Invitation 2nd IAC

Journal of Islamic Studies, 2016

A Companion to African Literatures, 2020

an introductory essay, which suggest a number of ways to look at the literatures of North Africa, including a multivectorial approach to literary history (the movement of literature between the Maghreb and the Egypt; the colonial factors and local literary traditions) and the multilingual dimension of the maghreb.

Tydskrif Vir Letterkunde, 2008

Tydskrif Vir Letterkunde, 2018

Routledge Companion to World Literature (2nd Edition), Eds. David Damrosch, Theo D’haen, and Djelal Kadir, 2022

Taha1 Hussein (1889–1973) [Tāha Husayn] was the foremost writer, critic and pedagogue of the Arabic-speaking world in the early twentieth century. A leading Egyptian modernist and reformer, and a staunch supporter of world literature and international cultural cooperation, Hussein embodied both the ideals and the predilections of Arabic liberal modernism and Arab public intellectuals of his time. This essay was published in the first issue of Hussein’s magazine Al-kātib al-misri [The Egyptian Writer] in 1945 to outline the location of Arabic as world literature. Hussein argues that the longevity of Arabic literary history depends on a dual process of renovation and stability. Perhaps his most enduring legacy to modern critical thought, Hussein called to “renovate” literature, that is, to achieve balance between Arab classical history and the free, politically-independent spirit of the modern age, and between local and world cultures. According to Hussein this balance creates world literature. As such, world literature is a natural result of cultural exchange between nations – even if the exchange itself, as in the Islamic empire, the two World Wars or European colonisation, has been prompted by conflict.

2023

The international conference Arabic in Africa: Historical and Sociolinguistic perspectives brings together scholars interested in the study of Arabic in Africa. The Arabic language in Africa represents at one and the same time remarkable similarities in terms of language structure and socio-cultural status as well as well-profiled contrasts. Both of these coincide only partially with contemporary political, economic and geographic demarcations, such as have become established in MENA or Maghreb studies. “Arabic in Africa” considers Arabic from different approaches, perspectives and disciplinary frameworks and in quite different sociolinguistic situations. Parameters include demographic weight (e.g. “national nonstandard standard” or very local small variety), institutional status (e.g. official language, national language, minority with no state support) and historical provenance. We welcome contributions that approach Arabic in Africa from historical, descriptive and sociolinguistic perspectives. Topics include but are not limited to: • Basic descriptive and theoretical linguistic perspectives on Arabic in Africa. • Variation, prestige, unbalanced power in Arabic varieties in Africa • Language contact involving Arabic, Arabic-based pidgins and creoles in Africa • Arabic as L2, Arabic as lingua franca in Africa • Arabic in Africa - Arabic in the Middle East: comparative historical and sociolinguistic perspectives • Language politics and policies involving Arabic in Africa • Ajami script, Arabic script in non-Arabic-speaking areas in Africa • Arabic and Islam in Africa During the coffee breaks there will be poster sessions where the conference participants will be able to interact with the presenters and discuss their research. The conference will close with a roundtable discussion where distinguished scholars will synthesize the various ideas and research directions which have been presented and propose the state of the art on Arabic in Africa according to their own perspective. We are honored to count among our invited Raporteurs Prof. Jeffrey Heath (University of Michigan), Prof. Catherine Miller (CNRS, IREMAM), Prof. Fiona Mc Laughlin (University of Florida) and Prof. Stephan Prochazka (University of Vienna) and to have Prof. Jonathan Owens (University of Bayreuth) chairing the discussion. The conference is funded by the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence and the Chair of Arabic Studies of the University of Bayreuth.