This course provides an overview of Arabic literature from its origins to the early Abbasid period. About two thirds of the class time will be devoted to the first known texts of literary production in Arabic (pre-Islamic odes and the Qur'an), with particular attention to the problems involving their oral and written transmission. The remainder of the course will instead illustrate the flowering of literature as caused by the impact of the Qur'anic revelation and the cultural influence exerted by the political expansion of the Caliphate.

• Qur'an
• Pre-Islamic poetry
• Words and Deeds of the Prophet (hadith), Qur'anic commentaries (tafsir), earliest historiography
• Poetry of the Umayyad era

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Frontal lessons, class discussions, analysis of texts

Course books

• Amaldi, D., Storia della letteratura araba classica, Zanichelli, Bologna 2004, pp. 1-73.
• Il Corano, ed. A Bausani, BUR Rizzoli, Milan 1988 (and later editions).

and a choice between:

• de Prémare, A.-L., Alle origini del Corano, Carocci editore, Rome 2014, esp. pp. 11-59 (C. Bori, "Un caos senza speranza? Studiare il Corano oggi")
• Urwa ibn al-Ward, Una voce nel deserto, ed. O. Capezio, Edizioni Ariele, Milan 2011, spec. 11-58.

Optional reading:

• Anghelescu, N., Linguaggio e cultura nella civiltà araba, Zamorani, Turin 1993, pp. 3-50 (caps. 1-2).
• Dammen McAuliffe, J., ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006.
• Tottoli, R., I profeti biblici nella tradizione islamica, Padeia, Brescia 1999, pp. 112-164 (caps. 3-5).

Further readings, including a selection of primary texts in Arabic and in translation, will be added to the required reading list during the semester.

Assessment

The assessment consists of an oral exam evaluated on a scale of thirty. The student is asked to discuss a topic of a general nature suggested by the teacher, in which he or she demonstrates the ability to master the contents, to distinguish the fundamentals and synthesize, to explain clearly and coherently, and to use an appropriate vocabulary. After the presentation, which will last around 20 minutes, the teacher reserves the possibility to ask more specific questions also about other themes of the program.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Course books

Students who do not attend class must contact the teacher for their program of study. Required readings include:

• Allen, R., La letteratura araba, Il Mulino, Bologna 2006, pp. 67-81.
• Amaldi, D., Storia della letteratura araba classica, Zanichelli, Bologna 2004, pp. 1-73.
• Antologia della letteratura araba, eds. F. Gabrieli and V. Vacca, second edition, Edizioni Accademia, Milan 1976, pp. 9-38, 45-85.
• Campanini, M., Il Corano e la sua interpretazione, third edition, Laterza, Rome and Bari 2013, ch. II-IV.
• Il Corano, ed. A. Bausani, BUR Rizzoli, Milan 1988 (and later editions).
• Detti e fatti del profeta dell'Islam raccolti da al-Bukhari, eds. V. Vacca, S. Noja, and M. Vallaro, UTET, Turin 1982 (and later editions), pp. 3-45 (introduzione e nota biografica).
• Gabrieli, F., La letteratura araba, Sansoni-Edizioni Accademia, Florence-Milan 1967 (various editions), pp. 19-121 (ch. 1-4).
• Le Mu'allaqat, ed. D. Amaldi, Marsilio, Venice 1991.
• Toelle, H., and K. Zakharia, Alla scoperta della letteratura araba. Dal VI secolo ai nostri giorni, Argo, Lecce 2010, pp. 57-72.

and a choice between:

• de Prémare, A.-L., Alle origini del Corano, Carocci editore, Rome 2014, esp. pp. 11-59 (C. Bori, "Un caos senza speranza? Studiare il Corano oggi")
• Urwa ibn al-Ward, Una voce nel deserto, ed. O. Capezio, Edizioni Ariele, Milan 2011, esp. pp. 11-58.

Optional reading:

• Anghelescu, N., Linguaggio e cultura nella civiltà araba, Zamorani, Turin 1993, pp. 3-50 (caps. 1-2).
• Dammen McAuliffe, J., ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006.
• Tottoli, R., I profeti biblici nella tradizione islamica, Padeia, Brescia 1999, pp. 112-164 (caps. 3-5).

Assessment

The assessment consists of an oral exam evaluated on a scale of thirty. The student is asked to discuss a topic of a general nature suggested by the teacher, in which he or she demonstrates the ability to master the contents, to distinguish the fundamentals and synthesize, to explain clearly and coherently, and to use an appropriate vocabulary. After the presentation, which will last around 20 minutes, the teacher reserves the possibility to ask more specific questions also about other themes of the program.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The student can request to sit the final exam in English with an alternative bibliography.