Arab Narrative Encyclopaedia
Nature of the Programme
The Arab Narrative Encyclopaedia studies the evolution of narration in the Arab culture over a period of more than 1500 years, from the pre-Islamic era until the beginnings of the 21st century. The Encyclopaedia will trace the emergence of the Arabic narrative and its roots before Islam through the periods of prosperity of the Arabic literature and up to the modern era. The most important genres of classical and contemporary narratives will then be analyzed using a modern critical approach. Work on the Encyclopaedia is expected to take a few years ending by 2010.
Purpose of the Encyclopaedia
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation hopes that the Arab Narrative Encyclopaedia will be considered a key reference in the field of Arabic narrative and will provide comprehensive information on the narrative phenomenon in all its aspects.
The Foundation believes that the Arab reader has long been deprived of being familiar with the Arabic narratives which have, through history, fallen victim to misunderstanding. There is almost complete ignorance of its oral backgrounds, the complex relationships among the various types of text, the semantics and the way the narratives are built or what they represent. The Encyclopaedia aims to revive the interest in all these aspects, analyze and introduce the narrative material and help correct the misconceptions about the Arabic narrative as it will focus only on the key narrative schools in the Arab culture, ignoring types produced by other cultures.
Size of the Encyclopaedia
It is planned that the Encyclopaedia will consist of seven main volumes, but it is likely that it will expand depending on the requirements of research and writing.
Each of the volumes will cover one of the main eras in Arabic narrative in both old and modern times. The encyclopaedia will be a huge book covering all developments with a main aim of studying the various aspects of the narrative phenomenon. It is a fact, however, that the size of a book is not important. What is important is how comprehensive and precise it is, the critical data it contains and the new discoveries it reveals. This is what the author is looking forward to achieve with complete objectivity. The parts of the Encyclopaedia have been carefully put together to produce the major reference in the field of Arabic narrative studies.