What characterizes the new Arabic literature? Writers involved in the Arab Spring are now imprisoned, exiled or living with the political repression, wars and disillusionment that has marked the region ever since. How are these experiences expressed in literature and the broader culture?

Teresa Pepe is professor of Arabic literature at the University of Oslo. Her research has focused on Arabic literature and culture during and after the Arab Spring. She is the author of the book Blogging from Egypt: Digital Literature, and editor of several collective volumes, including Arabic Literature in a Posthuman World.

In this talk, she will examine how Arabic culture has evolved since the 2011 uprisings. She will illustrate how authors such as Ahmed Naji, Mohammed Rabie, Basma Abd el-Aziz, and Alaa Abd al-Fattah employ dystopian and horrific narratives to reflect a world that is rapidly shifting due to ecological and technological changes while political crackdowns, wars, and violence are on the rise.

These are the books Pepe focuses on in her lecture, all available in English translations:

Ahmed Naji, Using Life

Mohammad Rabie, Otared

Basm Abdel Aziz, The Queue

Alaa Abd Al-Fattah, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated

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