Lamenting Identity: Arab Women and the Melancholy of Exile in Modern Literature
Course Overview
Language of instruction will be Arabic.
This course aims to explore the profound impact of exile and displacement on contemporary Arab women writers in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Uprisings. Through an analysis of literary works by writers from countries such as Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Iraq, the course will focus on how themes of melancholy, identity, and the trauma of displacement shape their narratives. By highlighting both personal and political dimensions, the course will reveal how these writers use their outsider perspectives to depict the harsh realities of their homelands, while grappling with the emotional toll of exile.
*This course may be applied toward the Consortium’s Certificate in Gender Studies.
Seminar Leaders
Dr. Mansour Al-Maswari
Faculty Member, Department of Englsh
AMRAN UNIVERSITY, YEMEN
Dr. Mansour Ali Al-Maswari is a postdoctoral alumnus of Columbia University and the MESA Global Academy. He is a faculty member in the Department of English at Amran University, Yemen. His teaching and research focus on comparative and world literature, cultural anthropology, political sociology, peace and conflict studies, democracy, and human rights, with focus on Yemen, GCC and MENA.
Dr. Ashwaq Al-Quheef
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GLOBAL CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES – AMMAN
Dr. Mrs. Ashwaq Naser Al-Quheef is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Global Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Amman. Her research specializes in English and comparative literature, drama, feminism, and gender studies, with a focus on Yemen and the broader Middle East.
Syllabus and Readings
Course Schedule
OCT
10
Week 1: Contemporary Arabic Fiction: Themes and Meanings
Hosted on Zoom
Oct
17
Week 2: Exile and Alienation in Contemporary Arabic Fiction: Themes and Cultural Dimensions
Hosted on Zoom
OCT
24
Week 3: War Memory in Iraqi Feminist Consciousness
Hosted on Zoom
OCT
31
Week 4: Exile and Alienation in Yemeni Fiction: A Feminist Outcry in a Harsh Social Reality
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
7
Week 5: Displacement and Occupation in Palestinian Fiction
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
14
Week 6: Gulf Fiction and Social Alienation
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
21
Week 7: Memory of Love, War, and Diaspora in Sudanese Feminist Fiction
Hosted on Zoom
NOV
28
Week 8: Algerian Feminist Fiction and the Struggle for Identity
Hosted on Zoom
DEC
5
Week 9: Libyan Feminist Fiction and the Search for the Lost Self
Hosted on Zoom
DEC
12
Week 10: Estrangement of the Self and the Pain of the Other in Syrian Feminist Fiction
Hosted on Zoom
Certificates of Satisfactory Completion
Participants who attend 8 out of 10 complete seminar sessions are eligible to receive a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion signed by the Dean of The New School for Social Research.