final exam assignment

LITR 4533 TRAGEDY  Final Exam Samples 2014 (final exam assignment) Essay 2: Special Topics

Azhr Sigh

5^th Jul, 2014

Teaching Greek Plays in Islamic Countries

Teaching English in an Islamic/Arabic conservative country is an idea that is hard to imagine for most of my American classmates. They are surprised to know that a university in Mecca has an English Department. I understand their fascination because though there is an English Literature Department, all materials (novels, plays, poetries) are modified to agree with the conservative culture. It is something my classmates do not know about conservative culture in the Middle East. So, teaching tragedy will not be an exception, but how? Oedipus the King kills his father, marries his mother, fathers children from her, and on top of that all characters are pagans! That is scandalous enough for the curriculum designer community to reject this Greek plays.

            I think this is the first boundary I should jump over in the marathon of teaching English in Islamic country.  The curriculum designer community usually decides whether to teach a material in the university or not. As such, my experience with theater in my undergraduate studies was focused on Elizabethan, 19^th century, and Samuel Bucket’s plays.  It is noteworthy that these plays were filtered through an Islamic point of view. For example, the teacher will show an Islamic interpretation of a play like Henric Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. The contrast between Islamic liberation of women against Western culture in 19^th century. In other words, if I were to teach a material, it should follow the same cultural and religious values of the country. So, it is just a matter of changing focus and presenting materials which is applicable to Greek plays.

If I did not have more than one interpretation, how can teaching English literature bring a mutual understanding then? I guess the point of teaching international literature through an Islamic lens is to find a common ground because students know already that these texts belong to different cultures. Eventually, such process would reduce their prejudice against other cultures, and build in respect and understanding. From my personal experience in undergoing through this pedagogy, I think my view of life has changed to be more accepting of other cultures despite other differences. In other words, such pedagogy also created to fit the conservative environment that encourages prejudice over other countries due to the tribal culture.

It is noteworthy that there was no pre-Christianity work presented because the curriculum designer community wants to avoid criticism of teaching pagan literature, though in Arabic Literature Department they teach pre-Islamic Literature that is similar to Greek in many ways. For example, a divine family and sacrifices to gods. This dichotomy will be the main reason to agree to teach Greek Plays like Oedipus the King, Antigone, and Oedipus at the Colonus. It true that Arabic Literature does not have an equivalent hero to Oedipus, but it has a protagonist equal to Antigone. “Shamos”, a young woman, initiates a revolution against one of the greatest Warlords of her tribe. Like Antigone, she revolts against her Warlord for unjust judgment in behalf of any human dignity. I think juxtaposing ancient Arabic poetry to Greek plays is an effective way to win the community’s approval.

Aside from theological part is the ethical part; Presenting Oedipus as protagonist is an issue may be taken as an encouragement of  violence. However, the element of fate and human remain the basic premise in the play, like many ancient poetry in Arabic culture. Since presentation and focus, as I mention earlier in this paper, have a great effect on the community’s decision, I think focusing on a certain theme will allow the play’s wisdom corresponds to Islamic values. Of course, choosing an accessible translation to my students also plays role in approving the materials as “Teachable”.

The second challenge is “students in classroom”. I consider them a challenge because it is hard to predict what ideas that they might have or come up with when they read Greek plays. As an introduction,  I will explain the reason Greek plays and the effect of their literature on the ancient Arabic literature. It might seem to us that those nations were totally isolated from each other, but in reality they communicated and affected each other. I also will relate it to their lives because as Andy Faith, in “Translating religious values into universal values”, states that human are subject to the same adversity (death, sickness, poverty) despite religious diferences. As such, studying Greek plays is as important as any pre-Islamic literature because it narrates a truth about humanity.

As much as I consider students in the classroom as a challenge, they usually are very enthusiastic about acting. Because when you are planning to present a play, you need to prepare costumes, background, and assign lines. To put it in another way, designing spectacle and acting onstage are reasons that change students’ view of Oedipus from a criminal to a tragic hero. When they acting a play, students also breaks the distance that reading a play only may create.

Greek plays are important to understand the birth of theater that was exported to Arabic literature as well as international literature. For that reason, I think I should include Greek plays in the undergrad courses at my hometown university. I understand the challenges that I might undergo. However, the wisdom and truth in these will be evident of the universal struggle of humanity.