This course is an introduction to cultural production in the modern Arabic-speaking countries (“The Arab World”), examining the dynamic relationship between literary and artistic expression and historical change. Through the study of modern Arabic literature, music, art, and film, students will explore how cultural production reflects and responds to the major political, social, and intellectual currents of the Arabic-speaking Middle East and North Africa in the modern period. This course explores novels, poetry, music, film, popular culture, and fine art that engage with key historical questions, including colonialism and decolonization, nationalism, social reform, gender and women’s rights, and peasant struggles. Moving across disciplines and media, the course examines how cultural production both reflects and actively shapes modern Arab histories and identities. All course materials are in English.