MA Modern Languages and Cultures / Course details

This module explores modern and contemporary Middle East and North Africa (MENA) literature in Arabic-English translation. Literary writings are spaces in which communities are (re) imagined, memories re(formed) and challenges to existing discourses about identity emerge. In diverse, and at times, contested literary traditions, the selected writers write in ways which work to move beyond polarised mediations of MENA identities and belonging, using differing stylistic techniques. Their writings inevitably change when (re) mediated in English translation, often with impactful critical and political effects. In this course, we explore 20 iconic Arabic literary works published in English translation (excerpts and longer texts), considering as we do so, the critical receptions and the politics of these works moving across differing languages and contexts. This course will draw on various analytical and theoretical perspectives on literature, including from Translation Studies. The course will appeal to students interested in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, post/colonial, comparative and world literatures; Translation and Intercultural Studies; history, trauma, and memory studies; nation and narration; literature and place/space; gender, history, and politics.

1- To enhance the students’ ability to analyse literary texts. 

2- To introduce the students to basic conceptual and aesthetic approaches found in translated Arabic literature. 

3- To raise the students’ critical awareness of themes and issues represented in Arabic literature of the 20th century. 

4- To enhance the students’ skills in writing academic essays in English on literature. 

5- To enhance the students’ critical writing of short ‘reflections’ on the texts with the aim of strengthening their literary analytical skills. 

6- To enhance the students’ skills in group work and presentations in a literary context.

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

1- Read, show understanding, and critical appreciation of selected examples of translated Arabic literature by prominent authors.

2- Develop a conceptual framework for the understanding of major themes, concepts and ideas reflected in contemporary Arabic literature, particularly in relation to community, memory and identity 

3- Enhance their skills in reading and appreciating Arabic literary works in translation.

The unit will be structured around the following themes: Text/Paratext + Translation/Paratranslation in MENA literature; traditions of contemporary Arabic literature in translation; Dialect and regional identity across languages; Culturally Specific Events and Items in translation; Writing and Translating Gender; Arab women’s stories in paratranslation; Relocating MENA gendered stories of war and conflict; Translating stories published under Censorship; Contexts of exile in translation; Stories as community archives of living memory These issues will be discussed in a broad range of Arabic literary texts in translation, with a focus on contemporary writers of the Middle East and North Africa, including on a carousel basis 1- Haifa Zangana (Iraq/Kurdistan); 2- Ghassan Kanafani (Palestine/Kuwait); Neghib Mahfouz (Egypt); Tayyeb Salih (Sudan); 3- Badr AlSayyab (Iraq); Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine); 4- Jokha Harthi (Oman); Betool Khedairi (Iraq); 5- Abdulrahman Munif (Saudi Arabia); Inaam Kachachi (Iraq); 6- Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt); Alia Mamdouh (Iraq); 7- Hanan Al-Shaikh (Lebanon); Ahlam Mosteghanemi (Algeria); 8- Ibrahim Koni (Libya); Zakariya Tamer (Syria); 9- Amjad Nasser (Jordan), Taher Ben Jalloun (Morocco); Mourid Barghouti (Palestine) 10- Salma Matar Seif (UAE); Bakhtiar Ali (Kurdistan Iraq) 11- Yousif M Qasmiyeh (Palestine/Lebanon);

11 x 2 hr lectures-seminars 

11 x 1 hr seminars

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

1- Apply basic tools of analysis and critique to selected literary texts. 

2- Writing academic essays in English on literature. 

3- Enhance their skills in writing short literary reviews in English about selected texts. 

4- Develop their skills in group work and presentation.

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

1- Apply critical and analytical thinking skills to close readings of literary texts to understand and reflect on political and historical arguments, cultural debates, and literary symbols. 

2- Actively participate in class discussions, and the ability to work as part of a team or a group 

3- Present written ideas clearly. 

4- Use library resources such as JSTOR and other databases and electronic journals. 

5- Apply time management skills to their studies. 

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

1- Apply critical and analytical thinking skills to close readings of literary texts to understand and reflect on political and historical arguments, cultural debates and literary motifs 

2- Active participation in class discussions. 

3- The ability to work as part of a team or a group of students. 

4- Present written ideas clearly. 

5- Use library resources such as JSTOR and other databases and electronic journals. 

Assessment methods

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