Reading in Syrian Prison Literature *In-Person* *NEW*

Arabic prison writing is a growing corpus of literature consisting of poems, novels, short stories, plays, and autobiographies. Syrian survivors contribute to the genre a great deal particularly after the incidents of the early 1980s and what followed of mass arrests, unlawful decades of detention and arbitrary executions. The course is intended to serve as an introduction to the growing genre of prison literature in Syria and in the region in general. We aim to examine two memoirs mainly and read through interviews, plays, and poetry when necessary. Through our discussions we will look at how the relationship with God is changing under torture, and in exile behind bars. We will explore how this changing relationship with God and the perception of God is influencing conceptions of forgiveness, hope, justice, governance, and religious practice. Through the autobiographies and the accounts on other prisoners’ social and political lives we will examine the social systems and the individual and collective selves emerging inside the prison.
Instructor: Sendus Majanni

Sections

Instructor

Sendus Majanni is a Harvard graduate student from Aleppo, Syria, studying Syrian prison literature. Sendus holds a Bachelor's degree in Arabic Language and Literature, focusing mainly on literature that addresses contemporary Middle Eastern affairs. Sendus loves learning languages through music, cuisine, and drama. She believes that learning Arabic or any language is about the relationship one develops with the language—the emotions, memories, and experiences one has while learning it.