OVERVIEW

The course aims to continue to explore the evolution of the Arab and Egyptian narrative, started in the Arabic Literature II module. It will cover the historical and socio-cultural context in the Arab world at the end of the Second World War and the events following the decolonization process in the 60s and 70s. It intends to provide an overview of the main narrative trends in those years in relation to the political and socio-cultural evolution.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course intends to provide an overview of the main narrative trends in those years in relation to the political and socio-cultural evolution, analyse the most representative and relevant themes, authors and works of that period, as well as identify their specificity in the modern and contemporary Arabic literary context.

The course offers students methodological knowledge and critical ideas that enable the understanding of other phenomena, authors and works from the same period. The analysis of the works involves reading and commenting on several selected passages, both in Italian and in Arabic.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

- Provide students with an in-depth knowledge of modern Arabic literature in general, the main trends, literary currents and texts of modern and contemporary Egyptian literature.
- Provide analytical and interpretation skills for the works covered.
- Stimulate students to reflect on some socio-literary, political and linguistic issues relating to the modernity-tradition debate and to the topic of diglossia.
- To broaden the knowledge of lexis, phraseology and syntactic structures of Standard Arabic through the reading and the analysis of some passages.

TEACHING METHODS

Frontal lessons.

Due to the extension of the health emergency, the lectures of the first semester will be delivered remotely using Microsoft Teams, supported by auxiliary texts and photocopies. Unless otherwise indicated, the lessons of the second semester will be held in class.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

It is a 36-hour course (6 credits) and comprises the second and third modules of Arabic literature II a.a. 2020/2021 to be held beginning from December and throughout the second semester.

Module I

We will cover the historical-literary context of the Arab world at the beginning of the twentieth century, the birth and the evolution of the novel and the short story, particularly in Egypt, focusing on the most relevant themes and works, such as Fī l-qiṭār (By train), al-Šayḫ Ğum'a, Ḥadīṯ al-qarya (Village small talk), Zaynab, Yawmiyyāt nā'ib fī l-aryāf (Diary of a Country Prosecutor), Bayna al-qaṣrayn (the Trilogy of Naǧīb Maḥfūẓ : Palace walk).

- Reading in Italian and in Arabic as well as analysis of some texts from this period.

Module II

- The course deals with the evolution of the novel in Egypt and in other Arab countries in relation to the crucial events that have made the contemporary history of the Arab world and in particular the process of decolonisation, the Arab Israeli conflict and the crisis of the post-colonial regime in Egypt.

- The following works will be covered:

• Riǧāl fī l-šams (Men in the sun - 1963) by Ġassān Kanafānī (Palestine);

• Mawsim al-hiğrah ilà al-šamāl (Season of Migration  to the North - 1967) by al-Ṭayyib Ṣāliḥ (Sudan);

• Al-Zaynī Barakāt (Zaynī Barakāt. History of the grand censor of the city of Cairo - 1971) by Ğamāl al-Ġiṭānī (Egypt);

• al-Karnak (Karnak Café - 1971-74) by Naǧīb Maḥfūẓ (Egypt).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Isabella Camera d’Aflitto, Letteratura araba contemporanea, Carocci, Roma, 2007;
• Isabella Camera d’Aflitto, Scrittori arabi del Novecento, Bompiani, Milano, 2002;
• Toelle H., Zakaria K., Alla scoperta della letteratura araba. Dal vi secolo ai nostri giorni. Argo, Lecce, 2010 (La parte sulla letteratura moderna e contemporanea);
• Avino M, Camera d’Afflitto I, Salem A. (a cura di), Antologia della letteratura araba contemporanea, Carocci, Roma, 2015.

N.B.: Ogni studente dovrà aver letto almeno due opere a scelta (romanzi o antologie di racconti o poesie), tradotte dall’arabo in italiano, e dovrà saperle esporre e analizzare in modo approfondito nella prova finale.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

NASSER AHMED ISMAIL AHMED (President)

ABDELHALEEM HUSSEIN ABDELMOTTALEB SOLAIMAN

MARCO AMMAR (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The lessons of the first semester will begin on ........ according to the following schedule:

Class schedule

ARABIC LITERATURE AND CULTURE III

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Students will have to prove their acquaintance with the course contents, including all the texts examined during the course

Exam schedule