Seminar : Arabic Literature

lglor2932  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Seminar : Arabic Literature
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
30.0 h
Q2

  This biannual learning unit is not being organized in 2019-2020 !

Teacher(s)
De Callatay Godefroid; den Heijer Johannes;
Language
English
Prerequisites
A course in Arabic literature (Islamic or Christian) and at least one year of classical or modern Arabic.
Main themes
This course concentrates on the critical analysis of recent studies (monographs, articles), with special attention to training in the necessary skills for such scholarly activity. It is in this light that original texts will be considered. The seminar highlights studies on Arabic literature, mostly of the Classical period. Texts to be studied derive from Muslim, Christian, Jewish and confessionally neutral environments. The great variety of genres will be taken into account: travel literature, historiography, scientific and religious texts, poetry, texts for entertainment, etc. Studies on such texts and their historical, religious and cultural settings will be analyzed according to topics to be defined in consultation with the students. Students are required to orally present their findings and to write a research paper. This process of presenting and writing will be enhanced by group discussions. Please note: the texts in question may (partly) coincide with texts studied in other courses, notably Classical Arabic II (GLOR 2661-2662) and Middle Arabic (GLOR 2721-2722).
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 At the end of the course, the student should have acquired :
- thorough familiarity with Arabic literature, particularly of the Classical period, and its historical, religious and cultural settings;
- basic knowledge of modern scholarly approaches to various aspects of Arabic literature;
- the heuristic skill of using the main instruments for the study of Arabic literature: dictionaries, encyclopaedias, bibliographies, monographs and articles, web-based resources;
- the know-how to carry out individual research within the field of Arabic literature;
- the communication skills required to orally present the findings of a small-scale research project on a relevant Arabic literary text;
- the communication required to actively contribute to a discussion on a relevant topic;
- the ability to write a short paper on an aspect of Arabic literature and to process feedback given by the tutor and by fellow students.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
This seminar deals with the critical analysis of recent studies (monographs, articles) on Arabic literature, mostly of the Classical period, and deriving from Muslim, Christian, Jewish and confessionally neutral environments. Topics are to be defined in consultation with the students and will reflect the variety of genres, such as travel literature, historiography, scientific and religious texts, poetry, and texts for entertainment, etc.. Students are required to present their research assignments on particular texts in discussions and in a research paper. The course provides E-learning activities, with compulsory registration on the Moodle platform.
Teaching methods
This seminar comes in the format of occasional sessions sustained by the Moodle virtual teaching environment, and the own input of the students.
Evaluation methods
Evaluation of a paper, to be submitted in writing and to be presented orally.
Other information
Please note:
While English is the language of instruction, other contact languages (Arabic, French, German) may be used occasionally as well, in the case of contributions by visiting lecturers from abroad.
Bibliography
  • Portefeuille de lectures/textes
  • Printed texts, photocopies, documents presented in digital format, sound recordings.
  • compulsory registration on the Moodle platform.
Teaching materials
  • Portefeuille de lectures/textes
Faculty or entity
GLOR


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [60] in Ancient Languages and Literatures : Oriental Studies

Master [120] in Ancient Languages and Literatures: Oriental Studies