This talk will consider the place of mimesis in classical Arabic anecdotal literature. I argue that the kinds of stories that were described as “adab” (edifying literature) in classical Arabic sources had an analogical relationship with reality rather than a strictly representational one. Based on statements made by adab authors about their strategies of storytelling, this talk will explore the consequences of such an analogical view of narrative on the way stories were written and read. I will touch on questions of fictionality, the length and structure of stories, and the representation of characters within them. Through this I hope to provide new tools to approach classical Arabic anecdotal literature; ones that expose the artistry of comparison rather than representation.
Lara Harb è Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies (Princeton University: https://nes.princeton.edu/people/lara-harb).