Critical Social Thought 349MR - Contemp. Arabic Literature

Setting their historical novels in the Middle Ages, contemporary Arab writers such as Radwa Ashour, Jurjy Zaydan, Gamal al-Ghitani and Bensalem Himmich have reflected into the past the problems of present Middle-Eastern societies. Writing from Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco, they revisited with nostalgia the extraordinary medieval heritage of the Arab-Islamic world, educating their readers while taking them on journeys to Medieval Andalusia, to the last years of the Baghdad of the caliphs, and to Cairo on eve of the Ottoman conquest. By looking into the medieval mirror, these authors challenged conservative readings of this heritage. In doing so, they contributed to the modernization of their countries and were able to escape censorship, uphold feminist values, and to criticize Western imperialism and oppressive Arab rulers. In this course, we will read their works in valuable English translations, while discussing their extraordinary lives as twentieth-century writers, intellectuals, and activists.