ALL5866: Gender and Sexuality in Modern Arabic Literature

Survey of modern Arabic literature's key role in the articulation, construction, and subversion of gendered subjectivities. Explores the construction of masculine and feminine subjectivities, as well as the blurring of the dichotomy between the two. Also explores how homoerotic desire is presented in modern Arabic novels. Engages the complex interplay between the gender politics of literary texts, and the broader historical and political contexts from which they emerge. All texts covered in this course will be in English translation, however those able to read texts in the original Arabic are encouraged to do so.