Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA2013: Religion and Politics in the Middle East: Literary Perspectives

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

Module Aims

The module aims to deepen your understanding of religion and politics in the Near and Middle East and demonstrate the role of literature in understanding Arab culture and thought. Combining socio-political perspectives with close readings of literary texts, the module will enhance your knowledge of Arab culture whilst training you in textual analysis and critical thinking and introducing you to some key works of Arabic literature in translation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate specialist knowledge of religious and political themes and their representation in modern Arabic literature;
2. Demonstrate critical understanding of the intersection between politics, religion and literature in the Near and Middle East;
3. Articulate specialist knowledge of critical debates surrounding politics, religion and ideology in the modern Middle East;
Discipline-Specific Skills4. Demonstrate critical analysis of literary texts;
5. Demonstrate knowledge and application of postcolonial and gender theory;
6. Demonstrate the ability to relate textual data to wider political, cultural and religious trends and developments in the Middle East;
Personal and Key Skills7. Demonstrate application of theory to texts and contexts;
8. Employ critical and analytical skills; and
9. Demonstrate the ability to rank sources and structure arguments.