ACLA 2023: Transnational Arabic Studies
What do the words “Arab” and “Arabic” mean today? What have they meant historically? What continuities and ruptures do they signify in contemporary discourses of the Middle East? In a world in which conflict, migration, transnational movements, the blurring of borders, and (self-)translation have become everyday realities for millions of Arabs, these questions have attained new urgency. In this seminar, we explore the relationship between the Arabic language and Arab identity and community in the transnational contexts that have long defined both.