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

The course will focus on Aḥmad Amīn (1886-1954), a significant figure of Egypt in the first half of the 20th century,  belonging to the generation of intellectuals and writers who dominated the period between the two wars. He was a prolific author who fought for the renewal of education and culture and was among the protagonists of the Islamic reform movement.

1) Module 1 (Prof. Chiara Fontana)

The first module of the course devoted to studying the oeuvre of Egyptian intellectual Aḥmad Amīn provides an overview of the socio-political and cultural context in which this author lived and worked. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of pan-Islamism and pan-Arabism, read through the prism of the most powerful tool of debate and cultural diffusion of the time: the Arabic press. Amīn himself was a prominent journal editor, running al-Thaqāfah magazine between 1939 and 1953. A comparison between al-Thaqafah's insights and those of other major magazines will be provided.

2) Module 2 (Prof. Ines Peta)

We will present the figure of Aḥmad Amīn and analyze some excerpts from his works, in particular from his autobiography (Ḥayātī, 1950) and from his trilogy on the history of Islamic civilization (Fajr al-Islām, 1929; Ḍuḥà al-Islām, 1933-1936; Ẓuhr al-Islām, 1945-1955), in order to study its methodology, sources and contents. It will be an opportunity to reconstruct a precious piece of the intellectual history of the Nahḍah and to shed light on a recognized and appreciated intellectual, but whose works have only been minimally studied and translated into the main Western languages.

Readings/Bibliography

Module 1 (Chiara Fontana)

Giovanni Canova, “Gli studi sull'epica popolare araba,” Oriente Moderno, Anno 57, No. 5/6 (Maggio-Giugno 1977), pp. 211-226.

Israel Gershoni, “Egyptian Liberalism in an Age of "Crisis of Orientation": Al-Risala's Reaction to Fascism and Nazism, 1933-39,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Nov.,1999), pp. 551-576.

Mahmoud Haddad, “The Rise of Arab Nationalism Reconsidered”, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (May 1994), pp. 201-222.

Sabri Hafez, “Cultural Journals and Modern Arabic Literature: A Historical Overview”, Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, 2017, No. 37, (2017), pp. 9-49.

Jan C. Jansen, “Creating National Heroes: Colonial Rule, Anticolonial Politics and Conflicting Memories of Emir ‘Abd al-Qadir in Algeria, 1900–1960s,” History and Memory, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Fall/Winter 2016), pp. 3-46.

Elisabeth Kendall, Literature, Journalism and the Avant-Garde, Intersection in Egypt, London-New York: Routledge, 2006, chapter 1 pp. 8-52.

Umberto Rizzitano, “I danni dell'imitazione della poesia araba preislamica secondo il critico Aḥmad Amīn Bey,” Oriente Moderno, Anno 26, No. 1/6 (Gennaio-Giugno 1946), pp. 42-49.

Module 2 (Ines Peta)

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

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.

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

Martin, Richard C., Mark R. Woodward, and Dwi S. Atmaja, Defenders of Reason in Islam. Muʿtazilism from Medieval School to Modern Symbol, ebook ed. Oneworld Publications, London 2016 (First published in 1997).

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.

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.

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 Chiara Fontana