Moroccan Area Studies

Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature

Course Description

This course introduces students to modern Arabic literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through a selection of representative literary texts from different Arab countries. It looks into the linguistic, cultural and socio-political dynamics that both motivated and resulted from the writing of these texts. It also examines various trends in modern Arabic literature across genres, regions and national literatures.

Literary movements (Neo-classicism, social realism…) and genre (novel, poetry…) of modern Arabic literature are thus covered through the works of authors such as Tawfiq al-Hakim; Najib Mahfouz; Elia Abu Madi, Mahmoud Darwish and others.

Course Objectives

On completion of this course the students will be able to:

  • be familiar with some major authors of modern Arabic literature,
  • identify their literary movements,
  • analyze the dynamics between literature, society and politics.