On 28 September, Granada will host the first International Seminar on Arabic literature organised by the Euro-Arab Foundation and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA).
The seminar will address the Arabic literary tradition, as well as its historical and current connections with Spain, and will be attended by internationally renowned experts in the field of Arabic language and literature. This is the first collaboration between SZBA, one of the world's leading awards dedicated to Arabic literature and culture, organised by the Arabic Language Centre in Abu Dhabi, and Spanish institutions dedicated to the study and promotion of Arabic culture in Spain.
To mark this occasion, the Secretary General of SZBA and President of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, Dr. Ali bin Tamim, will visit the city of Granada and meet with representatives of various Andalusian institutions. During his visit, the Secretary General will visit the Alhambra, as well as the School of Arabic Studies (CSIC).
The seminar, which will be attended by university professors and researchers from all over Spain, will be inaugurated by Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize and President of the Arabic Language Centre in Abu Dhabi.
Among the experts taking part will be Professor Muhsin al-Musawi, from Columbia University (New York), one of the world's leading figures in the study of Arabic literature, winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize in 2022, who will give a talk entitled "Andalusian Contrasts: Thresholds of Presence and Absence".
Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla, professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and one of the leading experts in Spain on Arabic translation and Arabic literature, will also take part with a talk on the establishment of a canon of Arabic literature in Spanish.
Desirée López Bernal, lecturer at the University of Granada, will talk about the Arab influence on the canon of Spanish literature and the short narrative of the Golden Age; while Sanae Chairi, lecturer and researcher at the Hassan II Mohammedia University, will explore the Moroccan literary canon.
Mònica Rius-Piniés, Director of the UNESCO Chair "Women, Development and Cultures" and Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona, will explore the need for a gender perspective in the Arab literary canon, while Ana González Navarro, PhD from the Autonomous University of Madrid, will give a paper on Arab women's literary history.
Dr Ali bin Tamim said: "We are delighted to collaborate with the Euro-Arab Foundation and the prestigious University of Granada in this seminar which brings together a distinguished group of experts in the field of Arabic literature. Granada's incredible Arabic heritage makes it the ideal city to host the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize's first collaboration with a university in Spain. Since the announcement in 2014 that the Arabic Culture in Other Languages category would accept works in Spanish, we have received exceptional applications for the prize from Spain, including the work of historian José Pascual Martínez, a finalist in 2023. We are immensely grateful to the Euro-Arab Foundation and the University of Granada for their hospitality and their continued support for Arabic literature".
The Seminar is offered both in person, at the Granada headquarters of the Euro-Arab Foundation, and online, after registering through this link.
