Arab Women's Literature

The instance postcolonialism becomes hinged on liberalism, the liberating promise which postcolonialism propels considerably shrinks. This essay explains that in predicating the liberal ideology as a tool for self-determination, a crippling standstill awaits a given cause. The Palestinian question as recently imagined by the American Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa in Mornings in Jenin (2010) stands a glaring example for such a predicament. The predicament is characterized by a predilection towards ontology instead of epistemology, the personal rather than the collective, character over theme, irony and excess instead of explicit and balanced approaches and finally, discussions favoring culture and identity in lieu of class and resistance. Masking that same postcolonial predicament is the narrative obsession with the existential-ontological, turning the struggle into a textual one. All in all, the predicament expands on postcolonial experiences by raising awareness to the dialectics of emancipation discourses. Introduction:

The generation of Egyptian writers and other culture makers whose creative work started to come out during the transformative 1990s produced new distinct discourses on identity, including those related to gender. This article closely examines Miral al-Tahawy's novel Blue Aubergine (1998) as representative of the New Age feminist writing of Jil al-Tisʾinaat. This antiestablishment form of feminism rebelled against the ideologies of previous movements. It distorted the conventional binaries, such as secular versus Islamic, and promoted hybridity. Finally, it prioritized individual constructions of female identity and plurality of representation. The article investigates the novel's narrative aspects—hybridity, polyphony, intertextuality— which illustrate the quest for a new Egyptian female identity.

Anglophone Arab women writers have taken in charge the voicing of Arab immigrants' agonies. Fadia Faqir is one of these writers. In her novel, «My Name is Salma», Faqir puts her protagonist Salma in a constant struggle with her foreignness in a country where she is supposed to be a citizen with all the rights her citizenship might bring to her. In this paper, we aim at exploring the hardships Arab/Muslim immigrants living in the Diaspora and women in conservative Arab societies are facing through an analytical study of Fadia Faqir's protagonist Salma in My Name is Salma. Salma dans " Mon Nom est Salma " : La Femme Arabe en tant qu'invisible et étrangère Résumé Les femmes écrivaines arabes d'expression anglaise ont pris en charge l'expression des préoccupations des immigrés; Fadia Faqir en est une. Dans son roman, « Mon nom est Salma », l'étrangeté de la protagoniste Salma la place dans un conflit constant, dans un pays où elle est censée être une citoyenne avec tous ses droits. Dans cet article, je cherche à explorer les difficultés que les immigrés arabes/musulmans, vivant dans la diaspora ainsi que les femmes des sociétés arabes conservatrices, rencontrent et ceci à travers une étude analytique du personnage de Salma. Mots clés : Diaspora, arabophobie, hybridité, colonialisme, post colonialisme, oppression de la femme arabe, invisibilité.

This paper examines foreignness in Mohja Kahf’s poetry volume, E-mails from
Scheherazad (2003), as a celebratory commodity rather than a literary trope to resist Arab women representations or to accentuate exilic voices. Drawing on Julie Kristeva’s conceptualization of foreignness as internal personae and not a projection of an external locus of identity, this paper explores how the speakers in some of Kahf’s poems view foreignness as festive rather than negative. In sharp contrast to the traditional conception of difference as publicly alienating, foreignness to the Arab-American speakers becomes a distinctive mark that they uphold and celebrate. Examining foreignness in Kahf’s poems through Kristeva’s lens provides a sense of uniqueness to the immigrant’s experience. The notion of recognizing the foreigner in ourselves, that Kristeva provides, subverts the general perception of foreignness as external and intruding. Kahf’s poetry can be perceived as a negotiation of foreignness, which is not an estranging element that incurs resistance but rather as a celebratory part of the human consciousness that should be jubilantly defined rather than politically defended.

This article focuses on the Arabic fiction of ‘Afīfa Karam (1883-1924), a neglected contributor to the nahḍa, or the Arabic cultural renaissance of the mid- to late-19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Mount Lebanon, Karam became a novelist, journalist, and translator in the North American mahjar (Arab diaspora). A discussion of Karam’s novel, Fāṭima al-Badawiyya (Fatima the Bedouin), published in New York City in 1909, explores the author’s engagement with gender politics within a hybridized cultural space. Such attention also reveals the transnational character of nahḍa literary culture, as readers and writers scattered across four continents interacted in the textual “spaces” of the rapidly expanding print culture in the Arabic-speaking world. As a single player within an international network of Syro-Lebanese women writers, Karam’s foundational feminist fiction reveals early constructions of a cosmopolitan female subjectivity, offering a radical vision of global sisterhood that transcends geographic, political, and religious boundaries.

Side by side with their Arab compatriot male writers and their Western counterparts of both genders, the Arab women writers have found a space for their original literary writings and for the specificity of their complex identity as being Arabs, women and writers. By analyzing The Stone of Laughter by Huda Barakat(1) and The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif(2), we attempt to explore each novel's specificity and each writer's literary creativeness, both of which express Arab women writers' complex identity. If women narratives are partly fictions, they include stories set by the narratives within which their lives are intertwined. Arab women's voices seem still very much present in post-colonial literature, certainly more audible than ever. They need to claim their right to exist and have to clear a psychic space for themselves. They can afford to be not only parodic but playful and highly sophisticated as well. In this paper, we will compare and contrast the two works; this exercise will not be of an evaluative nature, but it will rather be an exercise of re-arguing that the Arab woman writer is certainly of great artistic and intellectual capacities as much as any writer of the other gender or culture. We choose to compare Barakat's ‫اﻟﻀﺤﻚ‬ ‫ﺣﺠﺮ‬ (The Stone of Laughter) (3) and Soueif's The Map of Love in order to explore, to some extent, the divergences at the linguistic, thematic and narrative levels, to unveil the importance of the two trends of Arab woman literature, that is to say Arabic language literary writings(4) and hybrid literary writings(5). Following these objectives of reflexion and research, we had to go back to Propp's theories and how he could compare hundreds of fairy tales to come out with these two concepts " Constantes " (constants) and " Variantes " (variants). Yet, because our comparison is limited to two novels only, we would rather use the terms " similarities " and " differences ". By the end of this essay, we will have to examine how Arab women novelists writings in Arabic and Arab women novelists writings in English (or a foreign language), though divergent, are convergent in the sense that they are both original and literary creative through the comparison of the two selected novels. So, is there any Arab feminist literature? Sustained consideration is given to feminist theories and feminist writing, and at a specific level Arab feminism, for the

Un nombre particulièrement important de romans publiés par les écrivains irakiens depuis 2003 traite du déplacement en tant qu’expérience existentielle, dans une dimension à la fois individuelle et collective. Parmi ces écrivains émerge la voix féminine de Inaam Kachachi (In‘ām Kaǧahǧī), née à Bagdad en 1952, où elle a travaillé comme journaliste avant de s’installer à Paris en 1979. Son dernier roman est Ṭašārī (2013), qui fait l’objet de ce texte. Le récit raconte l'histoire d’une femme médecin, la chrétienne Wardiyya, qui se retrouve contrainte de demander l'asile en France à la fin de sa vie, après avoir vu sa famille dispersés aux quatre coins de la terre. Le déplacement de Wardiyya est présenté dans le cadre des transformations de la scène politique et sociale dans la seconde moitié du XXème siècle. Dans ce drame transnational, les protagonistes luttent contre les sentiments de déracinement et d’étrangeté en faisant recours à leurs mémoires et à l’histoire familiale et nationale. Ils doivent repenser leur relation avec le pays d'origine et concilier leurs multiples identités sans compromettre la stabilité relative et le sens d'appartenance à leur pays d’accueil.

This article explores Zainab Salbi’s autobiography, Between Two Worlds (2005), using a Lacanian analysis. The Lacanian reading of the early Mirror Stage of ego formation can be extended to better understand Salbi’s narration of her childhood and how this world of anticipation is crushed by a Symbolic world that comes to be dominated by Saddam Hussein and the traumatic eruptions of the Real. The article suggests that by introducing the figure of the mother as le grand autre, Salbi’s autobiography subverts the typical conceptualization of the Lacanian Symbolic order, which is dominated by the patriarchal signifier. I also argue that Saddam, an intrusive Name-of-the-Father, validates the biographical endeavor and lures the narrative discourse into being.

2011 yılında Suriye’nin Der’a ilinde, duvarlara Suriye rejimi aleyhine yazılar yazan çocukların karakolda alıkonulup işkenceye maruz bırakılmasına tepki olarak, Hama’da başlayıp akabinde diğer Suriye illerine sıçrayan halk gösterileri, birkaç ay içerisinde kanlı bir iç savaşa dönüşmüştür. O tarihten günümüze kadar on binlerce sivilin ölümüne ve milyonlarca insanın yurtlarını terk etmesine neden olan bu iç savaşın, siyasi ve askeri sonuçları hakkında pek çok akademik çalışma yapılmıştır. Ancak yaşanan iç savaşın sonuçları sadece siyasi ve askeri olmakla sınırlı değildir. İç savaşın; milyonlarca Suriyelinin savaş ortamından uzaklaşarak Suriye içinde güvenli bölgelere ya da Suriye dışında komşu ülkelere göç etmek zorunda kalmaları sonucu entegrasyon sorunu ile karşı karşıya kalması, aynı aile üyelerinin çatışan kesimler arasında farklı tarafı tutmalarından dolayı aile içi anlaşmazlıklar yaşanması ve bazı Suriyelilerin başta rejim karşıtı hareketlere taraf olup daha sonra muhaliflerin tavırlarından rahatsız olarak hiçbir tarafa destek vermeyip güven bunalımı yaşayan bir kesimin ortaya çıkması gibi birçok sosyal sonucu olmuştur. Bu çalışma, Suriyeli roman yazarı Mehâ Hasen’in Umti sabâhan eyyetuhe’l-harb romanında yansıtılan bu sosyal sorunları ve devrimin başarısız oluşundaki arka planı ele alacaktır. Girişte, Suriye iç savaşının dünden bugüne nasıl başlayıp ve geliştiğine dair bilgi verilecektir. Birinci bölümde, Mehâ Hasen’in hayatı ve romancılığına değinilecektir. İkinci bölümdeise, Umti sabâhan romanında, Suriye’de yaşanan iç savaşın yol açtığı sosyal sorunlar ve devrimin akamete uğramasındaki etkenler başlıklar halinde ele alınacaktır.   

In 2011, in Syria's Der'a province, the public protests that started in Hama and then leaped to other Syrian provinces in response to the children who had written against the Syrian regime on the walls were detained and tortured at the police station, turned into a bloody civil war within a few months. Many academic studies have been conducted on the political and military consequences of this civil war, which led to the death of tens of thousands of civilians and the abandonment of millions of people from that day to day. However, the results of the civil war are not limited to being political and military. Civil war; the fact that millions of Syrians have to migrate away from the war environment and have to migrate to safe areas in Syria or to neighboring countries outside of Syria have to face the consequential integration problem and that the same family members are involved in family disputes due to their different sides among the conflicting sectors and that some Syrians are especially against anti- then it became a social endeavor like the emergence of a part of the people who did not give support to any side and suffered a crisis of confidence, uncomfortable with the attitudes of the opponents. This study will address these social problems reflected in the Syrian novel writer Mehâ Hasen's novel Umti Sabahan Eyyetuhe'l-Harb and the background of failure of that revolution. In the introduction, information will be given on how the Syrian civil war started and developed from today. In the first chapter, the life and novelty of Mehâ Hasen will be mentioned. In the second chapter, the social problems caused by the civil war in Syria and the factors affecting the revolution’s failure will be discussed.

This study focuses on the deconstruction of dominant perceptions of Arab masculinity, particularly with respect to Hans, the exiled Iraqi protagonist of Diana Abu-Jaber’s 2003 novel Crescent. Employing the concept of the unheimlich as it intersects with the Iraqi Al-Futuwwa movement, this article explores the ways in which the condition of being exiled strips the protagonist of his masculine ideals that are often associated with nationalism and chivalry, and exposes his internalized vulnerabilities to “unhomeliness,” since he has been disconnected from country and family. In effect, the study subverts hegemonic conceptualizations of Arab masculinity by examining the unsettling repercussions of forced migration.

As Anne McClintock has shown in Imperial Leather, cross-dressing is related to the ability to adopt different social identities and can shift among gender, social classes, and power rank; it also has a historical dimension that cannot be overlooked. In my paper

Drawing on Derrida’s double conceptualization of the ‘la question de l’e´tranger’, which he utilizes to unpack the notion of hospitality, this paper explores the question of foreignness in Ahdaf Soueif’s short story ‘Knowing’, from her collection I Think of You: Stories (2007). Jacques Derrida uses the interrogative mode to examine the diasporic situation by looking at ‘the question of the foreigner’, which ‘is a question of the foreigner, addressed to the foreigner’. To Derrida, the diasporic condition is determined by the type of hospitality offered or withheld by visiting and hosting countries. Likewise, Soueif questions the notion of hospitality as she introduces homes and locales that seem uncongenial to foreign dwellers. In ‘Knowing’, Soueif portrays the foreigner’s position as being marked by the presence or absence of hospitality. In this context, the Derridean conditioned hospitality could become invasive as it colours diaspora with its own peculiar brush. As she fictionalizes hospitality, Soueif blurs the line between home and host as well as that between guest and stranger. In the short story, she introduces the insidious effects of the new receiving culture as her fictional girl is not a guest since the host country withholds the Derridean unconditional hospitality; neither is she a stranger as foreignness dictates a sense of cultural dislocation, which is that of not ‘knowing’.

This paper discusses Arab women's resistance against multiple types of patriarchal and cultural oppression in Hana Al-Shaykh's Women of Sand and Myrrh (1992). The paper also discusses the importance of education, employment, and freedom of daily life practices for women's mission of self-development. Furthermore, the study also illustrates that through education, women come to their intellectual growth and independence that enable them to get rid of the patriarchal guidance restricting their life patterns and behaviours.

Artist's notes for the interactive performance gathering, Inhabiting the North, based on the memoirs of Sayyida Salme bint Said (Emily Said Ruete, 1844-1924), second piece in Passages series. Include notes on Sayyida Salme and her significance, relevance to Turtle Island, and collaborators' list and bios.

Inspired by researches from the fields of psychology and feminist theory, this paper intends to discuss the theme of hope in Emna Rmili's Sahtt Larwah (The Spirits' Beach) based on a close reading of the novel's chapters and on its open ending. In fact, both characterization and symbolism help unveil signs of hope which counter the theme of despair and the intimations of failure recurrent in some substantial parts of the novel. Our reading refers to the different chapters in the novel with a particular focus on the ending as a fundamental part of the book, replete with symbols and significations. As the novel unfolds, the theme of despair is highlighted through the characters' accounts of their disappointing journey to find a release from misunderstanding and persecution. Yet, notwithstanding the elements of intrigue and elusive meaning in the ending, there are conspicuous elements that can be read as promising signs of hope.

In the present work, the literary elaboration of the concept of Foucault's heterotopia is related to the creation of poetically reflected writing concepts and poetic worlds in the texts of three modern Arab female authors, the starting point of which is often place-related vision or obsession with places. In creating the alternative, heterotopic text- worlds, the memory-work motivated by the displacement plays a central role. The attempt at interpretation presented here is inspired by the three Arab female authors in the very opposite written movements of the traditional reading of the past.

The discourse of Arab women speaking out, refusing to be silent, and voicing their experiences, is alive and ever-growing. Arab Women Voice New Realities presents an archive of living, breathing stories of women making promises and confessions, women coming to terms with traumatic pasts, negotiating complex present realities, and imagining alternative liberating futures. This collection attempts to bridge the gap among women writers, seasoned and novice. It spans a large geographical space, uncovers the depth of distinct experiences, and ultimately offers a platform for voice and visibility to the new Arab woman. These stories are instantiations, records, and they will never be told in the same way again. Seldom do we get the chance to see a literary project through in a relatively short period of time, especially one which involves many writers, translators, artists, designers and publishing members.

There are several texts on teaching Arabic literature in translation, such as the one edited by Michelle Hartman that’s coming later this year and the one edited by Muhsin al-Musawi and published in 2017. This, instead, will be a series of conversations around specific syllabi and teaching moments: in the classroom, through lecture series such as Tarjamat, through independent projects, or in other ways. Hopefully, the open nature of the series will allow for some comment and counter-comment; answer and question.

The first short conversation is with Emily Drumsta at Brown University, and it centers around her course, “Women’s Writing in the Arab World.”

As her course description notes, “Women’s Writing in the Arab World” takes a long view, including Arabophone women writers from the last millennium and a half:

This course examines the writing of Arab women from pre-Islamic times to the present. Over the course of the semester, we will read poems, novels, short stories, and critical tracts from numerous national contexts across the Middle East, including Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, and Tunisia. Beginning with a survey of pre-modern female literary personae in Arabic (the elegist, the mystic, the singing slave), we will move on to examine major figures in the early modern feminist movement, autobiography, film, and the novel. No Arabic required.

Although there are a number of other short stories, essays, and chapters giving critical context, beginning with Maya Mikdashi’s “How Not to Study Gender in the Middle East.”