AMES
225/COML212: Modern Middle Eastern Literatures In
Translation (Spring
2004)
Coordinator:
Leslie Essoglou LCE@sas.upenn.edu
Office
Hours: TBA and by appointment; mailbox located in the AMES office 3701
Market
Street, 2nd Fl.
Prof.
Roger Allen (Arabic): rallen@ccat.sas.upenn.edu;
AMES 3701 Market Street, 2nd Fl.
Prof.
Sibel Erol (Turkish): sibel.erol@nyu.edu
Prof. Nili Gold (Hebrew):
niligold@sas.upenn.edu;
AMES
3701 Market Street, 2nd Fl.
Prof.
Paul Sprachman (Persian): sprachma@rci.rutgers.edu
Kelly
Tuttle (WATU Fellow): tuttlek@sas.upenn.edu
This
course serves as an introduction to the literary traditions of the
Middle East
through the examination of contemporary works translated from Arabic,
Hebrew,
Persian, and Turkish. It is team-taught, involving four specialists in
Middle
Eastern literature. This course is offered simultaneously at Penn and
Rutgers
University. Each week, the Wednesday session will be linked by
video-conference
between the two universities. The course deals with the modern
literary
tradition of each culture through poetry, the short story and long
narrative.
All readings are in English.
Unless
otherwise noted, one of the four faculty members will teach the
Wednesday
sessions and Leslie Essoglou will lead Monday discussion sessions.
The
Blackboard site will be used to its fullest extent. Please be sure you
know how
to navigate it. You will be automatically enrolled on the site once
you register
for the course. The URL is: courseweb.upenn.edu. If you
experience any
problems with Blackboard, please contact Leslie.
Course Requirements
Participation and Attendance:
Attendance is required at all classesQboth Monday and Wednesday
sessions. Any
unexcused absences and excessive tardiness will reflect negatively on
the grade.
Beyond physical presence, students are expected to participate in the
class
discussion through questions, opinions, and observations on the texts,
traditions, and/or genres. They are also expected to participate on
online
discussions and postings through the Blackboard site for this course
(see
description below). All
readings must be
done before the session for which they are assigned. The Wednesday
sessions
are not designed as lectures; rather, they are a forum for discussion
with the
specialist of the tradition, as well as the students at
Rutgers. Monday sessions
are a continuation of these dialogues and further explore issues that
were not
covered with the professor. 25% of the grade.
Blackboard:
The
course will have a site located on Blackboard
(courseweb.upenn.edu). This
site will provide a forum for posting messages, sharing ideas, and
discussions
outside of class time. The instructor and coordinator will also follow
and often
participate in these online discussions. Credit will be given for
astute
critical comments and probing questions. More specifically, you will
use this
site to sign up for your presentation(s) and to post ideas and
questions as a
springboard to your presentation in class and following discussion. Blackboard participation is not
optional; it
is part of your participation and attendance evaluation.
Presentations:
Presentations do not
mean that you have to do them by yourself! For each new text read,
a few
students will come to class prepared to lead the dayUs discussion of
the text by
presenting their ideas and asking questions. When RutgersU professors
present
lectures, Upenn students will give their presentations, and vice
versa. These
are not biographical or historical presentations, but focus on the
dayUs
reading. Presentations can consist of analyzing the literatureUs
content,
structure, style, narrative method, etc. Students must sign up for
topics with
Leslie Essoglou, which will be posted on the Blackboard site in
advance. If two
or more students are presenting one day, you should meet before class
and go
over your presentations together. (You may also use Blackboard as a
way of
facilitating these meetings/discussions if you can not meet in
person.) The
number of presentations will depend on class size. 20% of the
grade.
Below
are examples of presentation topics:
a Structure
of narrative/poem (i.e., what kind of a text is it, how does the
structure
relate to the narrative/poem, what does the structure
express)
a Characters
(i.e., voice, role, age, relationships between
characters)
a Narrator(s)
(i.e., voice, role, legitimacy)
a Setting
(i.e., historical, political, social setting; place;
seasons)
a Imagery
(i.e., what is evoked and how, what are the possibilities inherent in
the
images)
a
Time
(i.e., how much time elapses, how is time expressed, is time moving
forwardQprogression, or looking backwardQremembering or
flashback)
a Theme
(i.e., what are the major themes, how are they
expressed)
Quizzes: Quizzes will be given on
Mondays for the text(s) of the week. The purpose of the quizzes is to
ensure
that students have read the text. The lowest grade will be
dropped. 15% of the
grade.
Papers:
Three 5-page
papers will be written for the class (see due dates below). The topics
of these
papers are open. We will discuss them in more detail as the semester
progresses.
However, each genre must be covered, i.e., one paper on poetry, one on
the short
story, one on the longer narrative. The order that you choose to
present these
traditions and genres is up to you. The topic of the papers must be
discussed
with either Leslie or one of the professors before commencing work on
it. If WATU credit is sought,
students must
arrange to submit drafts to the WATU fellow with enough time for
revision before
turning it in to Leslie. All papers are due to Leslie at the
beginning of
the class on the day they are due. No late papers will be
accepted. 40% of the
grade
Below
is a tentative list of possible topics, but it is by no means
definitive.
You are encouraged to speak with Leslie, or one of the specialists in
the field,
once you have chosen the text(s) and formulated the basic idea of your
paper.
a
Comparing
two or more poems from two different traditions, or by the same
poet.
a
The
place of history in a narrative
a
The
use of time
a
The
use of symbolism
a
The
use of myth in modern poetry
a
The
text as social criticism
a
NarratorUs
voice
a
Narrative
structure
a
The
analysis of character in relation to the text
Evaluation of the papers is based upon:
a Content and style
a Clear articulation of the idea
a Carefully constructed argument and/or analysis
a Appropriate use of examples from the texts and/or secondary sources (i.e., not used superfluously, but to underscore the argument)
a Correct and proper use of citations
a A well-edited paper (i.e., free of typos, run-on-sentences, missing punctuation, grammatical errors, etc.)
a A proper bibliography, if applicable.
Additional
comments:
a
Using
secondary sources is recommended, but not necessary. Please feel free
to ask for
help in finding appropriate sources, either from Leslie, or one of the
specialists.
a
Please
be careful of using the Internet as a source or citation in your
papers. Only
use credible academic or historical sources. Not all information out
there is
accurate, and some of it is even plagiarized. If you are unsure of a
siteUs
credibility, donUt use it.
a Citations must follow standard usage. Please refer to the MLA or Chicago Manual of Style.
a
Plagiarism
will be punished to the fullest extent.
Readings:
All
readings must be done in advance of class, and the quizzes will
reflect that
weekUs assigned readings. There are four books and a bulkpack for the
course.
The books can be purchased at the Penn Books tore at 36th
and Walnut
Streets. The Bulkpack can be purchased at Wharton Reprographics
located in the
basement of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall (off Logan Walk). Additionally,
texts can
also be found on reserve at Rosengarten in Van Pelt Library and on
Blackboard.
Books:
a
Amos
Oz, The Hill of Evil
Counsel
a
Azar
Nafisi, Reading Lolita in
Tehran: A
Memoir in Books
a
Hanan
al-Shaykh, The Story of
Zahra
a
Orhan
Pamuk, White Castle
On
reserve:
a
Anderson,
Elliot, ed. Contemporary
Israeli
Literature, especially Afterword, by Robert
Alter
a
Boullata,
Issa, Critical Perspectives on
Modern
Arabic Literature
a
Carmi,
T., The Modern Hebrew Poem
Itself
a
Evin,
Ahmet, Origin and Development
of the
Turkish Novel
a
Faik,
Sait, A Dot on the
Map
a
Hareven,
Shulamith, City of Many
Days
a
Iz,
Fahir, ed., An Anthology of
Modern
Turkish Short Stories
a
Mizanoglu,
Nilufer, Twenty Stories by
Turkish
Women
a
Nafisi,
Azar, Reading Lolita in Tehran:
A Memoir
in Books
a
Oz,
Amos, The Hill of Evil
Counsel
a
Pamuk,
Orhan, The White
Castle
a
Ricks,
Thomas, Critical Perspectives
on Modern
Persian Literature
a
Shaked,
Gershon, Modern Hebrew Fiction,
1880-1980, especially chapters 10 & 11
a
Al-Shaykh,
Hanan, The Story of
Zahra
a
Silay,
Kemay, ed., An Anthology of
Turkish
Literature
a
Sullivan,
Paknazar, ed., Stories by
Iranian Women
Since the Revolution
Additional
reference books, journals and websites are available. Please consult
one of the
professors or Leslie for more information. Professor Erol has noted
that for
more information on Turkish Literature, a good source is The
South Atlantic Quarterly, Volume 102, Number 2/3, Spring/Summer
2003. These relevant articles will be posted on
Blackboard.
Evaluation
Students
in the course who come to class regularly, do well on the writing
assignments,
and make comments on the readings in class and on Blackboard, can
expect to
receive a grade of B, or even possibly B+. Those that demonstrate
excellence in
most or all of the required elements of the course can achieve an
A.
Schedule
The
schedule and readings are subject to change; all changes will be
announced in
advance and posted on blackboard.
BP = bulkpack
BB =
blackboard
Monday January 12
Essoglou: Introduction to
course
Wednesday January 14
Gold: Introduction to the genre
of
poetry/Israeli tradition
Monday January 19
No Class/MLK
Holiday
[Tuesday
January 20
Classes start @ Rutgers]
Wednesday
January 21
Allen: Introduction to the study of literature/Arabic
tradition
*Rutgers
University will join Upenn today
a
BP
Arabic Literary Tradition
Monday
January 26
Pardis Minuchehr:
Introduction to the Iranian tradition
a
BB
Iranian Literary Tradition
Derem Yelesin: Introduction
to the Turkish tradition
a
BB
Turkish Literary Tradition
Wednesday January 28
Allen: Long NarrativeQAl-Shaykh, The
Story of Zahra
Monday February,
2
Essoglou: Continuation of The Story of Zahra
Wednesday February,
4
Gold: Hebrew poetry
a
BP Bialik, "Alone," "It Was a
Summer Evening"
a
BP Goldberg, "From My
Mother's Home," RTel Aviv 1935S
a
BP Ravikovitch, "Mechanical
Doll," "Lying on the Water"
a
BP Zach, "A Moment," "When
God First Said"
a
BP Amichai, "A Letter of
Recommendation," "Elegies on the War Dead #4"
Monday February,
9
Essoglou: Continuation of Hebrew poetry
Wednesday February,
11
Erol:
Turkish poetry
a BP Turkish poetry content questions
a
BP
Divan poem by Fuzuli,
a
BP
Two Sufi poems by Yunus Emre
a
BP
Orhan Veli Kanik, "I Listen to Istanbul"
a
BP
Ahmed Hasim, "Envoi"
a
BP
Nazim Hikmet, "Fable of Fables"
a
BP
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, "I An Neither in Time"
a
BP
Necip Fazil Kisakurek, "Hotel Rooms"
Monday
February, 16
Essoglou:
Continuation of Turkish poetry
Wednesday February, 18
Allen:
Arabic poetry
a
BP
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Song of the Rain
a
BP
Nizar Qabbani, Bread, Hashish, and Moonlight?
a
BP
`Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayyati, "Village Market"
a
BP
Khalil Hawi, "The Sailor and the Dervish"
a
BP
Yusuf al-Khal, "The Deserted Well"
a
BP
Adunis, "I said to you," "You have no choice," "The Homeland"
Monday
February, 23
Essoglou:
Continuation of Arabic poetry
Paper #1 Due
Wednesday
February, 25
Sprachman: Persian poetry
a
BP
Farrukhzad, "Mechanical Doll," "Born Again," "O Realm Bejewelled"
a
BP
Reza Baraheni, "Barbecue"
a
BP
Muhammad Reza Kadkani, "In the Name of the Red Rose"
a
BP
Ali Zarrin, "Made you Mine, America"
Monday
March 1
Essoglou:
Continuation of Persian poetry
Wednesday March 3
Sprachman: Long
NarrativeQNafisi, Reading
Lolita in
Tehran
March 6-14
PENN Mid-Term Break
March
13-21 RUTGERS Mid-Term Break
Monday March 15
Essoglou:
Continuation of Reading Lolita
in
Tehran
*Rutgers on mid-term break
Wednesday March 17
Allen: Arabic short story
a
BP
Zakariyya Tamir, "Face of the Moon"
a
BP
Najib Mahfuz, "Zaabalawi"
a
BP
Yusuf Idris, "House of Flesh," "The Concave Mattress"
a
BP
Fu'ad al-Tikirli, "The Oven"
*Rutgers
on mid-term break
Monday
March 22
Essoglou: Continuation of Arabic short story
Wednesday
March 24
Gold:
Long NarrativeQOz, The Hill of
Evil
Counsel
Monday
March 29
Essoglou: Continuation of The
Hill of Evil Counsel
Paper #2 Due
Wednesday March
31
Gold:
Hebrew short story
a
BP
S.Y. Agnon, "A Whole Loaf"
a
BP
Appelfeld, "Cold Spring"
a
BP
Shabtai, "The Visit"
a
BP
Yitzhak Ben Ner, "A Village Death"
a
BP
Bat-Shahar, "Among the Geranium Pots"
a
BP
Castel-Bloom, "Ummi fi shurl"
Monday April 5
Essoglou: Continuation of
Hebrew short
story
Wednesday April 7
Erol: Turkish short story
a
BP
Turkish Stories content questions
a
BP
Omer Seyfeddin, "The Secret Temple,"
a
BP
Sait Faik Abasiyanik, "Sivriada Nights"
a
BP
Nazli Eray, "Monte Kristo"
a
BP
Sevgi Sosyal, "The Junk Peddler"
Monday April 12
Essoglou: Continuation of
Turkish
short story
Wednesday
April 14
Sprachman: Persian short story
a
BP
Muhammad Ali Jamalzadeh, "Persian is Sugar"
a
BP
Sadiq Hidayat, "Seeking Absolution"
a
BP
Bozorg Alavi, "Waiting"
a
BP
Jalal Al-i Ahmad, RThe Joyous Celebration?S
a
BP
Ravanipur, "We Only Fear the Future"
a
BP
Golestan, "Esmat's Journey"
Monday
April 19
Essoglou: Continuation of Persian Short Story
Wednesday
April 21
Erol: Long NarrativeQPamuk, The White Castle
Friday
April 23
Final Day of Classes
Friday April
30
Paper #3
Due