Instructor: Shady Nasser
A survey of medieval Arabic writings on Arabic poetry, grammar, and language with special focus on the theme of standardization of Arabic grammar and poetics and how they serve as tools for interpreting literary texts. We read a variety of works from early Arabic poetry, Grammar manuals, and treatises on poetics and language. We touch upon the theme of variant readings and interpretation in both poetry and the Quran. The course focuses on reading material in primary sources and teaching students how to use bibliographic sources in their research. Advanced knowledge of Arabic is required. Students are expected to learn and study unusual grammatical constructions as well as Arabic prosody and morphology.