Module ARAB3071: TRENDS IN MODERN ARABIC LITERATURE AND FILM

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Arabic)

ARAB3071: TRENDS IN MODERN ARABIC LITERATURE AND FILM

Prerequisites

• Arabic Literature (ARAB2011) 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 4 (ARAB3012)

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Arabic Literature (ARAB2011); Middle Eastern Cinema (ARAB2051)

Aims

• This module aims to:
• Identify key themes and trends in contemporary Arabic literature and film;
• Provide students with the practical and theoretical skills to critically interpret and analyse these themes and trends;
• Enable students to place these themes and trends within their larger social, cultural and political context.

Content

• This module will identify key themes and trends in contemporary Arabic literature and film. It will focus on a selection of literary and filmic texts from the modern Arab world.
• During the year, the module will typically focus on up to four key themes and trends that are represented within, and are impacting upon, contemporary Arabic literary and filmic productions. For example, key themes and trends may include, but are not restricted to: post-colonialism, terrorism and 9/11, science fiction, illness and disability, homosexuality, and gender politics.
• Finally, the module will critically explore the ways in which contemporary Arabic literature and film both influences, and is influenced by, wider social, cultural and political questions.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module:
• Students will acquire a detailed knowledge of select literary and filmic texts from the contemporary Arab world;
• Students will acquire a knowledge and understanding of key themes and trends in contemporary Arabic literature and film;
• Students will become familiar with key theoretical approaches drawn from the disciplines of literary theory and film studies;
• Students will gain a critical understanding of the relation between Arabic literature and film and its social, cultural and political context.

• By the end of this module:
• Students will be able to critically analyse a range of contemporary Arabic literary and filmic texts;
• Students will be able to identify and compare key themes and trends within those texts;
• Students will be able to apply appropriate theoretical concepts and categories from literary and film studies to those texts;
• Students will be able to contextualize those texts within broader social, cultural and political discourses.

• By the end of this module:
• Students will be able to critically analyse and engage with a range of contemporary Arabic literary and filmic texts;
• Students will be able to express complex critical ideas about Arabic literature and film both verbally and in writing;
• Students will be able to communicate and sustain a clear and well-supported argument in essay form.

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

• The module will be taught in the form of weekly one-hour lectures and fortnightly one-hour seminars.
• The module will run throughout Michaelmas and Epiphany terms.
• The module will be assessed via two summative essays on a topic related to modern Arabic literature and film.

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