Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 For further information see Dr Tony Sharpe County Main B97 Course Outline: The twenty-first century has seen the emergence of Middle Eastern literature in English and translation into English as one of the most exciting new areas of world literature. This is partly due to the topical interest of a region that has experienced, so far this century, the ‘war on terror’; the Spring’ with its wintery aftermath; civil war; sectarian violence; the rise ‘Arab and fall of and a mass refugee crisis. These events provide settings for a body of work ‘ISIS’; that is also of interest. While creative work helps to illuminate national, regional and literary global contexts, it is only ever partly shaped by politics. On this course we will explore questions of production and reception, as well as the historical and social concerns that shape contemporary Middle Eastern literature; the representational work that it does; and reasons for its growing international visibility. We will study novels, memoirs, short stories, and drama, in English/translation into English, from the wider region, with a particular emphasis on the Arab world. No prior knowledge is needed. Assessment: Blog entries: Students select 2 out of 3 uploaded to the course blog before weekly seminars, to submit by the end of week 8 of the course: 1000 words total, 20% of total assessment. Long Essay: 3,500 words, 80%. Due 12pm (midday), first Monday of Term 2. Set Texts Primary Texts (in order of study) Rewritings (weeks 1-2) Sulayman al-Bassam, (2004/2006). A full performance is available at The Al-Hamlet Summit Kamal Daoud, trans. John Cullen (2015) The Meursault Investigation, Place, Space and Mobility (weeks 3-5) Alaa al-Aswany, trans. Humphrey Davies (2002/2004) The Yacoubian Building, Saud Alsanousi, trans. Jonathan Wright (2013/2015) The Bamboo Stalk, [On moodle] Leila Aboulela, Museum’, from (2001) Coloured Lights ‘The Violence, Trauma, Affect (weeks 7-8)
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 For further information see Dr Tony Sharpe County Main B97 Course Outline: The twenty-first century has seen the emergence of Middle Eastern literature in English and translation into English as one of the most exciting new areas of world literature. This is partly due to the topical interest of a region that has experienced, so far this century, the ‘war on terror’; the ‘Arab Spring’ with its wintery aftermath; civil war; sectarian violence; the rise and fall of ‘ISIS’; and a mass refugee crisis. These events provide settings for a body of work that is also of literary interest. While creative work helps to illuminate national, regional and global contexts, it is only ever partly shaped by politics. On this course we will explore questions of production and reception, as well as the historical and social concerns that shape contemporary Middle Eastern literature; the representational work that it does; and reasons for its growing international visibility. We will study novels, memoirs, short stories, and drama, in English/translation into English, from the wider region, with a particular emphasis on the Arab world. No prior knowledge is needed. Assessment: Blog entries: Students select 2 out of 3 uploaded to the course blog before weekly seminars, to submit by the end of week 8 of the course: 1000 words total, 20% of total assessment. Long Essay: 3,500 words, 80%. Due 12pm (midday), first Monday of Term 2. Set Texts Primary Texts (in order of study) Rewritings (weeks 1-2) Sulayman al-Bassam, The Al-Hamlet Summit (2004/2006). A full performance is available at Kamal Daoud, The Meursault Investigation, trans. John Cullen (2015) Place, Space and Mobility (weeks 3-5) Alaa al-Aswany, The Yacoubian Building, trans. Humphrey Davies (2002/2004) Saud Alsanousi, The Bamboo Stalk, trans. Jonathan Wright (2013/2015) [On moodle] Leila Aboulela, ‘The Museum’, from Coloured Lights (2001) Violence, Trauma, Affect (weeks 7-8)
Moduledescriptionsenrolmenthandbook.docx