Dates:
November 10 & 17
December 1 & 8
Time:
Tuesdays, 7 PM – 8:30 PM
Cost:
$100 for the four-series course,
$85 for members.
Ages: Adults
Instructor: Mrs. Jihan Hasan
Requirements:
Intermediate to advanced level Arabic language proficiency
No prior background in poetry required.
Location:
All classes conducted virtually, via Zoom.
This course is an introduction to classical Arabic poets and poems of the pre-Islamic period. The goal of the course is twofold. The first is to ease reading and understanding classical Arabic poetry in historical context and its revisitation in modern Arabic culture. The second is to introduce students to translation and current scholarship on the rise of Arabic as well as poetic meters, themes, and genres. Topics of discussion include the Safaitic-Arabic rock inscriptions of the Syro-Arab Desert, the prized collections of the Mu’allaqat, the pre-Islamic Robin Hood Vagabonds known as the Sa’aleeq, etc. The course is conducted in Arabic and English.