War in Arabic Literature & Film

What does it mean to make art out of carnage? Can killing coexist with style? Do different genres (fiction film, documentary, memoir, novel, animated film, comics, theatre) inspire different approaches to the experience of war? How does an artistic portrayal of a war differ from a journalistic one?

Welcome to the course website created for and partly by the students of the course CAS LY 284 War in Arabic Literature & Film, taught by Prof. Margaret Litvin at Boston University.

Launched in Fall 2024, this website is expected to grow and evolve through continued iterations of this course. The early entries are the work of UROP students Noora Lahoud ’25, Ruofei Shang ’25, and Moriah Mikhail ’21. We hope it will be of use to several audiences: BU students taking or considering LY 284; faculty and book club leaders who want to engage with this challenging material at their own institutions; and any English-language readers who want to learn about diverse Arab/ic perspectives on war but don’t know where to start. Please feel free to email any comments or suggestions to Prof. Litvin.

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