Translations from other languages played an important role in the development of the Arabo-Islamic civilization, both in the Middle Ages and in the modern period. The emergence of the modern Arabic literature was influenced by the translations of Western literature done in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

The initial lessons in the course will be dedicated to a general introduction to literary translation and the historic background on Arabic translation movements. The rest of the course will be dedicated to reading texts and discussing the challenges faced by the translators. We will start with works by Rafāʿa Rāfiʿ al-Ṭahṭāwī and Buṭrus al-Bustānī from the middle of the 19^th century, and gradually reach bestsellers from the beginning of the current century.