Between Resonance and Dissonance: 
Re-Reading the West in Arab Literature 

tues 11th jul 23
8h30 am - 13h30 pm

The notion of cultural transfer refers to movements of objects, people, and ideas between two different cultural spaces. This implies a constant questioning of the concepts of national, collective, and individual identity, which becomes even more complex when the abovementioned exchanges take place in the wake of relations characterised by hegemonic imbalances, as in the case of the East/West binomial (Said, 1980). The rise of a postcolonial consciousness in the Arab intellectual world has, however, made it possible to question the dynamics of domination specific to the 19th and 20th centuries (El Enany, 2006; Musawi, 2003), and to introduce a “counterpoint reading” of historical events, as well as literary, socio-political, and cultural facts (Said, 1983, 1993; Selim, 2019). The issues that now permeate the Arab intellectual field have gone beyond the Nahḍawī preoccupation with “Western-style development”. A critical thinking articulated in a comparative perspective freed from the “fear of dependence” of the former coloniser has thus gradually been formulated (Kassab, 2010). In the 21st century, we observe a reappropriation of the repertoire of Western culture, arts, and sciences by the actors of the different Arab(ic) literary fields, which takes place in the context of globalisation and Arab diasporas, favouring an increasingly hybrid, and liminal, transnational production. The aim of this workshop will be to offer a diachronic overview of this dynamic, starting from the pioneering work of the Egyptian Ṭāhā Ḥusayn, and then exploring the new ways in which the West is being summoned into the worlds of Arab culture today.

Convenors :
Annamaria Bianco,  Université de Toulouse 2 – Jean Jaurès / Aix-Marseille Université – IREMAM, France
Léa Polverini,  Université Toulouse 2 – Jean Jaurès / Aix-Marseille Université – IREMAM, France

Chair :
Rosa Pennisi (IREMAM/Université de Catane)

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