Organised by Beatrice Gründler, Sophie Schmid and Hanan Natour, project Magical Realisms and Speculative Literature, Research Area 3: "Future Perfect"

How does magical realism manifest itself in Arabic literature? Where are its origins and which literary heritages serve as inspiration? To what extent does Arabic magical realism walk in the footsteps of its precursors, and how much of an independent phenomenon has it become? What role does this mode of writing play in contexts of war, displacement and trauma? This two-day workshop will try to tackle these and other questions by bringing together experts on magical realism from the Arabic-, German-, English- and French-speaking academic community and shed light on the still underresearched topic of magical realist writing in contemporary Arabic literature. Despite having been declared outdated as a genre, at least in Latin America, magical realism and other speculative fiction are omnipresent in the realm of Arabic popular culture and literature. These texts constitute powerful literary devices, hybrid and often subversive, which bridge the divide between premodern and modern periods, defy textual and physical boundaries, and break societal taboos. Narratives are pushed towards the conditional as magical realist writing pursues questions such as: what could have been, what should have been and what could be.

Programme

13:45–14:00 | Welcoming Words: Beatrice Gründler (Freie Universität Berlin/EXC 2020)

Keynote Speech
Moderation & Response: Susanne Klengel (Freie Universität Berlin/EXC 2020)

14:00–15:15 | Kenneth Reeds (Salem State University, USA): Interwar, Intermedium, In-Translation, Transatlantic, International, and Postcolonial: How magical realism became, became subversive, popped and fizzled, and then went beyond

15:15–15:30 | Coffee Break

Panel I: Pre-Figurations of Magical Realisms Across the Global South
Moderation: Ruben Schenzle (Freie Universität Berlin)

15:30–16:15 | Hernán D. Caro (freelance author and editor, Berlin): The Reluctant Heirs of Latin American Magical Realism

16:15–17:00 | Asmaa Essakouti (University of Münster, Germany): Food for Thought? Hunger and Fantasy in Arabic Literature

17:00–17:15 | Coffee Break

17:15–18:00 | Enass Khansa (American University of Beirut, Lebanon): Postclassical Literary Experimentations: The Case of Fourteen Anonymous Stories of an Escorial Manuscript

Panel II: Manifestations of Magical Realisms in Arabic Literature in the 20^th and 21^st Centuries
Moderation: Alexander Hong (Freie Universität Berlin/EXC 2020)

10:00–10:45 | Charis Olszok (University of Cambridge, UK) (online): Haunting Energies and Unseen Ecologies (Sudan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria)

10:45–11:30 | Sophie Schmid (Freie Universität Berlin): Excess, Illusions and The End of Time – Grotesque Magical Realisms in Fadhil Al-Azzawi’s The Last of the Angels (Iraq)

11:30–11:45 | Coffee Break

Moderation: Yvonne Albers (EXC 2020)

11:45–12:30 | Tarek El-Ariss (Dartmouth College, USA) (online): The Fantastic in Arab Diasporic Writing

12:30–13:15 | Xavier Luffin (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium): Magical Realism and Violence in Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin's Works (Sudan)

13:15–14:30 | Lunch Break

Panel III: Between Foundations and Futures of Magical Realism in Contexts of Destruction, Displacement and Trauma
Moderation: Hanan Natour (EXC 2020)

14:30–15:15 | Eugene Arva (independent scholar, formerly University of Miami, USA): Magical Realism in the 21st Century: From Visual Art to Writing Style, Eckphrastic Medium, and A.I. Art Form

15:15–15:30 | Coffee Break

15:30–16:15 | Sumaya Haj (Birzeit University, Palestine) (online): Magical Realism in Mazen Maarouf's Jokes for the Gunmen: Transcendent Realms Beyond the Map (Palestine)

16:15–17:00 | Alexandra Shraytekh (Tufts University, USA) (online): The Empire Bites Back? Aḥmad Khālid Tawfīq's Clean Horror (Egypt)

17:00 | Closing Remarks: Beatrice Gründler (Freie Universität Berlin/EXC 2020)