CULTURE AS MEDIATION

The module aims, with a socio-literary approach, to the understanding of the historical situation and the socio-political realities of the southern Mediterranean

By the end of this module:
•Students will have acquired a detailed knowledge of at least 3 select literary texts from the contemporary Arab world and will be familiar with other 30;
•Students will be able to contextualize those texts within broader social, cultural and political discourses;
•Students will be able to identify and compare key themes and trends within those texts;
•Students will have acquired a knowledge and understanding of key themes and trends in contemporary Arabic literature;
•Students will have gained a critical understanding of the relation between Arabic literature and its social, cultural and political context;
•Students will be able to critically analyse a range of contemporary Arabic literary texts.

French level B1 and English level B2

The module critically explores the ways in which contemporary Arabic literature influences, and is influenced by, wider social, cultural and political questions. We focus on a selection of literary texts from the modern Arab world and on key themes and trends that are represented within, and are impacting upon, contemporary Arabic literary productions (for example, they may include, but are not restricted to: post-colonialism, war, terrorism, homosexuality, gender politics etc).

•Tarek El-Ariss, Trials of Arab modernity. Literary affects and the new Political, Fordham University Press, New York 2013
•Sobhi Boustani, Rasheed El-Enany, Walis Hamaruch (dir), La littérature à l’heure du Printemps arabe, Karthala, Paris 2016.
•Elena Chiti, Tourita Fili-Tullon, Blandine Valfort (dir), Ecrire l’inattendu. Les « Printemps arabes » entre fictions et histoire, Academia-L’Harmattan, Louvain-La- Neuve 2015.
•Kadhim Jihad Hassan, Le roman arabe (1834-2004) Bilan critique, Actes sud, Arles 2006.
•Angelika Neuwirth, Andreas Pflitsch, Barbara Winckler (eds), Arabische Literature, postmodern, Boorberg Verlag, Munchen 2004; trad. Arabic Literature: Postmodern Perspectives, Saqi. London 2010.
•Paola Gandolfi, Rivolte in atto. Dai movimenti artistici arabi a una pedagogia rivoluzionaria, Mimesis, Milano 2013 (2°ed)

Critical analysis, written and oral, of one or more themes

Frontal, group discussion, peer-to-peer, guided production of original materials

written and oral