Course Outline

Week 1: Warming up and familiarizing with basic notions about the course

The first lecture is an orientation with basic notions that will be useful throughout the course. It will be interactive to warm -up students for the upcoming lectures. The lecture will focus on the most important points and themes, allowing for a better understanding of the processes the course will examine in detail later when talking about ethnicity and othering in Arab contemporary fiction. The lecture is participatory in nature and thus aims to address the emerging issues surrounding the subject matter of this course as comprehensively as possible.

Week 2: Introduction to Othering, Social, Political Taboos, The Unspoken Taboos, Ethnicity: Representations of the Margin in Arab Contemporary Fiction. 

The second lecture will be an introduction to the course title. In general, concepts of ethnicity, race, nationalism, and collective identity are crucial to go further in this course. It will also contain an elaboration on the related key terms of the course, such as othering, taboos, or marginalized identities in the Arab world. Moreover, a brief introduction will be about the historical and socio-political context of the Arab world, highlighting key factors that contribute to the formation and perpetuation of othering and taboos.

Week 3: Social Exclusion in Ali Al-Muqri’s Black Taste, Black Odour (2008).

This lecture introduces the writer, the socio-cultural background of the Yemeni society, and the ethnicity in Yemen in which Akhdam (Afro-Yemeni people) represent the outcast marginalized group. It delves into the poignant exploration of social exclusion in Ali Al-Muqri’s novel Black Taste, Black Odour (2008). It also examines how Al-Muqri portrays the multifaceted experiences of marginalization and discrimination faced by characters within the novel’s socio-political landscape.

Week 4: Ethnic Cleansing, Stigmatization, and Self Struggle in Singar’s Virgin (2023) by Ward Badr Al-Salim

This lecture introduces the Yazidis, a mainly Kurdish-speaking religious minority in northern Iraq. It also highlights the tragedy of the Yazidis in Iraq. In August 2014, an estimated 600 Yazidi men and boys were killed, while all the women and girls were taken into slavery. After taking their areas in northwestern Iraq, ISIS made a concerted effort to exterminate the local Yazidi population, killing men and boys. They also kidnapped thousands of women and girls, about 3,000 of whom remain missing. More than 5,000 men were killed; around seventy mass graves have been found until today. More than 7,000 Yazidi girls and women were enslaved… (Kothe 212).

Week 5: Nubian Question in Idris Ali’s Dongola: A Novel of Nubia. (Translated by Peter Theroux, February 1999).

After introducing Nubia, this lecture delves into the complex “Nubian Question” as explored in Idris Ali’s novel, Dongola: A Novel of Nubia. The lecture also examines how Ali, through the lens of fiction, grapples with the historical and contemporary challenges faced by the Nubian people.

Week 6: Breaking Taboos: Identity and Belonging in The Druze of Belgrade (2012) by Rabee Jaber.

This lecture will explore the complex themes of identity and belonging in the experiences of the Arab Druze community in Serbia, as represented in The Druze of Belgrade. The novel explores the historical and political factors that have shaped the Druze diaspora, including the Ottoman Empire, the Balkan Wars, and the Yugoslav conflicts.

Week 7: Layla Qasrani’s The Blind Birds and Armenian Genocide

Armenian ethnicity settled in different Arab countries to escape the genocide executed on them by the Ottomans. The lecture discusses The Blind Birds (2016) by Layla Qasrani, a historical fiction about the Armenian genocide. It explores themes of memory, silence, and the search for identity. It examines the profound and lasting impact of the collective trauma on subsequent generations of Armenian families. The lecture demonstrates the importance of literature as a tool for historical memory. It highlights the Intergenerational Trauma and Identity. It also focuses on the preservation of Identity within Integration.

Week 8: Attila: The Last Lover (2019): Imagined History and the Kurdish Agony

This lecture explores Attila: The Last Lover (2019) by the Kurdish writer Serdar Abdullah, examining how it employs “the imagined history” to describe the complex Kurdish experience. This lecture shows how the novel narrates the history of the Kurdish revolution, addresses social, sectarian, and national conflicts, and culminates in the martyrdom of an Arab fighter in the ranks of the Kurdish revolution. It offers a comprehensive narrative that spans generations and explores the multifaceted challenges faced by the Kurdish people.

Week 9: The Making of Tuareg Canon: Ibrahim Al-Koni and Fiction of the Desert

Tuareg people mainly inhabit the desert of North Africa. In Ibrahim Al-Koni’s novels, we can find a whole fictional world of Tuareg culture. In his fiction, Al-Koni transcends traditional portrayals of the desert as a barren wasteland, depicting it as a vibrant and dynamic space filled with life, history, and spiritual significance. This lecture describes how Al-Koni’s fiction challenges Western stereotypes about the desert and its inhabitants, offering a deep and insightful perspective on life in the Sahara.

Week 10: Circassian People and the Arab Landscape in The Exodus from Sosruqa (1993): A Novel of Circassian Diaspora by Zahra Omar

This lecture explores the intricate relationship between the Circassian people and the Arab landscape as depicted in Zahra Omar’s The Exodus from Sosruqa (1993). The lecture examines how the novel portrays the Circassian Experience in the Arab World. The novel probes into the historical and contemporary experiences of the Circassian diaspora in the Arab world, exploring their displacement, integration, and cultural adaptation.

Week 11:  Cosmopolitan City and Ethnic Identity in Arab Fiction

In fiction, cosmopolitan cities and ethnicity often intertwine to create rich narratives that explore themes of identity, belonging, and cultural exchange. Cosmopolitan cities are often depicted as “melting pots” where people from diverse ethnic backgrounds blend their cultures to create a unique, hybrid identity. Cosmopolitan cities can also be sites of tension and conflict between different ethnic groups.

Week 12: Hybrid Culture: The Greek Experience in Egypt

In a riveting tale spanning over a century, Ghada Al-Absi delves into the chronicles of the Kozzika distillery, once a prominent fixture in Egypt’s Tura district. The narrative unfolds through the lens of the Kozzika family, Greek immigrants who found themselves ensnared in the tumultuous tapestry of Egypt’s past. This family saga narrates the story of Theokhari Kozzika as he journeys from Greece to Alexandria, bearing witness to the city’s infamous massacre and the ensuing British occupation.

Week 13:  Is it Class or Ethnicity Consciousness? Social Struggle and Ethnic Marginalization in The Jungo: Stakes of the Earth 

The Jungo: Stakes of the Earth (2009) by the Sudanese novelist Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, is the masterpiece of contemporary Sudanese literature. The Jungo, a marginalized and forgotten segment of seasonal agricultural workers in the Sudanese-Ethiopian-Eritrean border region, represents a specific ethnic and social class. Their lives are marked by hardship, reflecting the realities of their interactions with the diverse mix of local populations in this exceptional place, which is highly distinctive in terms of its people, society, culture, and language. Despite their significant contribution to the production of Sudanese wealth, they remain largely invisible to the central government, facing exploitation and neglect.

Week 14: Ethnicity and Dual Identity in The Bamboo Stalk

The Bamboo Stalk (2013) by Kuwaiti author Saud Alsanousi explores the complex issues of ethnicity through the story of Jose, a young man born to a Filipina mother and a Kuwaiti father. Jose struggles with his dual identity throughout the novel. He was raised in the Philippines but yearns to connect with his father’s homeland, Kuwait. However, upon arriving in Kuwait, he faces discrimination due to his Filipino heritage. The novel explores the social hierarchy of Kuwait, where ethnicity plays a significant role. The story confronts the challenges faced by foreign workers in Arab countries and the deeply rooted prejudices around ethnicity.