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 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 such as: the relationship between the Arab world and the European colonial powers; the question of national, cultural and religious identity; the relationship between tradition and modernity; and the social and female emancipation. In the context of the historical and socio-literary framework of that period, particular emphasis will be given to the analysis of the first autobiographical narrative works.

The following works will be covered:  al-Ḥiğāb (The Veil), Fī l-qiṭār (By train), Ḥadīṯ al-qarya ((Village small talk), Zaynab, al-Ayyām (The Days), Adīb, Yawmiyyāt nā’ib fī l-aryāf ((Diary of a Country Prosecutor).

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

• Module II

- The module deals with the evolution of the novel in Egypt in relation to the crucial events that have shaped 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:

- Zuqāq al-Midaqq (Midaqq Alley 1947) by Naǧīb Maḥfūẓ (m. 2006);

- Al-Zaynī Barakāt (Zaynī Barakāt 1971) by Ğamāl al-Ġiṭānī (Egypt);

- al-Naddāha (The Caller 1969) by Yūsuf Idrīs (m. 1991);

- al-Lağna (The Committee 1981) by Ṣun‘allāh Ibrāhīm (1938).

N.B .: Each student must read at least two works of their choice (novels or anthologies of short stories or poems), translated from Arabic into Italian, and must be able to expose and analyse them in depth in the exam.

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.

Students’ learning will be evaluated according to the following criteria:  the correctness and clarity of the student's exposition of the historical literary topics covered in the course, the student's ability to place the movements, the authors and the texts dealt with in the history of modern and contemporary Arabic literature; the ability to analyse the works chosen and studied.

Exam schedule