All readings will be made available to students through the Triton Ed website.

Transcription

1 Fall 2018 TWS 25 Middle Eastern Literature (Arabic Literature and Culture) Professor Nina Zhiri (Literature Department) Office Hours: Literature Building Rm 141 TuTh 12-1pm Lecture: Tu Th: 3:30-4:50, Peterson 104 Teaching Assistant: Younghyun Kim This course aims at giving students an overview of the history and culture of Arab countries. It will focus chiefly on speculative literature (including its different sub-genres, such as utopian/dystopian literature, fantasy, horror, and science fiction). We will read a few precursor texts, and then mostly modern and contemporary literature. Through the prism of a critical presentation of speculative fiction, students will get a sense of the evolution of Arab societies, of the impact of Arabic literature on global culture, and of the influence of global (predominantly Western culture) on Arabic literature. All readings will be made available to students through the Triton Ed website. Course requirements: Students are expected to make all assigned readings in advance. The readings will be assigned at the end of each lecture, on the class website and through s sent to students. Students are expected attend lectures (given by Professor Zhiri on Tuesdays and Thursdays), and sections (given by Young-Hyun Kim). The overall grade will be broken down this way: Attendance and Participation: 30% One Mid Term Take-Home Exam: 35% One Final Exam: 35% Attendance and participation during lectures and sections will count for 30% of the final grade. Performance during sections will include participation in discussions, quizzes and questions given at the discretion of the Teaching Assistant.

2 Students are expected to attend lecture and the discussion sections, to come to class on time, and to bring relevant readings to lectures and sections. Engagement in class discussion is crucial. - Absences: To be counted as present for class, you must be present for the entire class period (both lecture and section). Each unexcused absence will count against your overall grade for the course, and you will not be able to pass the class with 6 or more unexcused absences to either lecture or section. Job and graduate school interviews, out-of-town conferences, vacation travel, etc. must be scheduled around class time and will not generally be considered excused absences. - Excused Absences: Absences can be excused for illness or other emergency (please bring documentation where appropriate). Please communicate with your teaching assistant as promptly as you can explaining any absences. Exams: Students will be assigned a mid-term take home exam, and an in-class final exam. Each of these assignments will count for 35% of the final grade. The mid-term will be a take-home exam, which you will have 48 hours to complete and upload to turnitin.com via the TritonEd website. The final exam will be an in-class exam that you will write on a blue book that will be provided. More detailed instructions for both exams will be given later. Technology Computers, tablets, cell phones and other devices are not allowed in the classroom (either lecture or section). Please bring printed copies of the texts and take notes using pen/pencil and paper. Please do not videotape or audio tape our class. Please turn your cell phones off before class as well. Academic Honesty & Plagiarism: All students are responsible for reading the UCSD Academic Honesty Policy. Plagiarism is clear grounds for failure, certainly for the specific assignment involved and potentially for the course. The take-home mid-term exam will be submitted to Disability We want to make every effort to make the course accessible. Please feel free to contact me regarding any potential accommodations. Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class should contact the Disability Services Center as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Writing Resources

3 Because this course is writing intensive, you may find the following on campus resources helpful: Writing + Critical Expression Hub: OASIS Language and Writing program: Schedule of lectures: Thursday 27 September: Introduction Week 1: Tuesday 2 October General History of Arab World Thursday 4 October General History of Arab Literature and Culture. Arab literature of imagination, fantasy, and speculative fiction Week 2: Tuesday 9 October Classical Literature: The One Thousand and One Nights, A medieval fantasy Presentation Reading: The Ebony Horse Thursday 11 October: The One Thousand and One Nights Reading: The City of Brass Week 3: Tuesday 16 October: Speculative literature and proto-science fiction. Readings: Excerpts of Ibn Tufayl s Hayy in Yaqdân, and Ibn al-nafis s Theologus Autodidactus Thursday 18 October ABSENCE DUE TO A CAMPUS FUNCTION Week 4: The beginnings of modern Arab literature : the Nahda Tuesday 23 October New Encounters with Europe: Readings: Hasan al-attar, Maqama of the French ; Rifa at al-tahtawi, An Imam in Paris (excerpts) Thursday 25 October: ABSENCE DUE TO A CONFERENCE Week 5: Tuesday 30 October Modern speculative literature.

4 Readings: Tawfik al-hakim: Voyage to Tomorrow, and A Poet on the Moon. Thursday 1 November: ABSENCE DUE TO A CONFERENCE Week 6: Modern Fantasy, and the Influence of One Thousand and one Nights Tuesday 6 November. Reading: Naguib Mahfuz, Arabian Days and Nights (excerpts) Thursday 8 November Reading: Naguib Mahfuz, Arabian Days and Nights (excerpts) TAKE HOME EXAM: QUESTIONS SENT ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10 BY 10AM, ANSWERS TO BE TURNED IN ON MONDAY NOVEMBER 12 BY 10AM AT THE LATEST Week 7: Contemporary events in the mirror of speculative fiction: The Iraq War Tuesday 13 November. Readings: Hassan Blasim The Hole, The Gardens of Babylone Thursday 15 November Reading: Zhraa Alhaboby Baghdad Syndrome Week 8: Tuesday 20 November Reading: Ahmad al-saadawi, Frankenstein in Baghdad (excerpts) Thursday 22 November THANKSGIVING Week 9: Critique of Arab societies: Tuesday 27 November Reading: Basma Abdel Aziz The Queue (excerpts) Thursday 29 November Reading: Mohamed Achaari, The Mummy in the Pasha s House Week 10: New paths for Arab speculative fiction Tuesday 4 December Reading: Yasser Bahjat, Yaqteenya (excerpts) Thursday 6 December Reading: Ibraheem Abbas, HJWN (excerpts)

5 IN-CLASS FINAL EXAM. Monday December 10, 3pm-5-59pm