THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

Undergraduate Course: Modern Arabic Literature (IMES10001)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryLanguage-based course providing a brief survey of the main developments in modern Arabic prose and poetry, focusing on a short selection of representative works from both genres.
Course description As this is a language-based course, the emphasis is placed on reading the chosen works in the original language, the majority of which will be covered in class. The primary texts studied are included in the course book. Guidance on secondary reading is also provided. Some additional material may be handed out as needed during the course. Students are urged to prepare well ahead of each class and bring any questions with them; time will be set aside for explanation and discussion of relevant questions raised by students.

The Modern Arabic Literature course consists of two parts, the first covering representative works of prose, and the second a selection of poetry. The literature covered attempts to represent several different Arab countries and both male and female writers and poets.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Before enrolling students on this course, you are asked to contact the IMES Secretary to ensure that a place is available ( e-mail imes@ed.ac.uk). Students not studying Arabic degrees must contact the course organiser to check level of Arabic language ability before being enrolling on the course.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 3 courses in a suitable subject area at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.

Students will also have to contact the course organiser to check level of Arabic language ability before being admitted to the course.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  11
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 30, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 164 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 45 %, Coursework 55 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Written Exam (45%) - Essay 2.500 words (35%) - Presentation (20%)
Feedback Short verbal, followed by a short written feedback by the course instructor for class presentations. Detailed written feedback by the course instructor and second marker for coursework essay.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. read modern Arabic literature in the original language;
  2. demonstrate an informed knowledge of key literary developments in Arabic prose and poetry from the 19th century onwards;
  3. demonstrate an awareness of historical and social contexts within which modern Arabic literature developed;
  4. critically discuss various themes found in modern Arabic literature;
  5. discuss various forms and techniques used by modern Arab writers and poets.
Reading List
Bibliography
General
Allen, Roger (ed.), Modern Arabic Literature, New York: The Ungar Publishing Company, 1987.
Allen, Roger, The Novella in Arabic: a Study in Fictional Genres, IJMES, vol. 18, no. 4, 1996, pp. 473-484.
Allen, Roger, An Introduction to Arabic Literature, Cambridge: CUP, 2000.
Ashour, Radwa, et. al. (eds.), Arab Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide 1873-1999, trans. Mandy McClure, Cairo and New York: American University in Cairo Press, 2008.
Badawi, M. M. (ed.), The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Modern Arabic Literature, Cambridge: CUP, 1992.
Badawi, M. M., A Short History of Modern Arabic Literature, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.
Badawi, M. M., Perennial Themes in Modern Arabic Literature, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 20, no. 1, 1993, pp. 3-19.
Cachia, Pierre, An Overview of Modern Arabic Literature, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1990.
Hafez, Sabry, The Genesis of Arabic Narrative Discourse, a Study in the Sociology of Modern Arabic Literature, London: Saqi, 1993.
Hafez, Sabry, The Quest for Identities: the Development of Modern Arabic Short Story, London: Saqi, 2007.
Jayyusi, Salma Khadra, Introduction, in Modern Arabic Fiction: An Anthology, New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.
Meisami, Julie Scott and Starkey, Paul (eds.) Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, London, 1998.
Moreh, Shmuel, Studies in Modern Arabic Prose and Poetry, Leiden: Brill, 1988.
Starkey, Paul, Modern Arabic Literature, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2006.

Poetry
Altoma, Salih J., Nazik al-Malaika's Poetry and its Critical Reception in the West, Arab Studies Quarterly 19:4 (1997), pp. 7-20.
Altoma, Salih J., Iraqi Poets in Western Exile, World Literature Today 77:3 & 4 (2003), pp. 37-42.
Azouqa, Aida O., Defamiliarization in the Poetry of 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati and T. S. Eliot: a Comparative Study, Journal of Arabic Literature 32 (2001), no. 2, pp. 167-205.
Badawi, M. M. (ed.), An Anthology of Modern Arabic Verse, OUP, 1970.
Badawi, M. M., A Critical Introduction to Modern Arabic Poetry, Cambridge: CUP, 1975.
Boullata, I. J., Badr Shâkir Al-Sayyâb and the Free Verse Movement, IJMES, I, 1970, pp. 248-58.
Darwish, Mahmud, The Madness of Being a Palestinian, Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, 1985, pp. 138-41.
Darwish, Mahmud, A Love Story between an Arab Poet and his Land, Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 31, no. 3, 2002, pp. 67-78.
Deyoung, T., A New Reading of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab's Hymn of the Rain, Journal of Arabic Literature, XXIV, no. 1 (1993), pp. 39-58.
El-Azma, Nazeer, The Tammuzi Movement and the Influence of T.S. Eliot on Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 88, 1968, pp. 671-78.
Frangieh, Bassam K., Bayati, 'Abd al-Wahhab: Love, Death and Exile, poems translated by Bassam K. Frangieh, Washington D.C., Georgetown University Press, 1990.
Gohar, Saddik M., Narratives of Diaspora and Exile in Arabic and Palestinian Poetry, Rupkatha Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities 3:2 (2011): 228-242.
Habib, Maha F. Writing Palestinian Exile: The Politics of Displacement in the Narratives of Mahmoud Darwish, Mourid Barghouti, Raja Shehadeh and Fawaz Turki., Holy Land Studies 12.1 (2013): 71-90.
Husni, Ronak, Al-Shabbi and His Nature Poetry: Romantic or Revolutionary?, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 22, no. 1, 1995, pp. 81-92.
Jayyusi, Salma Khadra, Trends and Movements in Modern Arabic Poetry, London: Brill, 1977.
Jayyusi, Salma Khadra, Introduction, in Modern Arabic Poetry: an Anthology, New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.
Kadhim, Hussein N., The Poetics of Postcolonialism: two Qasidahs by Ahmad Shawqi, Journal of Arabic Literature XXVIII (1997), pp. 179-208.
Mersal, Iman. Eliminating Diasporic Identities. PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 123, no. 5 (2008): 1581-589.
Musawi, Muhsin Jasim, Arabic Poetry: Trajectories of Modernity and Tradition, London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2010.
Nassar, Hala Khamis and Najat Rahman, eds., Mahmoud Darwish: Exile's Poet, Critical Essays, Northampton, Massachusetts: Olive Branch Press, 2008.
Ostle, Robin, The Romantic Revolution?, Journal of Arabic Literature, vol. 26, no. 1, 1995, pp. 93-104.
Simawe, Saadi A., Modernism and Metaphor in Contemporary Arabic Poetry, World Literature Today 75:2 (2001), pp. 75-84.
Stewart, Desmond, Abdul Wahab al-Bayati, London, Gazelle Publications, 1976.


Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsIMES MAL
Contacts
Course organiserDr Ines Asceric-Todd
Tel: (0131 6)50 6814
Email: Ines.Asceric-Todd@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Anne Budo
Tel: (0131 6)50 4161
Email: a.budo@ed.ac.uk
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