The following are representative courses that I can develop, to be taught in either English or Arabic. In each course, students with interest and sufficient language skills could read sources in original Arabic.
※ How Oldies Become New Hits: Pre-Modern Elements in Contemporary Arabic
Literature and Popular Culture
من التقليد إلى التجديد: عناصر التراث في الادب العربي المعاصر وفي الثقافة العامة
This undergraduate course investigates how societies recycle literature (whether folk or “high” culture) in contemporary literary productions and popular culture. We explore how these recent works use earlier works to interpret the past, cope with the present, and imagine the future.
※ Fantasy and Imagination in Arabic Literature over the Ages
الخيال والابداع الادبي عبر العصور
This undergraduate course provides a rare and rich opportunity for students to approach some of the most imaginary texts in the history of Arabic literature. Sources range from medieval oral epics and akhbar or anecdotal stories to the latest fantasy and science fiction by Arab writers.
※ Being an Arab Woman: Feminist Projects in Contemporary Arabic Culture
تجربة أنثوية عربية: مشاريع نسائية في الثقافة العربية المعاصرة
This undergraduate course investigates examples of feminist projects throughout the Arab world, and it consists of five units. The first case study, Lebanon, shows how women use work in the public sphere to establish female independence, and sources involve prose and film. The second case study, Morocco, presents the use of “heritage” and the past to support female authority, and sources include prose, film, and oral literature. The third case study, Egypt, examines the use of the modern nation to assert female equality, and sources consist of prose, a novel, and two films. The fourth case study, Saudi Arabia, explores the use of comedy to find common ground, and sources include film, prose, and potentially a guest speaker. The fifth and final unit uses blog, prose, and film to demonstrate how cyberspace and globalism have contributed to the development of universal ideals among Arab women.
※ Arab Identity in a Changing World: Autobiography throughout the Arab World
الهوية العربية في العالم يتغير: السيرة الذاتية عبر العالم العربي
This undergraduate course explores how individuals use memoirs to develop their own social identity, and how their projects can then affect the very societies into which they fitted themselves. Sources include writings by authors from Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
※ Telling Stories in a Changing World: Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature
رواية الحكايات في عالم يتغير: مقدمة إلى الادب العربي المعاصر
This undergraduate course introduces students to key writers in the major genres of contemporary literature: short stories, novels, and some poetry, with a special focus on recent developments and experimental writing. In addition to written sources, course material will include audio-visual elements (such as interviews with authors) and internet resources. Special effort will be made to represent new generations of Arabic writers from as many geographical locations as possible.