Modern Arabic Short Stories

Pre-requisite: ARABL-UH 2120 Intermediate Arabic 2 (or equivalent language proficiency)

Credit Hours: 4
Faculty: Laila Familiar
Office Hours: Sunday & Wednesday 4:30-6pm
Email: lailafamiliar@nyu.edu
Office: A6-1147

Course Description:

This course will explore the literary languages of Arabic and various political and socio-economic issues
via a selection of short stories that hail from geographically diverse authors. Being attentive to detailed
readings of texts, their contexts, and the environments within which the authors composed them,
students will engage with these short stories via reading, listening activities, debates, and extensive
analytical writing. While aiming to avoid the monolithic approach of reading stories as social documents
that reflect or mirror their societies, in this course will be concerned with the aesthetics of the Arabic
literary narratives as well as how the socio-economic and political issues evoked in the stories will be
of relevance to the broader realms of Middle Eastern Studies. Tradition vs. modernity, the individual in
opposition to the state, and gender issues are just some of the themes that will be discussed. In addition
to the short stories, students will engage with complementary materials such as open source online
videos and articles to expand on their knowledge of specific Arabic cultural and sociological phenomena
and increase cultural as well as linguistic competency.

Learning Outcomes:
This course aims to expose participants to the literary language(s) of Arabic via short stories. The
short stories hail from several authors from different countries in the Arab world. As a result of taking
this class, students will be able to:
1. Engage with modern literary texts in Arabic and recognize narrative techniques, aesthetic
standards and use of imagery
2. Identify and analyze recurrent themes of modern Arabic short stories and contextualize them
within their socio-political and economic milieu
3. Acquire reading strategies that focus on context, language cues, and activation of prior
knowledge
4. Advance students’ reading and speaking abilities in MSA through a set of pre-reading and post-
reading tasks designed to reinforce comprehension and lexical knowledge
 5. Develop students’ writing ability in MSA and their ability to formulate and convey opinions,
refute arguments and discuss abstract ideas and in oral and written form.

Teaching & Learning Methodologies:

This course involves reading relevant texts in the field of Arab Modern Short Stories and literary
criticism. Other materials include short films, articles, and blogs. Students will gain an understanding
of fundamental theoretical concepts and language pertaining to Arabic literature and literary
commentaries in Arabic through readings and discussions.

The teaching methodology used in this course will be grounded on three fundamental concepts: 1) a
sociocultural understanding of learning when approaching problem solving, 2) a collective
construction of knowledge, and 3) an understanding of teachers as mediators in the learning process.

Course Materials:

1. Course materials are short stories from various sources in addition to a set of activities designed
by myself and prof. Radwa ElBarouni
2. Other materials will be shared through NYU Classes
3. Language dictionaries

Grade Distribution:

Class Participation & Attendance 15%

Essays 25%
Vocabulary Building Activities & Homework Assignments 15%
Debates & Presentations in Class 10%
Mid-term video-presentation 15%
Co-curricular events 5%
End of Term Paper 15%

Below you will find more detail on each of the above components of your class grade, as well as a
section on grade policies and final grade calculation.

Grade Distribution/Course Requirements:

1.Class Participation (15%):

This is a flipped student-centered seminar, so participation is a key component of classroom activities. You
are expected to attend every class and to come to class on time. Class time will be devoted to discussing
what you have read or watched at home, deepening your comprehension of the texts and activating
the vocabulary and structures that you have learned. At least 75% of class time will be spent doing
activities in pairs and small groups. Thus, active participation in class is paramount for significant
language proficiency gains and good in-class performance.

2. Essays (15%) & Essay Corrections (10%)

At the end of every unit/short story. You will be required to write an essay with a prompt or from a
choice of two prompts that will be provided for you. We will start with 400 words, but will increase the
number of words required as we go along. These essays in addition to analyzing or discussing an issue
or story, will also be for you to help develop arguments in Arabic and hone your style using connectors,
all the while incorporating the new vocabulary and structures that you will be learning. The first draft
will be corrected using the correction code and comments will be made by me and returned to you for
revision. When you submit the revised version, please submit the original version also so that I can
evaluate the extent to which you were able to make the requested revisions.
We expect to do approximately 4-5 essays in this course. Every time, the word count will increase to
build your stamina. The due dates and guidelines for your essays and revisions will be specified in your
homework schedule. All essays (original and revised) need to be typed in Arabic and a hard copy must
be submitted in class at the beginning of class on the due date.

3 Vocabulary Building Activities & other Homework Assignments (15%)

Throughout the course, there will be vocabulary building activities and other non-essay homework
assignments that are designed to help you select and retain lexicon from the texts that you are reading
and vocabulary related to the literary discourse and analysis.

4. Debates & Presentations in class (10%)

During the term, there will be debate(s) held in class as well as one presentation by each one of you to
help build your oral proficiency and your confidence in public speaking at an advanced professional
level of Arabic. There guidelines for the debate(s) and presentations will be duly posted on NYU Classes.

5.Mid-term Video (15%)

At the end of week six, you will be required to upload a 15-minute video in which you discuss one of
the works/writers/movements we have been exposed to. There is a lot of room for creativity. The
videos can be done in pairs and can take the form of a talk show with the writer or an academic or any
other form you would like as long as it follows the guidelines that will be posted on NYU Classes and
pending my approval.

6.Co-curricular activities (5%)

You are required to attend two literary events organized by myself and/or NYUAD faculty and staff.
Information will be shared in advance on NYU Classes.

7. Final Essay (15%)

There will be a final essay. This essay will have to include a discussion of more than one work or writer
comparatively with a framework that you will come up with or following one of the prompts that will
be provided for you. The essay’s word count will be 1200 words. Guidelines/rubric will be posted on
NYU Classes.

Grade Scale

A=94-100; A-=90-93; B+=87-89; B=84-86; B-=80-83; C+=77-79; C=74-76; C-=70-73; D+=67-69; D=65-
66; F=below 65.

Academic Accommodations

Academic accommodations are available for students with disabilities. Please contact the Moses Center
for Students with Disabilities (mosescsd@nyu.edu) for further information. Students who are
requesting academic accommodations are advised to reach out to the Moses Center as early as possible
in the semester for assistance. Further details at: www.nyu.edu/csd.

*****

Tentative Schedule

Week 1 Class 1
Ø Syllabus Discussion
Ø Modern Arabic Literature & Short stories
Ø Abdel Rahman Munif (Saudi author)
HW:
Ø Biography of Abdel Rahman Munif
Ø Reading on post-oil Gulf societies
Ø Short story by Abdel Rahman Munif ‫اﻟﻤﻨﻜﻮد‬

Class 2
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Literary language activities
Ø Short creative writing
Ø Cultural pointers

Week 2 Class 1
Ø Discussion of literary language
 HW:
Ø Essay 1
Ø Biography of Zakariyya Tamer (Syrian author) + short story
Ø z{‫ اﻟﻴﻮم اﻟﻌﺎ‬su t ‫اﻟﻨﻤﻮر‬

Class 2
Ø Discussion of Zakariyya Tamer + story
Ø Warm-up for next author (Mohamed Shukri)
HW:
Ø Biography of Muhamed Shukri (Morocco)
Ø Short story ‫|ﺸ•~ ﺣ•ﺎ وﻣﻴﺘﺎ‬
Ø Cultural & historical pointers

Week 3 Class 1
Ø Discussion of Muhamed Shukri + story
Ø Cultural discussion
HW:
Ø Essay 1 correction
Ø Literary language in Muhamed Shukri & activities
Ø Discussion of cultural-historical pointers

Class 2
Ø Discussion of cultural & historical pointers
Ø Warm up for Š‫ﻋﻄﺶ اﻷﻓ‬
HW:
Ø Biography of Ghassan Kanafani (Palestine)
Ø Reading: Weddings in Palestine
Ø Short story Š‫ﻋﻄﺶ اﻷﻓ‬

Week 4 Class 1
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Essay 2 (Creative writing)
Ø Cultural discussion pointers
Ø Preparing a debate

Class 2
Ø Debate 1
Ø Creative writing
HW:
Ø Biography Fuad El-Tekerli (Irak)
Ø Short story ‫ اﻟﻄﻔﻞ‬z
Ø Reading: The prophet Youssef in Islam

Week 5 Class 1
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Essay 2 (creative writing) correction
Ø Short story ‫ ﻳﻮﺳﻒ اﻟﺼﻐ•~ اﻟﺠﻤ•ﻞ اﻟﻬﺎﻟﻚ‬..‫ﻳﻮﺳﻒ‬
Ø Rhetoric in Arabic & activities
 Class 2
Ø Short story discussion
Ø Working on Arabic Rhetoric
HW:
Ø Reading: Magic & Supersticion in Arab societies
Ø Short story: šu › ‫اﻟﻤﺨﺰن اﻟﻌﺮ‬

Week 6 Class 1
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Short story by Zakariyya Tamer ‫اﻣﺮأة وﺣ•ﺪة‬
Ø Activities on the literary language of the short sotry

Class 2
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Essay 3

Week 7 Class 1
Ø Peer writing (creative writing)
HW:
Ø Blog entry reading
Ø Article about Jinn in the Quran

Class 2
Ø Discussion of materials
HW
Ø Biography of Laila Al-Uthman (Kuwaiti author)
Ø Short story ‫اﻟﺬﺑ•ﺤﺔ‬

Week 8 Class 1
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Reading: The assassination of Ghassan Kanafani
Ø Short story: ‫اﻟﻘﻤ•ﺺ اﻟﻤ§وق‬

Class 2
Ø Cultural visit and/or literary event
HW:
Ø Video-project (Mid-Term project)
Ø Essay 3 correction

Week 9 Class 1
Ø Discussion of short story ‫اﻟﻘﻤ•ﺺ اﻟﻤ§وق‬
HW:
Ø Short story ‫ اﻟﺮﺻ•ﻒ‬ª‫ﻛﻌﻚ ﻋ‬

Class 2
Ø Discussion of ‫ اﻟﺮﺻ•ﻒ‬ª‫ﻛﻌﻚ ﻋ‬
 HW:
Ø Finalize video-project
Ø Prepare a debate

Week 10 Class 1
Ø The loss of innocence in Tamer’s short stories
Ø Debate 2
HW
Ø Short story by Zakariya Tamer ‫ اﻟﻬﺎﻟﻚ‬.‫ ﻳﻮﺳﻒ اﻟﺠﻤ•ﻞ‬..‫ﻳﻮﺳﻒ‬

Class 2
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Biography of Ibrahim Al-Koni (Libyan author)
Ø Article on Tuareg & Amazigh influence
Ø Short story ‫اﻟﻨﺎس‬

Week 11 Class 1
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Draft 1 of End-of-Term Paper

Class 2
Ø Discussion of materials
Ø Intro to ±u › °‫ & ﻃﺎﺋﺮ اﻟﻨﺤﺲ اﻟﺬ‬discussion
HW:
Ø Research on Farid Al-Din Attar & his book ~•‫ﻣﻨﻄﻖ اﻟﻄ‬
Ø Short story ±u › °‫ﻃﺎﺋﺮ اﻟﻨﺤﺲ اﻟﺬ‬

Week 12 Class 1
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Language and culture in ±u › °‫ﻃﺎﺋﺮ اﻟﻨﺤﺲ اﻟﺬ‬
Ø Prepare a Presentation

Class 2
Ø Rhetoric language & creative writing (group work)
Ø Presentations
HW:
Ø Biography of Hanan ElSheikh (Lebanon)
Ø Short story ‫اﻟﻤﻘﻌﺪ اﻟﺴﺎﺧﻦ‬

Week 13 Class 1
Ø Generic feedback on 1st draft of End-of-Term papers
Ø Discussion of materials
HW:
Ø Continue working on End-of-Term paper
Ø Biography of Hoda Barakat
Ø Letters from ‫ﺑ¶·ﺪ اﻟﻠ•ﻞ‬

Class 2
Ø Discussion of materials
 HW:
Ø Essay 4: Creative writing

Week 14 Class 1
Ø Sharing excerpts of the creative writing
Ø Discussions/Feedback

Class 2
Ø Final overview & reflection
Ø Course surveys
HW:
§ Finalize End-of-Term Paper

Exams
Week Submit Final Paper

Academic Integrity

Copying or paraphrasing someone’s work is not allowed and will result in an automatic grade of 0 for
the entire assignment. Students are expected to follow all NYUAD’s academic integrity policies when
doing all coursework.