MES 15.08 The Art of the Novel: A Masterclass with Hoda Barakat
Each novel has its own “secret of fabrication.” This course introduces students to the processes, techniques, and themes involved in writing the novel. The approach will be personal, engaging author Hoda Barakat’s own experience as a novelist who had to confront in her writing war, exile, tribalism, violence, and love. Each week will focus on a particular set of questions, starting with the idea of the novel and the development of characters, and moving to questions of gender, sexuality, and voice. The course will focus on the fears, obsessions, excitement, and euphoria involved in the writing process, and on the social and political contexts from which works arise or that novels have to critique in today’s world. The students will engage Barakat’s writings and work to develop their own writing by workshopping their pieces throughout the term. This course will be taught in Arabic.
Instructor
Barakat