Contemporary Arab Women's Life Writing and the Politics of Resistance - (Edinburgh Studies in Modern Arabic Literature) by Hiyem Cheurfa (Hardcover)

About the Book

Explores the relationship between revolutionary movements and experimental life writing forms by contemporary Arab women.

Book Synopsis

Drawing on autobiographical and postcolonial theories, Hiyem Cheurfa examines twenty-first-century Arab women's life writing as sites for the articulation of resistance to power structures and sociocultural and representational norms. Looking comparatively at subgenres of memoir, auto-portrait, testimony, diary, and digital life writing across different linguistic (Arabophone, Anglophone, and Francophone) and national contexts (Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia), this book explores why resistance is important when writing about the self for Arab women.

Review Quotes

By examining Arabophone, Francophone, and Anglophone autobiographical writings of Arab women found in various modes, including testimonials, diaries, and more recently in digital media, Cheurfa's book, well-grounded in related theories, contributes to the analysis of dissident literature showing the strong involvement of Arab women in national struggle movements and redefining the modern cultural history of the Arab world.--Nawar Al-Hassan Golley, American University of Sharjah

About the Author

Hiyem Cheurfa is an assistant professor of postcolonial literature and comparative studies in the Department of English at Larbi Tebessi University, Algeria. She received her PhD in English from Lancaster University, UK.