87362 - Contemporary Arabic Literary Civilisation (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have acquired an advanced level of knowledge of modern and contemporary Arab culture and literature with reference to the original sources. They will be able independently to conduct documentary and bibliographic research, so as to apply their skills in the editorial and publishing field and in the promotion of the cultural heritage.

Course contents

The course consists of a general part, aimed at outlining the main lines of development in modern and contemporary Arabic literature (weeks 1-2), and a monographic part on migration in Arabic fiction from 1948 to the present. In this section, particular attention will be paid to Palestinian and Iraqi literature as case studies. The topics will be divided as follows:

• Week 1: General elements of literary criticism; Definitions and terminological issues; Nahda and modern Arabic literary modernity
• Week 2: Beginnings of the novel; Modernism and poetry; Post-1967 and the "new sensibility."
• Week 3: Adab al-mahjar and travel literature; The paradigm of exile; Nakba and exile in Palestinian literature.
• Week 4: "Internal" and "external" exile in/from Palestine and Iraq; New trends post-1990 and post-2003; Poetics of return.
  Week 5: Concluding reflections + student presentations.

Readings/Bibliography

Common Bibliography:

• Textbook: Letteratura araba: Dalla Nahda alle rivoluzioni e oltre. Edited by Francesca Maria Corrao, Monica Ruocco. Mondadori, 2024. Chapters 17, 18, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30.
• Literary critique + Arabic texts (with translation) published on the course website.
• One novel in translation (choose from the following):
  1. Badr, Ali, Il suonatore di nuvole, Argo 2018.
  2. Barakat, Hoda, Corriere di notte, La nave di Teseo 2019.
  3. Blasim, Hassan, Il matto di piazza della libertà, Il Sirente 2013.
  4. Douaihy, Jabbour, Pioggia di giugno, Feltrinelli 2006.
  5. Kachachi, Inaam, Dispersi, Brioschi 2018.
  6. Kanafani, Ghassan, Uomini sotto il sole, Edizioni Lavoro 2016 + Habibi, Emil, Il pessottimista, Bompiani 2002.
  7. Khaal, Abu Bakr, Titanic Africani, Atmosphere Libri 2020.
  8. Jaber, Rabiee, Come fili di seta, Feltrinelli 2011.
  10. Rmili, Emna, La spiaggia delle anime, Emuse 2025.
• Salih, Tayyeb, La stagione della migrazione a nord, Sellerio 2011.
• Selmi, Habib, Gli odori di Marie Claire, Mesogea 2013.
• Wannous, Dima, Quelli che hanno paura, Baldini+Castoldi 2018.
• Fishere, Ezzeddin, Abbracciarsi sul ponte di Brooklyn, Brioschi 2019.

Additional primary texts relevant to the course theme, including translations in languages other than Italian, can be agreed upon well in advance of the exam date.

Additional Reading for Non-Attending Students:

Choose one monograph from the following:

• MigratioN: Halabi, Zeina G., The Unmaking of the Arab Intellectual: Prophecy, Exile, and the Nation, Edinburgh University Press 2017.
• Iraq: Caiani, F & Cobham, C., The Iraqi Novel: Key Writers, Key Texts, Edinburgh University Press 2013
• Palestine: 3 articles to be agreed upon with Dr Pozzoli

Teaching methods

In addition to lectures, attending students will be required to actively participate to the classes, primarily through the discussion of short literary texts that will be shared in advance on the course website.

Assessment methods

A student is considered to be attending if they participate in at least 75% of the lectures. Attending students are invited to complete an individual assignment devoted to one of the novels in the bibliography, to be presented as a short seminar during the final lessons of the course.

The exam will be conducted as an oral interview. Students will be required to demonstrate the knowledge acquired regarding the history of modern and contemporary Arabic literary civilization, contextualizing the main lines of literary criticism and texts covered during the course. The following will be evaluated:

• Mastery of the content.
• Ability to critically analyze the main themes and debates in modern and contemporary Arabic literature.

A student's ability to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered in class, combined with critical utilization of that knowledge, will be evaluated with excellent grades. A merely mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter, along with limited or sometimes inappropriate analytical abilities, will lead to discrete grades. Major gaps in the knowledge of the exam material will result in insufficient grades.

Teaching tools

Slides for each lesson; anthology of texts in the original language (for students studying Arabic), with translations in Italian or English.

Students requiring compensatory or dispensatory tools due to disabilities or specific learning disorders (DSA) must first contact the appropriate office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilitae-dsa/it/per-studenti .

Office hours

See the website of Federico Pozzoli