ARAB 395
Decolonial Thought in the Arabic-Speaking World: From Independence to Liberation Spring 2025
Division I Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed GBST 394 / COMP 395

This seminar’s objective is to familiarize students with the decolonial thought movement that is currently gaining traction in the Arabic-speaking world. Students will be introduced to some of the most significant and profound ways of thinking about political, economic, gender, sexual, and epistemic liberation in the Middle East and North Africa through the interdisciplinary framework created by this course, which combines texts from sociology, anthropology, religion, and feminism with historical essays and literary works from the mid-20th century to the present. To achieve this goal, students will read a selection of writings by the following authors: Edward Said, Sadek Al-Azem, Mohammed Abed Al-Jabri, Abdellatif Laâbi, Mahdi Elmandjra, Mahdi Amel, Samir Amin, Ali Shariati, Abdelkebir Khatibi, Fatima Mernissi, Assia Djebar, Taha Abderrahman, Ellah Shohat, Nawal El Saadawi, and Abdelfattah Kilito, among others. Students will ultimately consider how these writings help us comprehend the intricate legacy of colonialism, which includes the imposition of European languages, political structures, and cultural norms. Furthermore, they will get a more profound understanding of the continuous endeavors of intellectuals and authors within the Arabic-speaking sphere, spanning from the Gulf to the Maghreb, to reclaim their local, national and regional identities and at the same time express alternative, decolonial worldviews.