Course Outline | Fall Semester 2015

COMP 611
Evolution of Modern Literary Genres in
Arabic Literature
Program Core Compulsory Course
Course Teacher/s: Dr. Nijmeh Hajjar
Credit Value: 3
Pre-requisites: No pre-requisites
Co-requisites: COMP 612
Course Duration: 14 weeks; Semester 1
Total Student Study Time: 126 hours, including 42 contact
hours of lectures and seminars.

AIMS

This course will address the evolution of modern narrative and dramatic forms as well as
developments in modern poetry in Arabic from the late 19th century to the present day. The
course will discuss the historical and socio-cultural context of the modern Arabic literary
renaissance, including its links with classical Arabic literary and cultural heritage and its
interaction with modern European literature. It will cover modern literary movements in the
Arab World and the Mahjar; the influence of Western romanticism, symbolism, realism,
surrealism on new Arabic literary genres and forms of expression; as well as innovative
techniques and themes which have preoccupied Arabic creative writers in their encounter with
modernity.

The course will trace developments in modern Arabic literature, both poetry and prose. Special
attention will be given to the emergence of new poetic forms including prose poetry and free
verse, and to the rise and development of new genres of Arabic prose including the Literary
Essay, Autobiography and Biography; Short Story, Novel, and Drama.

Students will study examples of Arabic literary genres, selected from the writings of prominent
men and women authors from different Arab countries and Diaspora. Students will also learn
to appreciate, and critically analyse modern Arabic creative writings within the socio-cultural
context of the Arab World, and against the background of interaction between the Arab World,
the West and the wider world.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME

This is a core course for the Comparative Literature program. The learning outcomes of this
course are directly linked to those of the program since studying the evolution of Modern
literary Genres in Arabic literature will provide students with “the most sophisticated,
interdisciplinary, critical tools to study the literary and cultural products of the Arab world”,
which is at the heart of the learning outcomes of the comparative literature program. These
are indispensable skills and competencies needed to engage in Comparative Literature, and
therefore key for achieving the core objectives of the program and fulfilling the mission of the
Institute in producing academics who are up to international standards. This course also
enables students to acquire the following skills:
1) Subject-specific skills:

a. recognise the main characteristics (forms, techniques and themes) of different

genres in modern Arabic literature, and trace their histories and interactions;
b. demonstrate understanding that genre boundaries are often blurred; and that a
successful literary work may often combine genres in some original way; and
c. interpret the evolution of literary genres in the Arab World and Diaspora in their
socio-cultural context, keeping in mind the dynamics of unity and diversity, and
continuity and change.

2) Core academic skills:

a. apply modern critical approaches, including comparison and contrast, to read

and write about modern Arabic literary genres, both prose and poetry
b. analyse literary works (a story or a poem), in order to understand their subjects
and structure, using scholarly methods and academic language; and
c. judge literary works, objectively—as much as possible—, by employing a variety
of strategies (historical, textual, analytical, formal, thematic, etc), and by using
critical sources and maintaining academic integrity.

3) Personal and key skills:

a. engage critically with concepts, definitions, and a wide range of sources

b. formulate topics of inquiry, raise questions, & conduct independent research; and
c. construct persuasive and well-documented arguments in accordance with
scholarly standards.

LEARNING/TEACHING METHODS

Lecture, 1 hour: The lecture is based on research in primary sources & relevant scholarly works;
detailed notes and power point presentations will be made available to students via the
course Learning Management System, after the weekly lecture; new technologies (audio-
visual and electronic media) will be used in class to further engage students with the
subject matter, and enable them to achieve the specific skills and learning outcomes
Seminar, 2 hours: Seminars are designed to enable students to achieve learning outcomes,
particularly core academic and personal skills. Weekly seminars include:
 Reading and discussing examples of, and studies on literary genres and authors. Students
will be provided with a Selection of Reading Material before the start of semester. This
selection is only meant as a small sample to stimulate their interest, and an introduction to
a proper understanding of the topics discussed. Students are advised to use this selection
together with references on their reading list to prepare for seminar discussions, for
background reading to supplement the lectures, and for preparing their essays and class
presentations (see Assignments);
 Giving students general guidelines for writing essays, for conducting research (in the
library and online), and for using critical sources and maintaining academic integrity;
 Students’ class presentations (see below)
One-to-one tutorial: Each student will have 3-4 hours per semester as personal tutorials.

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ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments for this Core Course include:
1. Thematic Essay (2500 words, 25%). Due week 7
2. Literary Genre-focused Essay (3000 words, 35%). Due week 13
3. Annotated Bibliography (500 words, 5%): Prepare an annotated bibliography of ten
scholarly works on modern Arabic literature. Students are required to comment on
books and articles, which they have actually consulted. Due week 4
4. Book Review (500 words, 5%): Prepare an analytical and critical review of one book from
the Annotated Bibliography list, commenting on the author’s aims and objectives,
methodology, and argument etc. Students will also present their Book Review as part of the
Seminar Activities (see below).
5. Essay Synopsis (500 words, 5%): Write a brief outline for one of the above essays
explaining the main questions, theoretical framework and sources (this shouldn’t overlap
with the Book Review). Students will also present their Essay Synopsis as part of the
Seminar Activities (see below).
6. Final Written Examination: (2 hours and 30 minutes, 20%). This is a formal
assessment. Students will be examined on knowledge acquired during lectures and
seminars. The exam will be scheduled within the final examination week as published in
the academic calendar.
7. Seminar Activities: These include:
a. Preparation: Students are required to prepare for weekly reading (from the Selection
of Reading Material); write comments and questions using the prescribed texts as well
as studies on literary analysis and criticism in Arabic and English; and engage in group
discussions via the course Learning Management System. Two written submissions
per student will be marked each semester (500 words, 5%).
b. Class participation: Students are required to actively participate in the seminar
discussions. To further engage them, each student will get the chance to lead the
discussion at least once per semester (depending on student numbers).
c. Two class presentations of the Book Review and Essay Synopsis (approx. 10 minutes
each). Schedules will be planned in the 1st week of semester; presentations will begin
week 3.

ASSESSMENT
The proposed assessment for this Core Course consists of the following:
1. Thematic Essay (2500 words, 25%)
2. Literary Genre-focused Essay (3000 words, 35%)
3. Annotated Bibliography (500 words, 5%)
4. Book Review (500 words, 5%)
5. Essay Synopsis (500 words, 5%)
6. Final Written Examination: (2 hours and 30 minutes, 20%).
7. Seminar Preparation: Two written submissions per student will be marked each semester
(500 words, 5%).

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SYLLABUS PLAN

Week One: Introduction and Orientation

 Arabic cultural renaissance: historical, socio-political and intellectual context
 Arab encounter with the West

Week Two: Modern Arabic Literature between the ‘Old’ and the ‘New’
 The Neo-Classicists
 The Modernists: Beginnings of change and channels of Western influence
o Translation from European literatures (late 19th-early 20th C): modernisation of the
Arabic language; and evolution of new literary genres (essay, fiction)
o Arab writers returning from the West: Developing forms of existing genres (prose
poetry) and new literary genres
 Development of modern Arabic literature: From imitation to authenticity

Week Three: Modern Arabic Literature and Consequences of Cultural Encounter with the
West
 Attitudes to national politics and human condition: The rebel literature, the committed,
the pure sentimental, the ivory-tower, symbolist, and art for art’s sake
 Attitudes to language and literary expression: classical and vernacular, imitation and
innovation
 Attitudes to history as an inspiration
 Arabic literature and intellectual questions (religion, state, society, ethics)

Week Four: New Literary Genres: The Essay & Creative Narrative
 Role of the Arabic press
 Diverse types of literary essay, including essays of criticism (art, literary and socio-
cultural)
 Autobiography and biography as forms of creative narrative

Week Five: Modern Arabic Fictional Narrative – The Beginnings

 The classical tradition of Arabic fictional narrative (moral tales, maqama, The One
Thousand and One Nights)
 Early developments in the ‘modern’ fictional narrative: Neo-maqama; neo-allegorical
story as social criticism; ‘didactic’ essay-story; romantic essay-story
 Early modern novelistic narratives: serialized adaptations or translations from European
novels; the historical novel

Week Six: Development of the ‘Genuine’ Novel in the Arab World and the Mahjar
 First ‘real’ novels / al-riwaya al-fanniyya; the romantic novella
 Factors: Social and political transformations; influence of European Existentialists on
Arabic novelists’ commitment to the condition humaine
 Novelistic techniques: flash-back, interior monologue, stream of consciousness;
intellectual dialogue, multi-angled representation, etc

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Week Seven: The Arabic Novel: Themes and Orientations
 Principal themes: Social justice, political struggle (national struggle for independence
and the Palestinian question), moral evaluation of the human condition
 Orientations in the contemporary Arabic novel: Reconciliation, exposure, revolutionary
change
 The novelistic contribution of Arab women
 Novels and novelists from various Arab countries

Week Eight: Arabic Fiction: Short Story (1)

 Socio-cultural background (role of the Arabic press)
 The beginnings: Translation and adaptation of Western short stories
 Developments: The short story in the inter-wars period; the post-WWII short story
(inspired by lives and human experiences in Arab societies)

Week Nine: Arabic Fiction: Short Story (2)

 The Arabic short story between realism and existentialism
 Short-story writers from various Arab countries

Week Ten: Modern Arabic Poetry: Development, Trends and Movements

 Neo-classicist poetry
 Poetry of the transitional trend (moderate innovators)
 Poetry of radical innovators
 The ‘New’ Arabic Poetry (in form and content)
o The beginning of transformation: the influence of European romanticism on the
Mahjar poets and the Apollo group
o Symbolism in Arabic poetry from the 1920s
o Realism in Arabic poetry in the post WWII
Week Eleven: Prose Poetry, Free Verse and Other Poetry Movements
 Free verse and prose poetry
o Definitions: ‘Prose poem’ and ‘free verse’
o The beginnings: Influence of Western prose poetry on the Mahjar poets; early
attempts
o Prominence of the free verse in the 1950s: Shift from form to content
o The ‘New Poetry’: Innovation in content and prosodic changes
 Other intellectual and cultural trends
o Majallat Shi‘r: Conscious innovation in poetry with theoretical underpinning
o The Tammuzi movement: The use of ancient mythological and religious motifs;
poetry and commitment
o Vernacular poetry in different Arabic variations

Week Twelve: Arabic Drama (1)

 Influence of cultural interaction between the Arab world and the West
 The beginnings: Marun and Salim al-Naqqash; Abu Khalil al-Qabbani; Muhammad
‘Uthman Jalal; Ya‘qub Sannu‘; Salama Hijazi; George Abyad); role of the Egyptian
National Theatre / al-Masrah al-Qawmi
 Developments of the Arabic drama: Translations of samples from French and English
drama; emulation of European drama; original Arabic plays with various themes (from
history, biographies, the Arabian Nights; the Qur’an and the Bible, social issues);
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 ‘sophisticated’ Arabic drama of the post-WWII (role of critics and professional ‘returnees’
from the West)
 Early Arabic playwrights: Ahmad Shawqi; Sa‘id ‘Aql; Tawfiq al-Hakim; Bishr Faris

Week Thirteen: Arabic Drama (2)

 Methods, trends and language:
o Classicism, romanticism, realism and surrealism
o Tragedy, comedy, popular farce, the allegory and the absurd
o Prose / poetry, and a combination of both
o Classical Arabic / vernacular, and a combination of both
 The Contemporary Arabic theatre: Examples from different Arab countries; leading
playwrights; the musical theatre

Week Fourteen: Literary Criticism, Classical Arabic Traditions and New Literature
 Modes of modern Arabic literary criticism: classical, neo-classical and new criticism
 Influence of modern Western literature, literary theory and criticism on Arabic creative
authors and critics:
o New Arabic criticism of classical Arabic literature and of modern Arabic literary
genres: employing a variety of modern strategies and techniques in literary
criticism linked to modern cultural criticism and social sciences
o New Arabic hermeneutics: modern interpretation of pre-modern texts in light of
literary theory; and new criticism of the old criticism(s)

INDICATIVE READING LIST

This basic list includes studies on modern Arabic literature and its diverse genres in general. It
excludes original creative works and studies on individual authors, and on particular themes,
and literary genres in specific Arab countries.

.1972 ،‫ دار العودة‬،‫ بيروت‬.‫ زمن الشعر‬.‫أدونيس‬

.1981 ،‫ دار ابن رشد‬،‫ بيروت‬.‫ واقع وآفاق‬:‫ الرواية العربية‬.‫ محمد وآخرون‬،‫ّبرادة‬
.2104 ،‫ املؤسسة العربية للدراسات والنشر‬،‫ بيروت‬.‫ الرومنطيقية ومعاملها في الشعرالعربي الحديث‬.‫ عيس ى‬،‫بالطة‬
.2014 ،‫ الدار املصرية اللبنانية‬،‫ القاهرة‬.‫ القص فى هذا الزمان‬.‫ جابر‬،‫عصفور‬
.2004 ،‫ دار النهار‬،‫ بيروت‬.‫ في األدب العربي الحديث واملعاصر‬.‫ أنطون غطاس‬،‫كرم‬

Allen, Roger. The Arabic Literary Heritage: The Development of its Genres and Criticism.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005 (paperback).
Allen, Roger (ed.). Modern Arabic Literature. New York, Ugar, 1987.
Badawi, M. M. A Critical Introduction to Modern Arabic Poetry. Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press, 1975.
Boullata, Issa J. (ed.). Critical Perspectives on Modern Arabic Literature: 1945-1980.
Washington D.C., Three Continents Press, 1980.
Jayyusi, Salma Khadra. Trends and Movements in Modern Arabic Poetry. Leiden, Brill, 2 vols,
1977.
Starkey, Paul. Modern Arabic Literature. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2006.