Initial Publication Date: December 3, 2012

ARBC 185: Classical Arabic Literature (adab) in the Making

Instructor: Yaron Klein
Arabic
Spring 2011

Viz Cultures in Counterpoint Webpage
al-Jazūlī
Tokens of Blessings and Advents of Illumination in the Invocation of Prayers on Behalf of the Chosen Prophet Tarif Al Samman
Graz, Austria: Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1987
Gould Library Special Collections
Spring 2011
Course Description
This introductory course to Classical Arabic Literature will focus on the emergence and formation of Medieval Arabic belles-lettres (adab). We will read excerpts from adab literature (in translation), and discuss the socio-historical forces and institutions that shaped it: the rise of the urban elite in Abba sid Baghdad, the patronage supporting scholars, the intellectual gatherings of scholars (the majlis), the book shop, as well as the introduction of paper. We will discuss which materials were admitted into adab, and which were left out (e.g.: A Thousand and One Nights).






Introduction

This course focusing on adab literature contributed to the exhibition Cultures in Counterpoint: Music, Image, and Text in Medieval Iberia and the accompanying Rose Ensemble events.

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