Global Arabic Literary Cultures – serie

In this collected volume, members of the Kalīla and Dimna project discuss, from different perspectives, a core aspect of their work with this textual tradition: the study of variation and mutability. The aim is to shed light on Kalīla and Dimna’s so-called mouvance and establish typologies of textual mobility and instability across linguistic traditions and historical periods, as well as to develop analytical tools to describe, classify, represent, and interpret these dynamics. As will be shown, the progressive digitalization of philology in the last decades has offered the unique opportunity of putting the concept of mouvance into practice. Contributors: Theodore S. Beers, Jan J. van Ginkel, Beatrice Gründler, Khouloud Khalfallah, Mahmoud Kozae, Rima Redwan, Johannes Stephan, Isabel Toral.

This book offers a fresh perspective on the re-emergence of a classical literary genre, showcasing a fusion of tradition and innovation. It examines the cultural dynamics that shape the development of Arabic maqāma in Nigeria. The maqāma, a genre traditionally associated with the MENA region, experienced a revival and gained relevance among contemporary Nigerian writers. Through meticulous exploration and in-depth interviews, this groundbreaking research offers invaluable insights into the process of adaptation and evolution of the maqāma, witnessing its transformation into a thriving literary tradition. It thus unravels a vibrant, yet overlooked, chapter in African Arabic literary culture, redefining our understanding of its globalizing nature.

This is the first attempt to provide a representative inventory of fables documented in premodern Arabic literature. The introduction presents a detailed effort to define the Arabic fable and a condensed historical survey together with a short assessment of the content characteristics of the Arabic fable proper. An annotated bibliography discusses significant contributions to the study of the Arabic fable in detail. The book’s main body surveys a total of 330 numbered fables with short summaries, exhaustive references, and concise comments. The detailed documentation recognizes the Arabic fable as the long neglected equal of its dominantly perceived Graeco-Latin sibling.