Some consider Baghdad to be a specter of civil-war Beirut, but behind the deluge of grim news is a rich, complex heritage. Baghdad has a long history as an intellectual milieu, literary setting and muse. This city became a major cultural center when the Islamic Caliphate was moved there in the eighth century CE. The multiplicity of intellectual and artistic currents that flourished in Baghdad under the Abbasids would produce one of the earliest modernizing movements in poetry, a challenge to the early Islamic tradition, a wealth of translation activity and a general cultural vibrancy in a multicultural, multilingual context. The texts of the Golden Age of Baghdad would become fundamental to the Arab and Islamic cultural heritage while the city itself would continue to exert a strong creative influence in both the Middle Eastern and European artistic traditions. This influence continues to this day as Arabs and Muslims look to Baghdad as a fundamental part of their cultural heritage while Westerners continue to be intrigued and haunted by this city. In this course we will read early texts written in or about Baghdad including examples from 1,001 Nights and from works written by al-Ma'arri, al-Mutanabbi, Abu Nuwas, al-Ghazali and al-Hallaj. We will also read more recent texts that engage this city including works by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra and Buthaina Al Nasiri. In addition to these texts, we will also view films including Sindbad movies, The Thief of Baghdad and Aladdin. The texts for this course include examples from both "high" and popular culture. These works are by both natives of Baghdad and by outsiders including the producers of Hollywood orientalist fantasies. Requirements: active class participation, two short-answer quizzes, two 4- to 6-page papers and a final 6- to 8-page paper. No prerequisites. No enrollment limit (expected: 20).

Hour: VARGAS