此課程檢視在中東與北美的阿拉伯語族群之傳統展演。藉由「西方」如何發現、翻譯及書寫「東方」的歷史，我們將思考權力與政治在文化、敘事與展演的產生過程中所扮演的角色。此研究取向假設文化展演、語言藝術與口傳文學可被自然地採藉改編，同時造成某些想法與觀點的表述扭曲，故其所表述的言辭可能產生問題，必須審視。我們將特別關懷傳統的展演實踐，如何受到現代化結果的影響及其因應之道。
主題包括口傳史詩展演、宗教敘事、可蘭經吟頌展演、民間傳說、個人展演、文化之生產與反抗。
This course examines traditional performances of the Arabic-speaking populations of the Middle East and North Africa. Starting with the history of the ways in which the West has discovered, translated and written about the Orient, we will consider how power and politics play roles in the production of culture, narrative and performance. This approach assumes that performance, verbal art, and oral literature lend themselves to spontaneous adaptation and to oblique expression of ideas and opinions whose utterance would otherwise be censorable or disruptive. In particular we will be concerned with the way traditional performance practices are affected by and respond to the consequences of modernization.
Topics include oral epic performance, sacred narrative, Koranic chant performance, the folktale, solo performance, cultural production and resistance.
