Module ARAB3081: LITERATURE OF THE 19TH-CENTURY ARABIC NAHDA

Department: Modern Language and Cultures (Arabic)

ARAB3081: LITERATURE OF THE 19TH-CENTURY ARABIC NAHDA

Prerequisites

• Arabic Language 2B (ARAB2002) or an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

• Arabic Language 4B (ARAB3012) or Arabic Language 4B following Year Abroad (ARAB3022).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Arabic Literature (ARAB2011); Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ARAB2021); Persian I (ARAB2041).

Aims

• The module aims to introduce students to the literature of the 19th-century Arabic nahda ('revival') through readings and discussion of key texts of narrative prose and poetry from the period.
• It aims to introduce students to the different types of literary techniques, language and themes employed by the writers and poets studied.
• It aims to provide an introduction to the relationship between 19th-century Arabic literature and the medieval Arabic tradition, and to the relationship between the new genres in Arabic literature and their European counterparts.

Content

• The following main areas will be discussed in the course of the module:
• The origins and development of the 19th-century Arabic literary revival (nahda).
• European literary influences and their impact on Arab writers and poets of the period.
• The thematic and stylistic development of Arabic literature between c.1800 and 1910.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module, students will be familiar with the main lines of development of the modern genres of Arabic literature (poetry, prose fiction and the drama) during the 19th century.
• By the end of the course, students will have acquired a detailed knowledge of a selected number of representative texts covering the main themes and techniques of these genres in the period studied.

• Students will acquire the ability:
• to read and analyse 19th-century Arabic literary texts.
• to attempt a critical evaluation of Arabic poetry and prose texts of the period studied.
• to relate features of these texts to both the medieval Arabic and the Western literary traditions.

• The effective use of primary and secondary resources relevant to the field of 19th-century Arabic literature.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught in the form of weekly two-hour lectures, with additional seminars twice per term.
• The module is assessed by means of two summative essays, and an end-of-year written exam.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University