Melancholy Acts: Defeat and Cultural Critique in the Arab World

In the face of precarity and injustice, oppressed societies' literatures and cultures survive and thrive. Melancholy Acts explores how the symptom of oppression can become a vehicle for critique, engaging with Arab thought, literature, and film in the aftermath of the 1948 dispossession and 1967 military defeat. The book offers a psychoaffective theory of cultural production that traces the melancholy disposition of Arabic literary and filmic productions and discerns their critical intervention in a culture strained to its breaking point. It covers contentious topics such as secular modernity, Arab nationalism, literary and artistic iltizām, Islamism, and martyrdom, and tracks the melancholy politics that inform the literary and cultural projects of Arab novelists, poets, playwrights, filmmakers, and intellectuals. The book combines a high sensitivity to local idioms with nuanced knowledge of theory and psychoanalysis, offering a fresh and bold approach to Arabic and comparative literature.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 332 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2023
Publisher: Fordham University Press

In the face of overwhelming precarity and injustice, how do the literatures and cultures of oppressed societies survive and thrive? Can the very symptom of oppression become a catalyst for its critique? Melancholy Acts provides profound insights into these questions through a diverse range of engagements with Arab thought, literature, and film in the aftermath of the 1948 dispossession of Palestinians and the 1967 military defeat of Arab armies.

Melancholy Acts presents a psychoaffective theory of cultural production that emerges from the disjunction between political impoverishment and cultural resistance to colonial and neoliberal oppression. This theory enables the author to trace the melancholic disposition of Arabic literary and filmic productions and discern the precarious rhetorical modes of their critical intervention in a culture that is perpetually pushed to its breaking point. Spanning six chapters, Melancholy Acts delves into contentious topics of Arab contemporaneity, including secular modernity, manhood, Arab nationalism, leftism, literary and artistic iltizām, commitment, Islamism, and martyrdom. The book meticulously tracks the melancholic politics that inform the literary and cultural projects of numerous Arab novelists, poets, playwrights, filmmakers, and intellectuals, both within the Arab world and from non-Arab perspectives.

Among the notable figures explored in Melancholy Acts are Ghassan Kanafani and Naguib Mahfouz, renowned novelists who grappled with the complexities of Arab identity and the aftermath of displacement. Mahmoud Darwish, Nizar Qabbani, and Saadallah Wannous, celebrated poets and playwrights, expressed their profound emotions and political concerns through their literary works. Nouri Bouzid, Moufida Tlatli, Youssef Chahine, and Hany Abu Assad, renowned filmmakers, used their craft to shed light on the struggles and aspirations of the Arab people. Additionally, the book engages with the work of intellectuals such as Hussein Muruwwa, Malek Bennabi, Karima Lazali, George Tarabishi, and Fethi Benslama, who have made significant contributions to Arab thought and culture.

Furthermore, Melancholy Acts draws upon the insights of non-Arab thinkers such as Freud, Lacan, Adorno, Fanon, and Spi to enrich its analysis. These thinkers, who have examined the dynamics of power and oppression, provide valuable frameworks for understanding the complexities of cultural production in the context of oppression.

In conclusion, Melancholy Acts offers a thought-provoking exploration of the resilience and creativity of oppressed societies. Through its nuanced engagements with Arab thought, literature, and film, the book provides a psychoaffective theory of cultural production that sheds light on the precarious conditions under which these societies operate. By tracing the melancholic disposition of Arabic literary and filmic productions and discerning the critical interventions they make, Melancholy Acts offers a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complexities of cultural resistance and the ongoing struggle for justice and equality.

Weight: 504g
Dimension: 153 x 229 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781531503505