A call for comparative approach to Arabic literature

Abstract EN

Arabic literature, produced by native Arabs in their homelands and in their chosen or enforced exiles all over the world, as well as by non-Arabs who have adopted Arabic as a medium of their creative writings, is the outcome of an all-embracing interaction between its centuries-long tradition and the various cultural and literary traditions of the rest of the world.

Yet this extensive, rich and diverse experience of cross-cultural encounters is largely neglected by comparatists from both East and West.

As leading post-colonial scholars and critics are now challenging Western centrism, there is a growing feeling amongst Arab comparatists that the comparative study of their literature deserves reconsideration for what it brings to our appreciation of a fascinating chapter in the history of interactions amongst world literatures.

This paper examines the potential contribution that the study of Arabic literature comparatively can make to the theories of comparative literature, and demonstrates this through an exciting example of its encounter with other literatures.