28342 - Arabic Language and Literature I (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students obtain a basic knowledge of Arabic Language and will be able to understand and produce simple sentences in Arabic. Moreover, they will be able to expose (in Italian) the course contents, both in oral and written form, also with autonomous reference to the relevant bibliography.

Course contents

The course will be divided into two closely interconnected parts: Arabic Language, and History of Arabic Literature. Two-thirds of the lectures (40 hours) will be dedicated to the Language, and one-third (20 hours) to the History of Arabic Literature.

 

Arabic Language

The course will provide an introductory level of proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), covering orthographic, phonological, lexical, and morphosyntactic aspects, with some references to Classical Arabic (CLA).

Some basic notions of the history and sociolinguistics of the Arabic language, with a special focus on the topics of diglossia and linguistic variation, will be introduced, along with a focus on the historical and cultural contexts of Arabic language usage and writing system.

The topics covered will include:

• Introduction to the Arabic language: historical, cultural and linguistic frameworks
• The Arabic alphabet and writing system: orthography (alphabet and orthographical marks), phonology and phonetics, transliterations systems
• Basics of morphology and syntax: root and pattern, radical and additional consonants (affixation), use of the dictionary
  
• The noun: definite and indefinite, the genre,  the number (sound plurals and duals, broken plurals), noun declinations, declination of the "5 nouns", noun-adjective agreement
  
• Prepositions and other particles
• Personal pronouns (isolated and suffix), demonstrative and pronominal adjectives 
• Genitive construct (annexation structure, or iḍāfa) and other ways to translate the possession
• Nominal clause
• The verb: perfect and imperfect indicative of the regular primary verbs, active and passive participles
• Verbal clause

 

Arabic Literature

The course introduces students to the history of pre-modern Arabic literature, focusing on the formative centuries of what is known as 'classical' Arabic literature. It covers the development of literary genres and major authors from the 5th to the 7th centuries (pre-Islamic era and Qur'anic revelation) and from the 8th to the 10th centuries (the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyad period, and the early Abbasid period).

During the course, a specific focus will be devoted to the methods of knowledge transmission in the Arabo-Islamic context, both oral and written. This will include examining the effects of these transmission methods on the sources available to us today and the historical and social contexts in which they were produced.

The topics will include:

• Introduction to Arabic literature: orality and writing, the transmission of knowledge, periodizations, genres
• The pre-Islamic era: historical and religious framework of pre-Islamic Arabia, oratory and narrative production, formal and cultural characteristics of pre-Islamic poetry, the "crows of the Arabs", the Muʻallaqāt and the construction of the pre-Islamic past
• The Qur'ān: historical and religious framework of the first centuries of Islam, the Prophet and his life, the Qur'anic revelation, the drafting and codification of the Qur'anic text, the devotional and apotropaic use of the Qur'ān, the reception of the Qur'ān in medieval Europe
• The era of the Rāšidūn and the Umayyad caliphate: cultural context, development of poetic genres (invective poetry, ġazal and ḫamriyya), prose
• The first Abbasid era: cultural context, the šuʻbiyya, the era of translations, the development of science and philosophy, the poetry ("modernist" and "neoclassical" poets), introduction to the adab prose
• Historiography and its development
  

 

Note: Students attending the 6 CFU course in Arabic Language and Literature 1 (Code 28342) as part of the Master's Degree in Religions, Histories, Cultures (Code 5890) or the Master's Degree in History and Oriental Studies (Code 8845) are invited to contact the lecturer to arrange appropriate adjustments to the exam program.

Readings/Bibliography

Note: students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be "attending".

 

COMPULSORY READINGS FOR BOTH ATTENDING AND NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Arabic Language

• Giuliano MION, La lingua araba, Roma: Carocci, 2007 > capitoli 1, 2, 3, 6 (pp. 7-71, 119-140)

• Sana DARGHMOUNI, Kalima / parola. Lezioni di scrittura e grammatica araba con esercizi, vol. 1, Milano, Mondadori Education - Le Monnier Università, 2019 > unità 1-9, 12

Alternatively, and subject to the instructor's approval, the course topics can be studied in other descriptive grammars, such as Mion - D'Anna 2021; Veccia Vaglieri, vol. I.1, 2011 edition; Manca 1989, and/or other Arabic courses with exercises, such as Ruocco - D'Anna - Fatayer 2022; Durand - Langone - Mion 2010; Deheuvels 2010.

Additional exercise materials will be provided by the instructor and stored in the platform Virtuale. 

Arabic Literature

• Francesca Maria CORRAO - Monica RUOCCO, Letteratura araba. Dall'epoca preislamica all'età postclassica, Milano, Mondadori Education - Le Monnier Università, 2024 > cap. 1-6 (pp. 3-148).
• Leonardo CAPEZZONE, La trasmissione del sapere nell'Islam medievale, Roma, Jouvence, 1998, alternatively: Leonardo CAPEZZONE, Studiare nell'Islam medievale, Roma, Aseq-IPOCAN, 2023.

Anthological and supplementary material will be provided by the instructor and stored in the platform Virtuale. 

 

ADDITIONAL COMPULSORY READINGS FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

For students of the Bachelor's Degree courses in Anthropology, Religions, Oriental Civilizations (Code 8493) and in Economics, Politics, and Social Sciences (Code 5819) - Arabic 1 (Code 66964) - 12 CFU:

• Nadia ANGHELESCU, Linguaggio e cultura nella civiltà araba, Torino, Silvio Zamorani Editore, 1993 > pp. 3-50, 116-125.

For students of the Master's Degree course in History and Oriental Studies (Code 8845) - Arabic Language and Literature 1 (Code 28732) - 12 CFU:

• Mirella CASSARINO, Traduzioni e traduttori arabi dall'VIII all'XI secolo, Roma, Salerno Editrice, 1998 > pp. 1-83.

Note: students who do not attend classes are encouraged to reach out to the instructor to discuss any specific educational needs and to receive tailored bibliographic recommendations based on their individual academic project and background.

 

OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL READINGS FOR ATTENDING AND NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS ALIKE

The course does not require any prior knowledge of written or spoken Arabic; however, a solid knowledge of basic grammar is expected, and students may need to undertake preliminary readings to address any gaps.

For language exercises, it is advisable to use the bilingual dictionary (alternative options will be provided during the course):

• Eros BALDISSERA, Il dizionario di arabo. Dizionario italiano-arabo arabo-italiano, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2004 (e successive rist.)

For anthological references for the authors and texts (in translation) mentioned during the course, please refer to:

•  Jolanda GUARDI e Hocine BENCHINA (a cura di), Le mu‛allaqāt. La poesia araba prima dell’Islam, Milano, al-Mutawassit, 2023.
• Il Corano, introduzione, traduzione e commento di Alessandro BAUSANI, Milano, BUR, 1997.
• Mirella CASSARINO, Antonella GHERSETTI, Letizia OSTI, Samuela PAGANI, Antologia della letteratura araba. Dalle origini al XVIII secolo, Roma, Carocci, 2024.

For a basic introduction to the history and issues related to the Arab world, it is recommended to read at least the following text:

• Adam J. SILVERSTEIN, Breve storia dell'Islam, Roma, Carocci, 2013.

Audiovisual materials from the Online Experimental Course "Sabily (Open Source), Lessons 1 to 24, can also be useful:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvN0n14B5Kk&list=PLst_9DvzyL5lRWdPwDG-6D0Q21z00dP85

Teaching methods

The course consists of lectures, supplemented with audiovisual support material, as well as anthological and supplementary material provided to students and stored in the platform Virtuale.

Arabic Language

Each lesson typically covers a specific grammar topic, which is introduced through slides and various examples written on the board (initially with scientific transliteration, which will be gradually omitted). Students are encouraged to participate by reading the examples aloud. At the end of each lesson, review exercises related to the topic covered will be assigned, and these will be corrected at the beginning of the following lesson. Any questions or issues that arise during independent practice or correction will be addressed at that time.

This approach supports thorough preparation for the written exam, which will feature similar types of exercises.

Arabic Literature

Literary production in the Arabic language will be historically and sociologically contextualized, highlighting the work of the most important authors across various genres. Anthological examples will be provided in translation, and, at the end of the course, brief passages will be translated from the original language with the aid of the dictionary.

Assessment methods

The final examination consists of a written test in Arabic, which is followed by an oral interview in the subsequent exam session or in following sessions.

Note: only in exceptional cases (previously agreed upon with the teacher) the oral exam can be taken in the same session as the written exams.

The interview will cover both the language and the history of literature parts. The final grade, which is awarded on a scale of thirty, will be determined with two-thirds of the grade based on the language component and one-third based on the history of literature component.

 

Arabic Language

The written exam related to the language will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• A - Excellent: 30L-29
• B - Very Good: 29-26
• C - Good: 26-23
• D - Fair: 23-20
• E - Sufficient: 20-17
• F - Fail: <17

This assessment provides significant opportunity for improvement in the oral exam, should the student be able to correct and elaborate on their written responses.

The written and oral exams related to the language aim to assess the student's mastery of Arabic at the level required by the course, with particular emphasis on the following skills::

• Reception and production of written messages in Arabic;
• Translation of written messages from Arabic into Italian;
• Autonomous production of written messages in Arabic.

These various skills will be assessed through the following types of exercises: dictation, comprehension of a short text, sentence completion, verb conjugation, noun declension, and brief translations.

The grammar topics included in the exam and the types of exercises will be those presented and assigned during the course.

Note: students enrolled in the 6 CFU course in Arabic Language and Literature 1 (Code 28342) as part of the Master's Degree in Religions, Histories, Cultures (Code 5890) and the Master's Degree in History and Oriental Studies (Code 8845) are exempt from the written test and will take the language exam during the oral interview.

 

Arabic Literature

The literature examination aims to assess the knowledge acquired during the course by having students comment on selected texts discussed in class. It also evaluates the ability to succinctly and critically present the topics covered in the course, based on the content of the exam bibliography and the provided teaching materials.

The evaluation will therefore be based on:

• ability to comment on selected texts, i.e. the ability to identify and contextualize them historically; 
• mastery of contents; 
• ability to synthesize and analyze themes and concepts;
• ability to express oneself adequately and with the language appropriate to the subject matter.

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

Students will be deemed to have failed the exam if they display significant errors in their understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

The specified bibliography will be supplemented with additional anthological and supplementary materials, including, if applicable, Arabic sources (audiovisual materials, excerpts from texts primarily for language exercises, or literary sources). These will be made available to students and stored on the online platform Virtuale.

 

Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students.

 

Office hours

See the website of Sara Fani