123044 PS PS Literary Studies (2023S)

"The real companion of the Palestinian novel," says Bashir Abu-Manneh, "is the ebb and flow of historical possibility and its aesthetic mediation." (2014: 534-5). This course will explore the tradition of Anglophone Palestinian literature in the 21st Century. We will examine recent texts across genres (poetry and prose), while also supplementing this discussion with a proper grasp of the Palestinian social history and memory these texts reflect. As a result, course discussions will tackle questions pertaining (but not limited) to: national identity, political struggle, violence, thwarted peace efforts, and the people whose lives are continuously shaped a long-standing global military alliance. We will also, furthermore, contend with the utility and, perhaps, necessity of reading literatures of an Arab country written in English. Finally, the readings will enable us to challenge our own assumptions about Palestine, and to enrich our perspective through "the ebb and flow of historical possibility and its aesthetic mediation."

Course outcomes:
-Students will be able to recognize formal and thematic features associated with Anglophone Palestinian Literature
-Students will be able to supplement their discussion of Palestinian Literature with a historically-informed perspective.
-Students will be able to recognize concepts and methods useful for the study of literature more broadly.