Welcome to Module 9! (1.5 – 2 hours)
Here’s what you need to do by next class:
- Get your project outline ready for a peer-review activity in class on Tuesday, April 26th. The Instructions are on the Assessment page and in this video located under Methodology, Main Menu.
After revising your outline with your classmate’s feedback, please send it to my email by May 2nd, 11:59pm. I will give you more feedback and advice on how to proceed with your project. - Read from the Anthology:
– “Postwar and Postcolonial Literature” (5 pages)
– “Zaabalawi,” by Naguib Mahfouz, 1961 (9 pages inc. author intro) also available here. - Watch the lecture below.
- Come up with one question about the readings and write it in the comments below: Has anything confused you? Struck you? Awed you? Revolted you? Interested you, in any way? We will use your questions for discussion in class.
NB: you can’t write the same question as anyone else that has already commented before you. - Fill out the exit ticket for this lecture so I can count your participation.
Here is the lecture (captions included):
Below are the PDF slides:
Wanna do more?
- A short documentary on Naguib Mahfouz by the American University of Cairo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHpFIk2KN3I&ab_channel=TheAmericanUniversityinCairoPress
- A recent article that relates nicely to Mahfouz’s view of the social fuinction of his literary work: “Naguib Mahfouz: Egypt’s Polarizing Legacy,” by Mona Abdou, Egyptian Streets, 10 March 2022: https://egyptianstreets.com/2022/03/10/naguib-mahfouz-egypts-polarizing-legacy/
Feel free to write a second comment or reply to any of your classmates’ comments if you feel like saying anything else about the module content 🙂
Why did Mahfouz mention music in the story Zaabalawi? Does it play a role when it comes to spirituality or serve another purpose?
I’m so confused about what disease he got and who is Zaabalawi. From the beginning, I thought he had depression, but he didn’t show any symptoms related to it throughout the reading. After I finished, it might be talking about the faith or spiritual world.
Hi Laura! I thought so too, about depression. But then, the more I read, the more I actually questioned the existence of Zaabalawi and started to see it/him as a metaphor, even an allegory, of faith.
Why is the protagonist searching for Zaabalawi? What needs to be cured?
Do you see Zaabalawi as a god or as a spiritual guide and why?
How would different religions view the story of Zaabalawi? Would Athiests view Zaabalawi simply as hope or would they also view Zaabalawi as a religious figure–such as Christ or Mohammed–for those who are more religious?
Excellent question!
The narrator goes on a spiritual quest and ends up on the same place he began- referring to the loop structure…. What does this symbolize when it comes to humans ?
What does the protagonist need to be cured ?
On the narrator’s quest to find Zaabalawi, he encounters people who have said they’ve seen him. So would it be more likely that these people don’t think of Zaabalawi as symbolizing something, like hope or faith, but more so see him as a spiritual being or a god and that’s why the people believe they have seen him? Or do you think the people do see Zaabalawi as a metaphor for something deeper?
Is the purpose of Zaabalawi to give the narrator relief during these times?
Why does the story when “I” was very close to Zaabalawi?
Excellent questions, everyone! All seems to gravitate around faith, which makes a lot of sense in the story, given the metaphorical depiction of Zaabalwi, whatever/whoever he/it is. Thank you all for engaging so well with the content, once more and until the end!