INTELLECTUAL HISTORY AND TEXTUAL PRACTICES (ARABIC)

The course aims to stimulate reflection on the dialogic relationship between modernity and tradition with particular attention to the field of literary production, and specifically to the concept of canon and its reinterpretations, through examples of rewriting of works of traditional Arabic literature and the reuse of textual models that are proper to it.

Students will acquire familiarity with the tools of textual analysis, as well as the mastery of a specialized language. They will acquire the ability to contextualize texts historically and generically and to grasp their connections with the broader context of intellectual history, using the tools for bibliographical research and textual analysis techniques; they must be able to carry out research and in-depth studies and present their results in a clear and detailed manner.

Knowledge of Standard Arabic; notions of the history of pre-modern and modern Arabic literature.

The course will focus on literary forms and traditional motifs of pre-modern Arabic literature, on their re-use, and on the attribution of new meanings in modern Arabic literature through the case study of the work of 'Izz al-Din al-Madani (Tunis, 1938-). The analysis of some particularly significant works will allow deepening the dynamics of the activity of intellectual renewal and the tension between tradition and innovation in the literary spaces of modern Tunisia, also in relation to intellectual models linked to colonial history.

Texts in Arabic: selected passages from:
Alf layla wa-layla
al-Madani, Khurafàt, Tunisi, 1986
al-Madani, Min hikayat hadha l-zaman,Tunisi 1990

Secondary literature:
Fontaine, J., Vingt ans de littérature tunisienne 1956-1975, Tunis 1977
Fontaine, J., Aspects de la littérature tunisienne 1976-1983, Tunis, 1985
Hamori, A., On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature, Princeton, 1974 (selected passages)
Jolles, A. Forme semplici, Mursia 1980 (selected passages)
Ghersetti, A., Letteratura sperimentale e rapporto con la tradizione nei racconti di ʿIzz al-Dīn al-Madanī, in “Oriente Moderno”, 16 (77) n.s., 1997, numero monografico: Le letterature del Maghreb: recupero della tradizione o risposta all'egemonia culturale?, pp. 105-123.
Ghersetti, A., Min ḥikāyāt hāḏā al-zamān di ʿIzz al-Dīn al-Madanī, “Annali di Ca' Foscari” 30 (1991), S.O. 22, pp. 55-72.

Further bibliographical references will be given during the course, if necessary.

The exam consists in the discussion of the topics covered during the course, which the student must demonstrate to know and explain in a formal way, and in the preparation of a work done independently by the student, which will be presented and discussed in the classroom (Power Point presentation).

The course includes lectures and seminars.

Italian

The course includes reading texts in Arabic.
Students are kindly requested to contact the didactic secretariat in case of problems concerning registration for exams.
Students are required to comply with the university teaching regulations and the guidelines of the department (available at http://www.unive.it/pag/8251/ and http://www.unive.it/pag/9974/ ) especially with regard to registration for exams: any problem must be promptly reported to the didactic secretariat. Students not regularly enrolled in the exam will not be able to take the exam.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development