| Call Number | 10661 |
|---|---|
| Day & Time Location |
W 2:10pm-4:00pm 208 Knox Hall |
| Points | 4 |
| Grading Mode | Standard |
| Approvals Required | None |
| Instructor | Muhsin Al-Musawi |
| Type | SEMINAR |
| Method of Instruction | In-Person |
| Course Description | This course draws a map of Arab thought and culture in its multiple engagements with other cultures. It works globally along two lines: a theoretical one that accommodates conceptualizations of self-narrative in relation to shifting categories of center and margin; and a thematic one that selects a number of Arabic autobiographical texts with strong thematic concerns that cut across multiple cultures. Although Europe sounds at times more conspicuous in early 20th century autobiography, the Afro-Asian and Latin American topographical and historical itinerary and context are no less so, especially in writings we associate with societal and cultural transformations. More than historical accounts, these intellectual itineraries speak for the successes and failures of the secular ideology of the Arab nation-state. They convey the struggle of intellectuals-- as self-styled leaders, for an ideal state on the ruins of the past. The course studies a number of autobiographical works; memoirs and reminiscences that are meant to rationalize and reproduce a writer’s experience. Probably self-censored, these serve nevertheless as trajectories for a secular journey rather than one from denial to affirmation. Staunchly established in modernity and its nahdah paradigms, most of these writings are secular itineraries that rarely end in a search for faith. They are the journeys of a generation of Arab intellectuals who are facing many crises, but not the crisis of faith. They provide another look at the making of the Arab intelligentsia- and probably the Afro-Asian and Latin American one, since the early 20th century, and help us discern not only achievements on the level of education and public service , but also the mounting discontent with failures that have been wrapping the formation of the nation state. No prior knowledge of Arabic language is required. |
| Web Site | Vergil |
| Department | Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies |
| Enrollment | 24 students (25 max) as of 6:07PM Wednesday, May 1, 2024 |
| Subject | Comparative Literature: Middle East |
| Number | GU4226 |
| Section | 001 |
| Division | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences |
| Campus | Morningside |
| Section key | 20233CLME4226G001 |