Abstract

This thesis includes a variey of “literary map experiements” on a dataset of mappable, non-generic, places found in three early realist “Cairo novels” by Naguib Mahfouz: Cairo Modern (1945), Khan al-Khalili (1946) and Midaq Alley (1947) and analyses of the mapped results. Experiments in the “atlas” are conducted on each novel separately and – in a more ‘distant” reading – on combinations of the three novels. The methodology is one originated by Stanford literary historian Franco Moretti in his Atlas of the European Novel 1800-1900 and Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for a Lierary History. To the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first time Moretti’s map methodology has been applied to Arab realist literature. The final discussion section compares places in the author’s own life up to 1947 with those included in the three novels. The original dataset, included in the appendices as a series of spreadsheets, is based on AUC Press’s English translations of the three novels and offers lists of “Major Plot Places,” “All Mentioned Places” in both alphabetical and frequency order, and autobiographical places mentioned by the author in al-Ghitani’s Mahfouz Dialogues.

Department

Arab & Islamic Civilizations Department

Degree Name

MA in Arabic Studies

Graduation Date

2-1-2015

Submission Date

January 2016

First Advisor

Hammouda, Hussein

Committee Member 1

Al-Fadl, Sayed

Committee Member 2

Abuelnaga, Shereen

Extent

110 p. (text), 203 p. with appendices

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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