Week 14 – May 3 & 5

Monday: Academic Symposium - No Class

Thursday: Oral Presentations 7-8

A hard copy of final Version of Term Paper is due in class on Wednesday, May 7.
Please also submit the corrected first version of your term paper as well.

Week 12 & 13: April 21 & 23 and 28 & 30

Week 12 – April 21 & 23

Monday: Diana Abu-Jaber: Fencing with the King
READ: Fencing with the King, pp. 1-149

Wednesday: Diana Abu-Jaber: Fencing with the King
READ: Fencing with the King, pp. 150-End

 

Week 13 – April 28 & 30

 

Monday: Guest Speaker/Interview with Diana Abu-Jaber on Zoom (TBD)
Post your questions onto BB under Discussion Forum

Wednesday: Discussion of Novel and Preparation for Banquet

Blog Entry 9: Discuss the notion of home in the novel for various characters, mainly for Amani, Gabe, and Musa. OR Reflect about our interview and talk with Diana ABU-JABER. Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, April 30 by midnight.

Week 10 &11 – April 7, 9, 14 and 16

Week 10 – April 7 & 9
Tuesday: Etaf Rum, A Woman is No Man
READ: A Woman is No Man pp. 1-172
Thursday:  Etaf Rum, A Woman is No Man
READ: A Woman is No Man pp. 173-269

Week 11 – April 14&16
Monday: Etaf Rum, A Woman is No Man
READ: A Woman is No Man pp. 270-End
Wednesday:  Guest Speaker: Etaf Rum (TBD)
Discussion of the entire Novel with author Etaf Rum

Blog Entry 7: In her debut novel, Etaf Rum, might be telling her own story. What does it mean that the main character dies at the hand of her own husband? Why did Rum decide to end the novel on such a tragic note? Why is it individually, socially, and culturally valuable that a woman tells her own story? OR Consider the discussion we had today with Etaf Rum and reflect about what the title of the novel means? What does Etaf Rum want to tell us, the readers, about the situation of women in Arab society? OR Consider the books we have read by Diana Abu Jaber, Susan Muaddi Daraj, and Randa Jarrar and compare those books with A Woman is No Man. How is this book different or similar to the other books?   Blog is due by Wednesday, April 16.

Week 8 – March 24 & 26

Monday: Randa Jarrar, A Map of Home
READ Chapters 1-10, pp 3-180
Wednesday: Randa Jarrar, A Map of Home
READ Chapters 11-20, pp 181-End

Blog Entry 6:  Reflect about the notion that A Map of Home is a Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel). OR Describe Nidali’s struggle with her multiple identities. OR Find 10-15 Arabic words in the novel and explain their meaning and role in the book.  Blog is due by Wednesday, March 26 by midnight.

Week 7 – March 10 & 12

Tuesday: READ: Susan Muaddi Darraj: The Inheritance of Exile. Stories from South Philly

READ: Each student will prepare one part of the book and will give a short summary of that part.

Thursday:  Midterm Exam will cover all materials studied in the first 7 weeks in the semester.

 

Week 6 – March 3 & 5

Week 6: March 3 & 5

 

Monday: Diana Abu-Jaber Crescent

READ: Crescent, Part 2, Chapters 28-End, pp. 308-395 plus the interview with Andrea Shalal-Esa at the end of the novel.

Wednesday:  Guestspeaker: Andrea Shalal, Reuters-Thompson, Washington, DC
Poetry by Arab-Americans: Naomi Shihab-Nye, Nathalie Handal, Khaled Mattawa, and more

Blog Entry 5: In an interview with Andrea Shalal-Esa, Abu-Jaber said “... food is such a great human connecter, it’s so intimate. ... Let the food be a metaphor for their experiences.” What does Abu-Jaber mean by that? Write a reflection about the role of food in the novel. OR Write a reflectio0n on one the following topics: Political issues raised in the book; images of the Arab-American community in LA; gender issues; role of exile; relationship between main and frame story; Arabic words, their meaning and role in the book; role of rituals in the book. Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, March 5 by midnight.

Week 5 - Feb. 22 & 24

Week 5 - Feb. 24 & 26

Monday: Diana Abu-Jaber Crescent

READ: Crescent, Part 1, Chapters 1-19, pp. 15-237, plus the biography of Diana Abu-Jaber at the end of the novel.

Wednesday: Diana Abu-Jaber Crescent

READ: Crescent, Part 2, Chapters 20-25, pp. 241-307