Discover Arabic literature from pre-Islamic poetry to 1001 Arabian Nights to contemporary authors, through a feminine lens.

“What’s the use of stories that aren’t even true?” (Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories). This course is an introduction to Arabic literature. We begin with Pre-Islamic poetry and the influence of the desert on imagery and themes of the Arabian Nights full of magic and intrigue, probably the earliest known example of magical realism. We then move to the modern novel and voices of protest to contemporary women writing overseas about the homeland they have lost and about their attempt to adapt and find a new identity. The course will challenge the stereotyping of Middle Eastern women and outline the injustices and challenges they face at home and abroad. Waged and Unwaged prices are GST inclusive.