This course will introduce students to the major writers, canonical works, and important literary movements of Arabic Literature from late antiquity up to the modern period. The course will be structured thematically with special focus on the historical context and cultural tradition within which literary works fit and resonated. The course will consider the development of various literary genres over time (poetry and qasida form, narratives, fiction, Belles-lettres, maqama, shadow plays and Drama, etc.). Selected works of literature will be read in translation, but students with Arabic can work with the original texts in a separate section. Texts will often be discussed vis-à-vis parallel themes in other works of literature whenever relevant (e.g. The Qur’anic and Biblical Joseph, Maʿarrī’s Epistle of Forgiveness and Dante’s Divine Comedy, Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo’s travelogues, etc.) with special attention to the influence of Western Literature on Modern Arabic poetry and prose.

The course is open to both undergraduates and graduate students.