Today the countries of North Africa are experiencing rapid social change. Rap
music and Britney Spears can be heard spilling out of windows while television
sets broadcast a call to prayer. In the market place, those selling their goods
compete to be heard over the ringing of cell-phones. Old and new exist side by
side, albeit sometimes very uncomfortably. During the past decade, literature has
emerged in both French and Arabic examining the effects of globalization:
unequal modernization, unemployment, cultural change and cultural resistance.
In this course, we will read short stories that address these issues alongside
Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian newspapers on the web in order to explore
contemporary transformations of life in North Africa. Readings by Maissa Bey,
Abdelfattah Kilito, Zeina Tabi, Mohamed Zafzaf, Ahmed Bouzfour, Soumaya
Zahy and Abdelhak Serhane among others. Conducted in French.
Requirements: active class participation, Blackboard postings, two short papers,
an oral presentation and a final paper.
Prerequisites: French 109 or above or results of the College Placement
Examination, or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 20).
Preference given to French majors and those with compelling justification for
admission.