75672 - Arabic Language and Literature 2B (LM)

Learning outcomes

Through the completion of this course the student is supposed to acquire stronger abilities in the intermediate level of Arabic language. He is therefore supposed to able to approach the relevant literature and the problems related to it, by having recourse to the most updated bibliography.

Course contents

The course focusses on both Arabic language and history of Arabic literature. Although these two dimensions will be constantly integrated,  (on this poiny, see ''Methods'' below), the main objectives specifically defined for each of them are as follows:

Arabic Language

Development and consolidation of language skills of intermediate level, with special reference to the following issues:

1) Phonetics: main problems affecting the so-called ''weak sounds'' (semiconsonant phonemes  / w / and / y /)and ''geminate''  roots (also called ''doubled'' or "deaf" roots) .
2) Morphology: nominal inflection: introduction to the diptote declination; introduction to the declination of names with ''weak'' and/or hamzated roots;
3) Morphology: verbal inflection of "healty" verbs only (first form and derived forms) in perfect and "imperfect" tenses.

History of Arabic Literature

Representations of the Other and visions of Modernity in the Egyptian Literature. From the French expedition to the British occupation (1798-1882).

Through direct access to works of Egyptian authors of the periode 1798-1882 period, the course will offer the fundamental coordinates for an understanding of a crucial period in the cultural history of the Arab world and for the meeting / clash between modernity and Islam. Students will be updated about the main issues in current historiographic debate.

Readings/Bibliography

Arabic Language - Suggested Reference Book:

Laura VECCIA VAGLIERI, Grammatica teorica-pratica della Lingua Araba, voll. I-II, Roma, Istituto per l'Oriente (consultazione)

History of Arabic Literature 

General References

Isabella CAMERA D'AFFLITTO, Letteratura Araba Contemporanea. Dalla Nahda ad oggi, Carocci, Roma, 1998 e successive edizioni - limitatamente a: pp. 1-51, pp. 155-195.

Adam SILVERSTEIN, Breve storia dell'Islam, tr. it., Carocci, Roma, 2013, limitatamente alle pp. 91-124.

Primary Sources (to be analyzed in classwork) :

Period of the French occupation:

ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Jabarti. ʿAjaib fī l-athar fī t-tarajim wa-l-akhbar. Ed. by Ḥasan Muḥammad Juhār et al. Cairo : 1958-1967. (Selected excerpts).

See also the French translation: Cuoq, Joseph (ed.) : A.R. Al-Jabarti, Journal d’un notable du Caire durant l’expédition française 1798-1801, Paris, Albin Michel, 1979

Time from  Muhammad Ali to Ismail:

TAHTAWI, Rafiʿ Rifāʿa, Takhlis al-ibriz fi talkhis Bariz

(Selected excerpts)

See also the following translation into European languages

French: : Tahtawi, Rafiʿ Rifaʿat, L’or de Paris: relation de voyage, 1826-1831, éd. Anouar Louqa, Paris: Sindbad, 1988.

English: : Daniel L. Newman, An Imam in Paris : account of a stay in France by an Egyptian cleric (1826-1831).

Studies on the Course Special Topic :

CECERE, G. "Miscredenti sul Nilo?" (handout material).

CECERE, G. – D’ONOFRIO, M.L., “Tolleranza o cittadinanza? La situazione dei Copti ed il ruolo della sharia nell’evoluzione del sistema dei diritti in Egitto”, in Annuario DiReCom, Istituto di Studi Comparativi sui Diritti e le Religioni, Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano, 2009, p. 117-158.

DELANOUE, G., Moralistes et politiques musulmans en Egypte au XIXe siècle, Le Caire , IFAO (Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale), 1980. - Selected excerpts

LOUCA, A., L’autre Egypte. De Bonaparte à Taha Huseyn, Le Caire, IFAO (Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale), 1998. - Selected excerpts

 

Teaching methods

The course combines two different methodological approaches in language teaching: the traditional approach in academic teaching of the Arabic language, mainly oriented to the acquisition of passive skills in written communication (translation from Arabic to Italian in the first place) and the mainly inductive-mimetic approach proposed by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (learning / teaching / assessment). The latter approach has been  suitably reinterpreted according to the characteristics of the Arabic language and the specific objectives of the course.
In particular, this course is based on the integration of linguistic study and the study of literary history: the acquisition and consolidation of language skills is based on meaningful experiences conducted on literary and historical documents relevant to the literary history ''dimension" of the Course .
The operational details will be further specified on the basis of a thorough analysis of the context of the class-group, aimed at identifying the specific needs of the Course students.

Assessment methods

 

Introductory notes.

The final exam consists of two tests: a written one, with use of the dictionary, and an oral one.  The activities that students will carry out during the course (either in class or individually) will also be evaluated and they will matter for the formation of the final judgment

 

The written exam

The written exam will assess the student’s command of Arabic language, at the level required by the Course, with reference to the following main skills:

1. Understanding written messages in Arabic;
2. Translating written messages from Arabic into Italian
3. Producing written messages in Arabic.

For these reasons, the student will be asked to translate a short text from Arabic into Italian and to make some exercises (question / answer, to complete sentences, to conjugate verbs etc.). Time of the written test: 3 hours.

In the written test, students will not be awarded a mark, but they will simply get a “fitness” or “unfitness” assessment.

The written exam being preliminary to the oral exam, students not getting a “fitness” assessment will not be admitted to the oral exam.

 

The oral exam

The oral exam will assess the student's command of the material studied in the course. The student will be asked to provide a linguistic and historical commentary on selected texts among those analysed by the teacher during the course and will be judged on his/her ability to summarise and critically discuss topics raised in the course, making use of the exam bibliography and the course tools provided.

The assessment will thus consider the student's:
- competence in commenting on the selected texts, i.e. in identifying, translating and contextualizing them;
- knowledge and understanding of the topics covered;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an ability to provide a full-fledged linguistic and historical commentary of the selected texts and an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he/she displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

 

The "textbooks" will be integrated with a wide range of other tools, mostly relying on Arabic sources (audiovisual, press, literary texts, as well as religious, legal, economic and political texts).

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Cecere