L|terature (ostgraduate)

Course Code: 13nMC379

!"#$% '() *+,,'-.*
Irom the prob|ems of h|story and |dent|ty |n the modern age, to (post-)co|on|a||sm, nat|ona||sm,
genre theory, and concepts of memory, narrat|ve, and nosta|g|a, Modern a|est|n|an L|terature
grapp|es w|th, and revea|s the arch|tecture of many of the structures we ||ve, act and th|nk w|th|n
today. It |s a course |n the ||terary past and po||t|ca| exper|ence of the a|est|n|an peop|e. r|mary
read|ngs w||| be supp|emented and d|scussed a|ongs|de theor|esform around the g|obethat
have shaped contemporary thought about f|ct|on and soc|ety. Intense|y |oca|, and pa|nfu||y g|oba|,
read|ngs span the 20
th
and 21
st
centur|es, and tack|e quest|ons not on|y about what |t means to be
a|est|n|an, but a|so what |t means to even ask the quest|on.
1he course w||| g|ve students a f|rm ground|ng |n the f|e|d of a|est|n|an ||terature |n the Arab and
g|oba| contexts. It |s open to students of Arab|c, Comparat|ve L|terature and M|dd|e Last Stud|es.
Works w||| be read |n e|ther]both Lng||sh and Arab|c, and c|asses w||| focus on c|ose read|ng of the
pr|mary texts and deep engagement w|th re|evant theory, as we|| as prov|d|ng po||t|ca| and
h|stor|ca| context for the read|ngs. Students w||| emerge w|th a deep understand|ng of a|est|n|an
||terature, and w||| be prepared to engage more w|de|y w|th quest|ons of narrat|ve, representat|on,
and |dent|ty.

1erm 1- Negot|at|ng 8e|ong|ng
l. WhaL ls alesLlne? ConLesLed hlsLorles, memorles, and geographles
Week Cne - 1 CcLober

1oplcs
! ConcepLs ln LerrlLory
! SoverelgnLy and Lhe
sLaLe
! an Arablsm vs
naLlonallsm
! LocaLlon and belonglng

ln class readlngs/handouLs
Mahmoud uarwlsh, lu Card"
Mahmoud uarwlsh My MoLher" (performed by Marcel
khlelfeh)
CasLon 8achelard, 1be loetlcs of 5poce (shorL excerpL)
1lm Cresswell, lloce. o sbott lottoJoctloo (shorL excerpLs)

8ecommended
8assam lrangleh.Modern Arablc oeLry: vlslon and
8eallLy" ln xlles loet
Week 1wo - 8 CcLober

1oplcs
! Larly encounLers wlLh
Zlonlsm
! naLlon vs. SLaLe
! lnslde/CuLslde
r|mary read|ng
Samlh al-Caslm (selecLed poems)
LeLLers beLween Samlh Al-Caslm and Mahmoud uarwlsh
(selecLed)

Secondary read|ng
8arbara armenLer, Clvloq volce to 5tooes. lloce ooJ
! new ways of lmaglnlng

lJeotlty lo lolestloloo lltetotote.
Ch1 1he meanlng of SLones (p 1-7),
Ch3 1he llLeraLure of sLruggle and loss (p28-47)
8enedlcL Anderson, lmoqloeJ commooltles. keflectloos
oo tbe Otlqlo ooJ 5pteoJ of Notlooollsm. lnLroducLlon +
Ch1 (pp1-46)

kecommended read|ng
8ashld khalldl, lolestloloo lJeotlty [ChapLer 7]
Week 1hree- 13 CcLober

1oplcs
! lrom 8eallsm.. 1o
nosLalgla
! 8e-rememberlng
! new/Cld slgnlflers
r|mary read|ng
lbrahlm 1uqan (selecLed poems)
Samlra Azzam, 1he 1lme and Man,"
Adanla Shlbll, CuL of 1lme," ln utookeo 8oot

Secondary kead|ng
SveLlana 8oym, 1be lotote of Nostolqlo [excerpLs]
lerre nora, 1be keolms of Memoty [excerpLs]
lssa !. 8oullaLa, lbrhlm 1uqn's poem '8ed 1uesday'" ln
1toJltloo ooJ moJetolty lo Atoblc lltetotote

kecommended kead|ng
8aphael Samuel, 1beottes of Memoty [excerpLs]
Adel Al-CsLa'h, Pomeland ln lbrahlm 1uan's oeLry"
[Arablc]
Week lour - 22 CcLober

1oplcs
! 8eallsL nosLalgla
! 8e-rememberlng
! new/Cld slgnlflers
! lnvenLed 1radlLlons
r|mary kead|ng
?ahya ?akhllf, A loke 8eyooJ tbe wloJ. A Novel

Secondary kead|ng
8ochelle uavls, Mapplng Lhe pasL, re-creaLlng Lhe
homeland" ln Sa'dl, Ahmad P, and Llla Abu-
Lughod. Nokbo. lolestloe, 1948, ooJ tbe clolms of
Memoty
1ed Swedenburg, "1he alesLlnlan easanLs As naLlonal
Slgnlfler." Aotbtopoloqlcol Ooottetly. 63.1 (1990): 18-30

kecommended kead|ng
Lrlc Pobsbawm, loveotloo of ttoJltloo [excerpLs]
Week llve- 29 CcLober

1oplcs
! 1he many oLhers (1he
lsraell, Lhe !ew, Lhe
exlle, Lhe seLLler, Lhe
r|mary kead|ng
Chassan kanafanl, ketotoloq to nolfo ooJ Otbet 5totles.
!"#"$ &#"'()"#* 1be oJ of 5ptloq [excerpL]
lmll Pablbl, 1be 5ectet llfe of 5oeeJ, tbe lll-loteJ
lessoptlmlst [ChapLer 1]

'lnslder', Lhe reLurnee
eLc)
! Self vs oLher
! WrlLlng and Lhe oLher

Secondary kead|ng
!acques uerrlda, vlolence and MeLaphyslcs," ln wtltloq
ooJ ulffeteoce [excerpL]
Ldward Sald, Otleotollsm [excerpLs]

kecommended kead|ng
Aml Llad, MoJeto lolestloloo lltetotote ooJ coltote
[excerpLs]
kamal Abdel-Mallk, 1be tbetotlc of vloleoce . Atob-Iewlsb
eocoootets lo cootempototy lolestloloo lltetotote ooJ fllm
[ChapLer 1]

8eadlng Week
Week Slx - 12 november

1oplcs
! Cenre and lmaglnaLlon
! narraLlve sLrucLure:
whaL lmpacL on sLory?
! lnLerLexLuallLy and a
flexlble lmaglnary
r|mary kead|ng
lmll Pablbl, 1be 5ectet llfe of 5oeeJ, tbe lll-loteJ
lessoptlmlst [8esL of Lhe book]

Secondary kead|ng
Ahmad Parb. lnvlslblllLy, lmposslblllLy: 1he 8euse of
volLalre's Candlde ln Lmlle Pablby's Sa'eed Lhe
essopLlmlsL"
1zveLan 1odorov, Cetoes lo ulscootse [excerpLs]
1lm Allen. lotettextoollty [excerpL]

kecommended kead|ng
Maher !arrar, A narraLlon of 'ueLerrlLorlallzaLlon': lmll Pablbl's
1he essopLlmlsL"
Salma k !ayyusl, lnLroducLlon," of, Aotboloqy of MoJeto
lolestloloo lltetotote
II. Gender, Nat|on, kes|stance
Week Seven- 19 november

1oplcs
-Women wrlLers: whaL's aL
sLake?
- WhaL klnd of naLlon?
- 1elllng Lhe self
- AuLoblography

r|mary kead|ng
ladwa 1uqan, A Moootolooos Iootoey

Secondary kead|ng
Lllen llelschmann. 1be ootloo ooJ lts oew womeo. 1be
lolestloloo womeos movemeot 1920-1948 [excerpLs]
Caren kaplan, 8eslsLlng auLoblography : ouL-law genres
and LransnaLlonal femlnlsL sub[ecLs" ln ue/coloolzloq tbe
sobject . tbe polltlcs of qeoJet lo womeo's ootobloqtopby
Marllyn 8ooLh, Moy bet llkes be moltlplleJ. 8loqtopby ooJ
CeoJet polltlcs lo qypt [excerpLs]

kecommended kead|ng
nawar Al-Passan Colley. keoJloq Atob womeo's
ootobloqtopbles . 5bobtozoJ tells bet stoty
uwlghL u 8eynolds, lotetptetloq tbe self. Aotobloqtopby lo
tbe Atoblc lltetoty 1toJltloo

Week LlghL - 26 november

1oplcs
naLlonal Allegory

r|mary kead|ng
WlLh reference Lo works already covered

Secondary kead|ng
lrederlc !ameson, 1hlrd World LlLeraLure"
Al[az Ahmad, !ameson's 8heLorlc of CLherness ln Lhe
'naLlonal Allegory'" ln 5oclol 1ext
Anna 8ernard, 8eadlng Lhe naLlon," ln kbetotlcs of
8elooqloq . Notloo, Nottotloo, ooJ lstoel/lolestloe

kecommended kead|ng
lmre Selzman, Who's afrald of naLlonal Allegory?
!ameson, LlLerary CrlLlclsm, CloballzaLlon"
Week nlne- 3 uecember

1oplcs
-Cender and landscape
-lmaglned naLlon
- naLlon and lLs 'honour'
r|mary kead|ng
Mahmoud uarwlsh, '8lLa and Lhe rlfle'
Chassan kanafanl, umm 5ooJ [flrsL half]

Secondary kead|ng
Amal Amlreh, 8eLween CompllclLy and Subverslon: 8ody
ollLlcs ln alesLlnlan naLlonal narraLlve" 5ootb Atlootlc
Ooottetly volume 102, number 4, lall 2003
8arron, 8eLh. qypt os womoo [excerpL]

Week 1en - 10 uecember

1oplcs
! MascullnlLy and
8elonglng
! 'naLlonal Pero',
'freedom flghLer', eLc.
! 1he naLlon and lLs
'honour'
r|mary kead|ng
Chassan kanafanl, Meo lo tbe 5oo

Secondary kead|ng
Amy Zalman, Cender and naLlon"
lrls !ean-kleln, MoLhercrafL, sLaLecrafL, and sub[ecLlvlLy ln
Lhe alesLlnlan lnLlfada" ln Ametlcoo tbooloqlst

kecommended kead|ng
uanlel MonLerescu, SLranger MascullnlLles: Cender and ollLlcs ln a
alesLlnlan-lsraell '1hlrd Space'" ln lslomlc Moscolloltles
1erm 8reak
Week Lleven - 7 !anuary

1oplcs
r|mary L|terature
Chassan kanafanl, lltetotote of keslstooce
Sahar khallfeh, wllJ 1botos
8eslsLance:
-culLural
-llLerary
-pollLlcal
-Lhe everyday

Secondary L|terature
Ldward Sald, coltote ooJ lmpetlollsm [excerpL]
8arbara Parlow, keslstooce lltetotote [excerpL]

kecommended kead|ng
SLephen uuncombe, coltotol keslstooce keoJet
[selecLlons]
III. M|grat|on, Lx||e, D|aspora
Week 1welve - 14 !anuary

1oplcs
-!ordan/Culf
-Lhe doppelganger
- ulaspora chronoLopes


r|mary L|terature
lbrahlm nasrallah, Iost tbe two of os

Secondary L|terature
LsLher ereen, 1hrough Lhe Lens of Lhe ChronoLope:
SuggesLlons for a SpaLlo-1emporal erspecLlve on
ulaspora"
Mlkhall 8akhLln, lorms of Llme and of Lhe chronoLope ln
Lhe novel" [SelecLlon] ln 1be uloloqlc lmoqlootloo

Week 1hlrLeen - 21 !anuary

1oplcs
! 8elruL
! Memory
! Absence

r|mary L|terature
Mahmoud uarwlsh, Memoty fot lotqetfoloess

Secondary L|terature
aul 8lcoeur, Memoty, nlstoty, lotqettloq [excerpLs]
!ulle eLeeL, looJscope of nope ooJ uespolt [excerpLs]

kecommended kead|ng
Pala khamls nassar, Lxlle and Lhe ClLy: 1he Arab ClLy ln
Lhe WrlLlng of Mahmoud uarwlsh" ln xlles loet

Week lourLeen - 28 !anuary

1oplcs:
-Calro
-LlLerary neLworks
- lamlly neLworks
- Llfe of a clLy
r|mary kead|ng
Mourld 8arghouLhl, l wos boto tbete, l wos boto nete
(LxcerpLs)
1amlm 8arghouLhl, ln !erusalem"
8adwa Ashour, My Lxperlence WlLh WrlLlng" ln 1be vlew ftom
wltblo . wtltets ooJ ctltlcs oo cootempototy Atoblc lltetotote

Secondary kead|ng
1lmoLhy 8rennan. At nome lo tbe wotlJ.
cosmopolltoolsm Now (lnLroducLlon and ChapLer 1)
Samla Mehrez, 1be lltetoty llfe of colto, (lnLroducLlon)

kecommended kead|ng
heng Cheah and 8ruce 8obblns. cosmopolltlcs. 1blokloq
ooJ leelloq 8eyooJ tbe Notloo.
! lnLroducLlon, parL 1 : acLually exlsLlng
cosmopollLanlsm / 8ruce 8obblns
! lnLroducLlon, parL 2 : Lhe cosmopollLlcal Loday / heng
Cheah

Week llfLeen - 4 lebruary

1oplcs:
-London
-lnLernaLlonal news
- Ald and Lhe WesL

r|mary kead|ng
Zelna Chandour, 1be nooey
Ldward Sald. 1be Ooestloo of lolestloe. [excerpLs]

Secondary kead|ng
Lorl Allen, MarLyr bodles ln Lhe medla," ln Ametlcoo
tbooloqlst
!ulle eLeeL, looJscope of nope ooJ uespolt
[excerpLs]

kecommended kead|ng
8ema Pammaml. alesLlnlan nCCs slnce Cslo: from
pollLlcs Lo soclal movemenLs?" ln 8elnln, !oel, and
8ebecca L. SLeln. 1be 5ttoqqle fot 5ovetelqoty.
lolestloe ooJ lstoel, 199J-2005

8eadlng Week
Week SlxLeen - 18 lebruary
1oplcs:

-unlLed SLaLes
-CosmopollLanlsm
- 8ecomlng alesLlnlan


r|mary kead|ng
lawaz 1urkl, xlles ketoto [excerpLs]
Ldward Sald, Oot of lloce [excerpLs]
!ean Sald Makdlsl, 8ecomlng alesLlnlan," ln 5eekloq lolestloe . oew
lolestloloo wtltloq oo exlle ooJ bome

Secondary kead|ng
Salman 8ushdl, lmaglnary Pomelands"
lranLz lanon. 8lock 5klo, wblte Mosks [excerpLs]

kecommended kead|ng
!ames Cllfford, ulasporas" ln coltotol Aotbtopoloqy
III. ke-|mag|n|ng a|est|ne
Week SevenLeen - 23 lebruary

- 1he losL paradlse
- AlLernaLlve flguraLlons of
home
r|mary kead|ng
Mahmoud uarwlsh
! Lleven SLars over Al-Andalus
! 1he lndlan
Salma khadra !ayyusl [selecLed poems]

Secondary kead|ng
neuwlrLh, Angellka, Mahmoud uarwlsh's alesLlne- lrom
aradlse losL Lo a homeland made of words" ln xlles
loet
Ldward Sald oo 11 stots ovet AoJoloslo
lady !oudah, Mahmoud uarwlsh's Lyrlc Lplc"

kecommended kead|ng
Marla 8osa Menocal, 5botJs of love. xlle ooJ tbe otlqlos
of tbe lytlc
Week LlghLeen - 4 March

1oplcs
-movlng cenLers of alesLlne
- lnLernaLlonal focus and Lhe
shlfLlng locaLlons of narraLlve


r|mary kead|ng
Llana 8adr, 8olcooy ovet tbe lokblool [selecLlon]
Mourld 8arghouLhl, l sow komollob (ChapLer 1)
Muln 8lslsu, uesceot loto tbe wotet [excerpLs]

Secondary kead|ng
Pelga 1awll-Sourl. "new alesLlnlan
CenLers." lotetootloool Iootool of coltotol 5toJles. 12.3
(2009): 217-233.
Salah u Passan, naLlon valldaLlon: Modern alesLlnlan
LlLeraLure and Lhe pollLlcs of appeasemenL" ln 5oclol 1ext
!. Plllls Mlller, 1opoqtopbles (excerpLs)

kecommended kead|ng
Shaflq Al-PouL, My llfe lo tbe llO
8aruch klmmerllng and !oel S Mlgdal, 1be lolestloloo
leople, o nlstoty, (ChapLers 8-10)

Week nlneLeen - 11 March

1oplcs
-lragmenLs
-1he non-naLlonal naLlon
-llndlng Lhe self
r|mary kead|ng
Adanlya Shlbll. we ote oll epoolly fot ftom love

Secondary kead|ng
arLha ChaLLer[l. 1be Notloo ooJ lts ltoqmeots (LxcerpLs]
1homas C 8eebee. lJeoloqy of Ceote [excerpLs]

kecommended kead|ng
1zveLan 1odorov. Ceotes lo ulscootse
Week 1wenLy - 18 March

1oplcs
-1hlnklng beyond Lhe LexL
r|mary kead|ng
Ldward Sald, Aftet tbe lost 5ky