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Today Iranian plays¿both in traditional and contemporary styles¿are staged in theater festivals throughout the world play their role in forming a universal language of theater which combine the heritages from countries in all five continents. Despite many obstacles, some Iranian plays have been translated into English and some prominent Iranian figures are successful stage directors outside Iran.nnForty six years ago when ¿Theater in Iran¿ (a monograph on the history of Iranian plays) by Bahram Beyzaie was first published, it put the then contemporary Iranian theater movement--which was altogether westernizing itself blindly --face to face with a new kind of self-awareness. Hence in today¿s generation of playwrights and stage directors in Iran, all know something of their theatrical heritage. nnIn this course we will spend some class sessions on the history of theater in Iran and some class meetings will be concentrating on contemporary movements and present day playwrights. Given the dearth of visual documents, an attempt will be made to present a picture of Iranian theater to the student.nnStudents are expected to read the recommended available translated plays of the contemporary Iranian playwrights and participate in classroom discussions.

Study, memorize, and criticize the work of al-Mutanabbi, a poet who in his twenties led a failed desert revolution. The mature and cynical poet he became was embarrassed by the claims he made in his youth to be a prophet who received new Quran from God. How did he get away with this? Engage with a literary and political society wholly unlike our own. Readings in Arabic, discussion in English. Prerequisite: two years of Arabic at Stanford or equivalent.

Learn how to read the Arabic of Iraq in the 800s. Discover how close it is to Modern Standard Arabic. Engage with the politician, philosopher, theologian, and satirist who is still acknowledged today as the master of Arabic prose writing. Readings in Arabic, discussion in English. Prerequisite: two years of Arabic at Stanford or equivalent.

Working through a selection of novels by the author widely considered as a founder of western (19th-century) "Literary Realism." Balzac's will be contextualized within his life and the French culture and literature of his time. We will also approach, from a philosophical point of view, the emergence and functions of "Literary Realism." Another focus will be Balzac's work as exemplary of certain traditions within Literary Criticism (particularly Marxist Literary Criticism). Taught in English.

Eighteenth-century culture seen as permeated by intellectual and artistic practices and plays pushing principles of reason and rationality to an extreme that becomes self-undercutting. Such obsessions and practices are becoming more visible and prominent now, as the traditional concept of "Enlightenment" (synonymous with the 18th century) is undergoing a profound transformation. Among the protagonists of this seminar will be: Diderot as a philosopher and novelist; Lichtenberg as a scientist and writer of everyday notes; Goya, accusing violence and obsessed with nightmarish visions; Mozart as the excessive master of repetition and variation.

Walter Benjamin's work as cultural historian, critic, literary author and philosopher, seen from the trajectory of a German-Jewish intellectual life in the context of the first half of the 20th century. Providing such a historical perspective will be the condition for an actively critical reading of Benjamin's works; a reading that -- counter to the predominant Benjamin-reception -- will try to distinguish between works of purely biographical and historical interest and those Benjamin texts that prove to be of great and lasting intellectual value. Taught in English.

Features of online education as they relate to the humanities and notions of engaged critical learning. Collaborative course, working in tandem with Professor Cathy Davidson's Duke course, The History and Future of High Education, using live chats, Google documents, and other forums to interact with students at Duke and other universities nationally. Each campus uses a syllabus linked to each instructor's angle into this general subject, but many readings and exercises in common. Seeing this as a critical moment in education, to connect this topic to its historical, cultural, political, and ethical implications. The Stanford course looks at early discussions about education and culture (Arnold's Culture and Anarchy) and then works through a key moment in the mid-20th century whose premises still have influence: the Two Cultures (humanities, sciences) debate. Radical responses to educational reform in France and the US in the late 60s, and the changing state of funding, value, and cultural critique in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The idea of education as a personal, collective, and intellectual endeavor which is shaped by and shapes societies. Focus on the idea of the public good and the relation between education and a democratic society.

Drawing on literature, the arts, political discourse, museums, and new media, this course asks why and how we take interest in the watershed events of the modern era; how does contemporary culture engages with modern, made-made disasters such as the World Wars or 9/11? Readings and viewings include the literature of G. Grass, W. G. Sebald, Ian McEwan, Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy; the cinema of Kathryn Bigelow and Steven Spielberg; speeches by Barak Obama; and the theoretical writing of Walter Benjamin, Hayden White, Fredric Jameson, among others. Taught in English.

This course presents and reflects on some of the canonical works of Hebrew literature, from biblical era to the present. Discussing works such as the Wisdom Books and selections from the Midrash; and reflecting on important periods such as the Golden Age of Jewish Culture in Spain, the Renaissance, and contemporary Israeli literature, we will highlight linguistic innovation, as well as crucial thematic and philosophical concerns. Readings include the Book of Job, Psalm, Ibn Gabirol, Mapu, Rachel, Goldbegr, Agnon, S. Yizhar, Amichai, Oz and more.