Modern Arabic Literature

Reuven Snir is Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Haifa. His most recent books in English include Arab-Jewish Literature: The Birth and Demise of the Arabic Short Story (Brill, 2019), Modern Arabic Literature: A Theoretical Framework (EUP, 2017), Baghdad ― The City in Verse (Harvard University Press, 2013) and Who Needs Arab-Jewish Identity? (Brill, 2015).

• PrefaceTransliterationIntroductionChapter One: The Modern Arabic Literary System1. The Scope of the Research Subject2. Popular Literature and Legitimation3. Assumptions behind the Operative ModelChapter Two: Literary Dynamics in Synchronic Cross-Section1. Canonical Literature1.a. Texts for Adults1.b. Texts for Children1.c. Translated Texts2. Non-Canonical Literature2.a. Texts for Adults2.b. Texts for Children2.c. Translated Texts3. Internal and External InterrelationshipsChapter Three: Outlines of Diachronic Intersystemic Development1. Literature / Religion2. Literature / Territory3. Literature / Language4. Literature / State NationalismChapter Four: Literary Dynamics in Generic and Diachronic Cross-Section1. Periodization2. Classical vis-à-vis Modern Literature3. The Development of the Genres3.a. Poetry3.b. Fiction3.c. Theater4. Generic InterrelationshipsConclusionReferencesIndex

‘Reuven Snir provides his readers with a wealth of theoretical and applied information that takes in the entire modern tradition of Arabic literary creativity. It is an amazing achievement, well-arranged and comprehensively documented . . . The study demonstrates an enviable knowledge of the relevant theoretical and critical literature in both Western and Arab-world sources . . . I know of no work currently available that aspires to take on a subject this broad, and that does so with such conspicuous success and insight.’