The program consists of two modules:

1) Main elements of Arab-Muslim culture:

the geographical identity of the Arab-Muslim countries; Islam and the Koran; the Prophet Muhammad and his prophetic mission; the birth of the Islamic community; the pillars of Islam; Sunni and Shia Muslims; the prophets of Islam and Christianity in comparison; Islamic law; the canonical sources of Islamic law;

2) General features of classical Arabic literature:

the pre-Islamic age; poetry in the pre-Islamic age: the mu‘allaqāt; literature in the Muslim era; the Umayyad kingdom (660-750 AD) and the Abbasid empire (750-1258 AD) with the related literary expressions; the literary genre of the maqāmāt; the great collections of adab; the Thousand and One Nights.

In addition, short texts in Arabic (Koranic suras, hadīṯ) will be analyzed during the course, which are an integral part of the examination of Arabic literature I.

N. B: Each student must have read at least two novels (or anthologies of short stories or poems) of their choice, translated from Arabic into Italian. For the selection of Arabic works available in Italian, please refer to the website www.arablit.