Political Literature in the Arab World

Arab Students United and Shuruq 2009 present

Political Literature in the Arab World
What role does literature play in the conflicts and struggles of Arab society?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Location: New York Univeristy, Kimmel Building, Room 907

*Refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.

When we think of Arab literature, we usually think of writers such as Naguib Mahfouz of Egypt and Ghassan Kanafani of Palestine. Their work conjures up a time when the Arab intellectual movement was at its strongest, when writers were an integral part of social and political movements on the ground. But where are the Naguib Mahfouzes and the Ghassan Kanafanis today? Do Arab writers today make the same sort of impact as the writers of yesterday? What role does literature play in the conflicts and struggles of Arab society, both of the past and of the present? Is a novel just a novel or a poem just a poem, or do the words actually make their way from the page to the Arab street? The panelists will discuss these questions and more.

Distinguished panelists include:

Professor Mona Mikhail, New York University
Professor Noha Radwan, Columbia
Ginan Rauf, PhD candidate Harvard
Farid Bitar, Palestinian Poet