This course provides a critical introduction to Arab culture, understood as a complex set of religious practices, intellectual traditions, literary productions, and historical developments that have emerged in Arabic-speaking societies from the pre-Islamic period to the contemporary era.
Particular attention will be devoted to the formation of Arab-Islamic civilization, the religious and cultural foundations of Islam, the development of the Arabic literary tradition, and selected key issues shaping the contemporary Arab world.
The course aims to equip students with analytical tools to understand:
the formation and historical development of Arab-Islamic civilization
the religious and cultural foundations of Islam
the evolution of Arabic literary traditions
major historical, political, and cultural dynamics of the contemporary Arab world
The course is structured into three main modules.
Module 1
Islam and Islamic Civilization
The first module introduces the religious and historical foundations of Islam, a religion that has played a central role in shaping Arab-Islamic civilization and the cultural and political history of societies in the Arab world.
The module will address the following topics:
the historical context of pre-Islamic Arabia
Arab society and poetry during the ǧāhiliyya
the prophetic mission of Muḥammad
the formation of the first Muslim community
the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs
the Qurʾān and the development of major exegetical traditions
Particular attention will be devoted to the diversity of interpretations of Islam across different historical periods and within the contemporary world. In this context, the emergence and development of the major branches of Islam (Sunni and Shiʿi) will also be examined.
Main reference text
Carole Hillenbrand, Islam. Una nuova introduzione storica. Turin: Einaudi, 2016.

Module 2
History and Society in the Arab World
The second module provides an overview of the major historical and political transformations that have shaped Arab societies.
The module will focus in particular on:
the formation and expansion of the Islamic empires
cultural and intellectual developments in the medieval Islamic world
interactions between the Arab world, Europe, and the Mediterranean
European colonialism in the Arab world
the emergence of modern Arab states
Part of this module will be dedicated to the Palestinian question, a central issue in the political and cultural history of the contemporary Middle East.
Additional teaching materials will be made available on the course e-learning platform, including lecture slides, historical maps, primary documents, and selected academic articles.

Module 3
Literatures and Cultures of the Arab World
The third module explores key cultural expressions of Arab modernity through the study of literary texts and intellectual traditions.
Topics include:
an introduction to the Arabic literary tradition
the concept of adab
the emergence of modern Arabic literature during the nahḍa (Arab cultural renaissance)
literature and identity in the contemporary Arab world
narrative representations of exile and displacement
Particular attention will be devoted to Palestinian literature and to literary representations of exile and diaspora.
Reference text
Paolo Branca, Adab ʿarabī. Pagine di letteratura araba dagli inizi ai nostri giorni (selected chapters to be indicated).