30046 - Arab Literature 1 (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

The student possesses in-depth knowledge of the history of modern Arabic literature, with particular attention to the relationship between literary texts and the historical, artistic and linguistic context. He knows and uses the practical methodologies for the analysis and interpretation of the literary text.

Course contents

MODULE 1

The first module aims to provide an in-depth introduction to the figure of the Egyptian intellectual Aḥmad Amīn (1886–1954) through the analysis of his major works, in particular his autobiography (Ḥayātī, 1950) and the renowned trilogy devoted to the history of Islamic civilisation: Fajr al-Islām (1929), Ḍuḥà al-Islām (1933–1936), and Ẓuhr al-Islām (1945–1955). These texts constitute a central expression of his broader project of reform and reinterpretation of the Arab-Islamic intellectual heritage, which will be examined in light of the cultural and ideological debates that developed during the Nahḍah.

The analysis will be conducted from a specific perspective, namely that of Orientalist discourse on Islam, which has often interpreted Arab-Islamic intellectual production through simplified dichotomous frameworks such as “tradition vs. modernity” or “fundamentalism vs. progressivism.” Such categories have generated reductive readings that fail to grasp the complexity of intellectual trajectories and the historical contexts in which they emerged.

Within this framework, Aḥmad Amīn represents an emblematic case of an intellectual who cannot easily be reduced to such polarizations. Rather, his work can be understood as a complex attempt to reconcile spiritual and rational dimensions, Arab-Islamic heritage and contributions from Western culture. In this respect, his reassessment of Muʿtazilism is central: it should not be interpreted as a simple adherence to a rationalist tradition, but as part of a broader reformist project aimed at critically reinterpreting the Islamic legacy in order to articulate an autochthonous form of modernity, alternative to yet in dialogue with Western modernity.

Through the close reading of selected passages, the module seeks to provide students with critical tools to analyse Amīn’s methodology, sources, and intellectual framework, while contributing to the reconstruction of a significant chapter in the intellectual history of the Nahḍah. Finally, the module offers an opportunity to reflect on processes of canonisation and marginalisation in modern and contemporary cultural historiography, highlighting a figure who is widely recognised in the Arab world but still relatively understudied and under-translated in Western scholarship.

MODULE 2

The second module offers an in-depth exploration of contemporary Arab literary and graphic production, with particular attention to two closely interconnected contexts: Palestine and Lebanon. The analysis will be based on selected excerpts from novels and graphic narratives, which will serve as the foundation for a critical examination of key themes, authors, and expressive forms.

Palestine

The analysis will focus on Palestinian literary production from the aftermath of the Nakba (1948) to the present day. Starting from central themes such as memory, ġurba (exile), the lost homeland, and resistance (muqāwama and ṣumūd), the module will examine selected contemporary authors, including Ġassān Kanafānī and ʿAdaniya Šiblī, and their major works. Attention will also be given to how these themes are rearticulated in contemporary art and graphic narratives, such as those by Muḥammad Sabāʿina.

Lebanon

The focus on Lebanon will centre on themes of memory and trauma related to the civil war (1975–1990) and on representations of the city of Beirut. Works by authors such as Ilyās Ḫūrī and Ḥanān al-Šayḫ will be considered, with particular emphasis on graphic narratives, a field in which Lebanon has played a pioneering role in the Arab world, through artists such as Līnā Mirhiǧ and Māzin Kirbāǧ.

 

Readings/Bibliography

MODULE 1

Amīn, Aḥmad, Ḥayātī, Mu’assasat Hindāwī li-l-ta‘līm wa-l-thaqāfah, al-Qāhira 2011.

Amīn, Aḥmad, La mia vita, Introduzione, versione dall’arabo e note a cura di Andrea Borruso e Maria Teresa Mascari, Liceo Ginnasio «Gian Giacomo Adria», Mazara del Vallo 1996.

Amīn, Aḥmad, Fajr al-Islām, Mu’assasat Hindāwī li-l-taʿlīm wa-l-thaqāfa, al-Qāhira 2011.

Amīn, Aḥmad, Ḍuḥà al-Islām, Mu’assasat Hindāwī li-l-taʿlīm wa-l-thaqāfa, al-Qāhira 2011.

Amīn, Aḥmad, Ẓuhr al-Islām, Mu’assasat Hindāwī li-l-taʿlīm wa-l-thaqāfa, al-Qāhira 2013.

Barak, Efraim, Ahmad Amin and Nationalism, in «Middle Eastern Studies» 43/2 (2007), pp. 295-310.

Camera D'Afflitto, Isabella, Letteratura araba contemporanea. Dalla nahḍah a oggi, Carocci, Roma 2007.

Caspar, Robert, Un aspect de la pensée musulmane moderne: le renouveau du moʿtazilisme, in « MIDÉO » 4 (1957), pp. 141-202, https://alkindi.ideo-cairo.org/append_pdf/iu439.pdf/66523.

Hanssen, Jens; Weiss, Max (eds.), Arabic Thought beyond the Liberal Age. Towards an Intellectual History of the Nahda, Cambridge University Press, New York 2016.

Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970.

Kateman, Ammeke, Muḥammad ʿAbduh and His Interlocutors: Conceptualizing Religion in a Globalizing World, Brill, Leiden 2019.

Mīshāl Jiḥā, al-Munāẓarah al-dīniyyah bayna ’l-šayḫ Muḥammad ʿAbduh wa Faraḥ Anṭūn (La querelle religiosa tra lo šayḫ Muḥammad ʿAbduh e Faraḥ Anṭūn), Bīsān li ’l našr wa ’l-tawzī‘, Bayrūt 2014.

Mizutani, Makoto, Liberalism in Twentieth Century Egyptian Thought: The Ideologies of Ahmad Amin and Husayn Amin, I.B.Tauris, London-New York 2014.

Perrin, Emmanuelle, Le creuset et l’orfèvre : le parcours d’Ahmad Amîn (1886-1954), in « Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée » 95-98 (2002), https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/238.

Perrin, Emmanuelle, Amīn, Aḥmad, in «Encyclopaedia of Islam», 3rd ed. online, Brill, Leiden 2008.

Peta, Ines, Aḥmad Amīn’s Rationalist Approach to the Qur’ān and Sunnah, in «Religions» 13 (2022), pp. 1-15, https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/3/234.

Peta, Ines, L'alba, il mattino e il meriggio dell'Islam di Aḥmad Amīn, Istituto per l'Oriente Carlo Alfonso Nallino (IPOCAN), Roma 2025.

Renan, ernest, L’islam et la science, avec la réponse d’al-Afghânî, Préface de F. Zabbal, l’Archange Minotaure, s.l. 2005.

MODULE 2

Primary sources

ʿAdaniyā Šiblī, Tafṣīl ṯānawī. Bayrūt: al-Ādāb, 2017.

Kanafānī, Ġassān. ʿĀʾid ilà Ḥayfā. Bayrūt: Dār al-ʿAwda, 1969.

Kirbāǧ, Māzin. Risāla ilà al-umm. In Samandal 13. Bayrūt: Samandal, 2012.

Mirhiǧ, Līnā. Aʿtaqidu annanā sanakūnu ḥādʾīna fī l-ḥarb al-muqbila. Bayrūt: Dār Qunbuz, 2006.

Sabāʿina, Muḥammad. Anā Aḥbabtu al‑Ḥikāyah. Filasṭīn, 2020.

Secondary sources

Acconcia, Giuseppe, Giulia Aiello, Laura Menin e Caterina Roggero. Mondi arabi. Una guida essenziale. Milano: Bompiani, 2024.

Camera d’Afflitto Isabella. Cento anni di cultura palestinese. Roma: Carocci, 2007.

Comito, Chiara & Silvia Moresi (a cura di). Arabpop: arte e letteratura in rivolta dai Paesi arabi. Eterotopie, n. 622. Milano: Mimesis, 2020.

Corrao, Francesca Maria & Monica Ruocco (a cura di). Letteratura araba. 2 voll. Milano: Mondadori. Vol 2, 2024.

Di Ricco, Massimo. “Drawing for a New Public: Middle Eastern 9th Art and the Emergence of a Transnational Graphic Movement”, In Binita Mehta & Pia Mukherji (eds.), Postcolonial Comics: Texts, Events, Identities. Routledge, 2015.

Ghaibeh, Lina, & Simona Gabrieli. Nouvelle Génération: La Bande Dessinée Arabe Aujourd’hui. The New Generation: Arab Comics Today, Marseille: Alifbata, 2017.

Høigilt, Jacob. “Egyptian comics and the challenge to patriarchal authoritarianism”. International Journal of Middle East Studies 49(1). 111–131, 2017.

Høigilt, Jacob. Comics in Contemporary Arab Culture: Politics, Language and Resistance, London/New York: I.B.Tauris, 2019.

Licitra, Ilenia. “Da Drawing the War (2002) a Salām (2019): linguaggi, memorie e identità nella produzione di Lena Merhej”. La Rivista di Arablit XII (24). 113–32, 2022.

Merhej, Lena Irmgard. “Men with Guns: War Narratives in New Lebanese Comics”, In Binita Mehta & Pia Mukherji (eds.), Postcolonial Comics: Texts, Events, Identities. Routledge, 2015.

Nachabe Taan, Yasmine. “Blogging in Times of War: The July 2006 War in Lebanon and Mazen Kerbaj Imaging the Unimaginable”. In Tatiana Prorokova & Nimrod Tal (eds.), Cultures of War in Graphic Novels: Violence, Trauma, and Memory, Ithaca, NY: Rutgers University Press. 204-224, 2018.

 

Teaching methods

1) Frontal lessons

2) Interactive lessons

3) Activities in pairs and / or in groups

Assessment methods

The oral exam aimed at verifying the mastery of the topics covered. In particular we will evaluate the argumentative and expressive ability of the students, the knowledge of the specialized language studied and the ability to analyze the texts examined.

Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) or temporary or permanent disabilities:
It is recommended that you contact the University office in charge (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) and the instructor as soon as possible, in order to identify together the most effective strategies for attending classes and/or preparing for the exam.Any requests for accommodations must be submitted no later than 15 days before the exam date by sending an email to the instructor and copying (Cc) disabilita@unibo.it [mailto:disabilita@unibo.it] (in case of disability) or dsa@unibo.it [mailto:dsa@unibo.it] (for students with SLD).

Teaching tools

Audio / video texts, power-points and other materials provided by the teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Ines Peta

See the website of Giulia Aiello