Human Chain

Is the study of Arabic literature in the western academy going round in circles or moving forward? What has been the most important recent development in the field? The lecture will argue that it is the recognition of the importance of repetition - the deepening of motifs and ideas by reiteration through time or across media - and of human contacts and continuities. The latter have been inherent to the production of medieval Arabic literary culture; have played a significant part in the study of Arabic literature at Oxford since the founding of the Laudian Chair; and have produced the most exciting current initiatives.