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This thesis examines how the Iraqi writer, Fu'ad al-Takarli, reveals the complex and intimate dynamics of Iraqi society from the early 1960s to the mid 1980s, in his three novels, Al Raj' al-Baid, Khatam al-Ram, and Al-Masarrat wed-Awja. The author's treatment of space and time throughout each novel is analysed - with particular reference to Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of Dialogism - in terms of the significance of chronotopes; the relationship between a character, his environment, and the links between the dichotomies of public and private space and the historical political situation. The introduction provides the context to the three novels under discussion which form a trilogy. A summary of the contemporary history of Iraq, al-Takarli's place within the development of the Arabic novel, and a survey of the critical framework adopted by this study is presented here. The following three chapters each analyse one of the novels, charting the erosion of the city (Baghdad) as a haven of familiarity and culture via the emergence of an aggressive political force (the Ba'th Party), which takes advantage of social decay. The role of the city increases throughout the trilogy as it becomes a metaphor for the state' s manipulation of identity. This thesis advances the view that al-Takarli casts the city as a microcosm of the whole of Iraq and the members of the families he portrays as allegorical characters who represent classes, generations or physical embodiments of the nation. The conclusion sums up the trilogy's exploration of identity through geography and presents a case for its intended function as both a historical document and a remedial tool for overcoming the trauma of the past. It is argued, above all, that the novels emphasise the empowering idea of a unified cultural identity of the Iraqi people.

This thesis examines the literary representations of feminist and nationalist struggles in the Middle East particularly in Lebanon and Palestine. It aims to explore the simultaneous articulation of these two pivotal concerns in contemporary Arabic literature written by Arab women, from the 1960s to the present. One of the primary goals of this thesis is to explore how contemporary feminist literature reflects the effects of national crises in the Middle East on women’s status. To this end, this thesis reads closely a number of the novels of two contemporary Arab women writers: Ghādah al‐Sammān and Sah|ar Khalīfah whose work engages in this literary interrelationship of nationalist and feminist struggles in Lebanon and Palestine, respectively. Through the close analyses of these authors’ novels, this thesis explores how, in their response to the political turmoil in the Middle East, contemporary Arab women writers render reality in creative forms: al‐Sammān cries for freedom by exploiting literary existentialism to reflect the human struggle against the backdrop of the Lebanese civil war, while Khalīfah employs critical realism in her portrayal of the human pain during the Palestinian‐Israeli conflict. This thesis argues that both writers challenge long‐established literary traditions by advancing these themes in new artistic styles: literary existentialism and realism, and, therefore, considers this a manifestation of the avant‐gardism of both writers for they move the writings of Levantine women to a higher level by adding these literary forms to the repertoire of contemporary Arab women’s literature. The contribution of this thesis lies in its investigation of the innovative literary styles of these two authors and their place in the writings of contemporary Arab women. Thus, this thesis aims to remedy the neglect of the writings of these authors by presenting close analyses of some of the works of al‐Sammān and Khalīfah with a view to understanding their use of literary existentialism and critical realism.

The purpose of this study was to present an analysis of Naguib Mahfouz’s writings in relationship to modern Islam, changes in Egyptian Islam, the impact of colonialism, and modern Muslim Identity. The divergent effects and results of transformations in Egypt are analyzed through history, literature, and religion using theoretical religious, psychological, historical, and social world views. Selected writings of Naguib Mahfouz are used as the central body of literature. Naguib Mahfouz’s writings provide a plethora of divergent views on Egypt, Islam, and the emerging new Muslim Identity. Mahfouz’s writings centralize the many dilemmas that Muslims face today in light of modernity, western influences, and a transforming Islam. In this study there were some conclusions drawn about modern Islam and literature that discuss modern Islam as reflected in Mahfouz’s literary portrayals of ordinary Muslims living in Cairo and Alexandria oscillating between their native Eastern culture and Western colonial influences, as well as the existential and spiritual questions that accompany change for modern Muslims. / Religious Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

The purpose of this study was to present an analysis of Naguib Mahfouz’s writings in relationship to modern Islam, changes in Egyptian Islam, the impact of colonialism, and modern Muslim Identity. The divergent effects and results of transformations in Egypt are analyzed through history, literature, and religion using theoretical religious, psychological, historical, and social world views. Selected writings of Naguib Mahfouz are used as the central body of literature. Naguib Mahfouz’s writings provide a plethora of divergent views on Egypt, Islam, and the emerging new Muslim Identity. Mahfouz’s writings centralize the many dilemmas that Muslims face today in light of modernity, western influences, and a transforming Islam. In this study there were some conclusions drawn about modern Islam and literature that discuss modern Islam as reflected in Mahfouz’s literary portrayals of ordinary Muslims living in Cairo and Alexandria oscillating between their native Eastern culture and Western colonial influences, as well as the existential and spiritual questions that accompany change for modern Muslims. / Religious Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)