During the beginning of the twentieth century, works of literature began to center the Egyptian fallah- or peasant- as a political subject, as well as the most authentic representation of national identity. Prior to that, the fallah was negatively depicted, constantly portrayed in a derogatory manner. Al-Ard, a 1954 novel by Egyptian author ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi has been described by many literary critics as a nationalist social realist novel that centers the fallah as a political agent. In the 1970s, al-Ard was adapted into a film by Youssef Chahine, an internationally acclaimed Egyptian film director whose works have addressed a wide range of issues in Egypt. This thesis will read the text as: (1) a form of prison literature by al-Sharqawi that critiques the feudalism in the 1930s and 1940s, mass imprisonment of political dissidents in the 1930s and alludes to the possibilities of further repression in the 1950s; and (2) that Chahine’s adaptation of the novel portrays different themes to depict the social-political changes in post-1967 Egypt.
","abstract_html":"<p>During the beginning of the twentieth century, works of literature began to center the Egyptian <em>fallah- </em>or peasant- <em> </em>as a political subject, as well as the most authentic representation of national identity. Prior to that, the <em>fallah </em>was negatively depicted, constantly portrayed in a derogatory manner. <em>Al-Ard</em>, a 1954 novel<em> </em>by Egyptian author ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi has been described by many literary critics as a nationalist social realist novel that centers the <em>fallah </em>as a political agent. In the 1970s, <em>al-Ard</em> was adapted into a film by Youssef Chahine, an internationally acclaimed Egyptian film director whose works have addressed a wide range of issues in Egypt. This thesis will read the text as: (1) a form of prison literature by al-Sharqawi that critiques the feudalism in the 1930s and 1940s, mass imprisonment of political dissidents in the 1930s and alludes to the possibilities of further repression in the 1950s; and (2) that Chahine’s adaptation of the novel portrays different themes to depict the social-political changes in post-1967 Egypt.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hassan, Rana"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Middle Eastern Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["R. Shareah Taleghani"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:57Z","subjects":["Comparative Literature","alsharqawi","prison literature","Arabic literature","Egyptian cinema"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3199","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["R. Shareah Taleghani"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hassan, Rana"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2027-05-31T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Middle Eastern Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Comparative Literature","alsharqawi","prison literature","Arabic literature","Egyptian cinema"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3199"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["During the beginning of the twentieth century, works of literature began to center the Egyptian fallah- or peasant- as a political subject, as well as the most authentic representation of national identity. Prior to that, the fallah was negatively depicted, constantly portrayed in a derogatory manner. Al-Ard, a 1954 novel by Egyptian author ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi has been described by many literary critics as a nationalist social realist novel that centers the fallah as a political agent. In the 1970s, al-Ard was adapted into a film by Youssef Chahine, an internationally acclaimed Egyptian film director whose works have addressed a wide range of issues in Egypt. This thesis will read the text as: (1) a form of prison literature by al-Sharqawi that critiques the feudalism in the 1930s and 1940s, mass imprisonment of political dissidents in the 1930s and alludes to the possibilities of further repression in the 1950s; and (2) that Chahine’s adaptation of the novel portrays different themes to depict the social-political changes in post-1967 Egypt.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Comparative Analysis of Al-Ard by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi and the Film by Youssef Chahine: Prison Literature and Collective Memory"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["R. Shareah Taleghani"],"dc:creator":["Hassan, Rana"],"dc:date.available":["2027-05-31T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["During the beginning of the twentieth century, works of literature began to center the Egyptian fallah- or peasant- as a political subject, as well as the most authentic representation of national identity. Prior to that, the fallah was negatively depicted, constantly portrayed in a derogatory manner. Al-Ard, a 1954 novel by Egyptian author ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi has been described by many literary critics as a nationalist social realist novel that centers the fallah as a political agent. In the 1970s, al-Ard was adapted into a film by Youssef Chahine, an internationally acclaimed Egyptian film director whose works have addressed a wide range of issues in Egypt. This thesis will read the text as: (1) a form of prison literature by al-Sharqawi that critiques the feudalism in the 1930s and 1940s, mass imprisonment of political dissidents in the 1930s and alludes to the possibilities of further repression in the 1950s; and (2) that Chahine’s adaptation of the novel portrays different themes to depict the social-political changes in post-1967 Egypt.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3199"],"dc:subject":["Comparative Literature","alsharqawi","prison literature","Arabic literature","Egyptian cinema"],"dc:title":["Comparative Analysis of Al-Ard by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi and the Film by Youssef Chahine: Prison Literature and Collective Memory"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Middle Eastern Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:57Z"}