Modern Arabic Literature: A Theoretical Framework

417 Pages·2018·3.33 MB·English

by  Reuven Snir

Modern Arabic Literature

Modern Arabic Literature
A Theoretical Framework
Reuven Snir
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For Mariana

Contents
Preface ix
Notes on Transliteration xii
Introduction 1
1. The Modern Arabic Literary System 8
The Scope of the Research Subject 9
Popular Literature and Legitimation 14
Assumptions behind the Operative Model 19
2. Literary Dynamics in Synchronic Cross-s ection 35
Canonical Literature 35
Texts for Adults 35
Texts for Children 55
Translated Texts 62
Non- canonical Literature 65
Texts for Adults 67
Texts for Children 84
Translated Texts 87
Internal and External Interrelationships 89
3. Outlines of Diachronic Intersystemic Development 100
Literature / Religion 116
Literature / Territory 150
Literature / Language 155
Literature / State Nationalism 160
4. Literary Dynamics in Generic and Diachronic Cross- section 175
Periodization 176
viii Modern Arabic Literature
Classical vis-à -vis Modern Literature 182
The Development of the Genres 193
Poetry 194
Fiction 206
Theater 218
Generic Interrelationships 222
Conclusion 228
References 279
Index 369
Preface
No scholar or historian of literature can systematically study literary phe-
nomena without relating them, implicitly or explicitly, to some framework
of facts or ideas. The very choice of a framework could, however, have a
determining influence upon the kinds of results that can be achieved. The
present study outlines a theoretical dynamic operative framework, in which
the historical development of modern Arabic literary texts can be studied,
and, at the same time, it offers flexible, transparent, and (as much as pos-
sible) unbiased tools to understand their relevant contexts in the literary
system. This system is autonomous in that it forms a network of the relations
that obtain between texts (including potential texts) and ensures that they
“belong to” and “constitute” a single, unified whole. I hope that the frame-
work offered here for the systematic study of modern Arabic literature will
enhance our understanding of this literature, throw light on areas of literary
production that traditionally have been neglected, and stimulate others to
take up the fascinating challenge of mapping them out and exploring them.
During the periods in which the data for this study was being collected
and the pages of this study were being written, the scholarship on Arabic
literature witnessed two major unprecedented developments. The first
development was the significant increase in scholarly publications in Arabic
and other languages. Index Islamicus, which contains material published in
European languages on all matters related to Islam and the Muslim World,
clearly reflects this development: When I began writing this preface, there
were only 4,503 publications on Arabic literature listed as having been pub-
lished before 1985; now, that is, at the time of completion of the entire
manuscript of this book, the number is 20,279.1
The second development was the rapid growth and proliferation of
sophisticated forms of media, particularly Internet-r elated technologies:
 1 Checked on 1 September 2016.