DOHA: Qatar University (QU) Professor Sabry Hafez’s new book was recently selected in the Outstanding Academic Titles series for 2009 by Choice magazine, a publication of the American Library Association.

Hafez is distinguished professor of Modern and Comparative Literature at the Department of English Literature and Linguistics of QU’s College of Arts & Sciences.

The book entitled The Quest for Identities: The Development of the Arabic Short Story is the sequel to Prof Hafez’s 1993 book The Genesis of Arabic Narrative Discourse, which is considered a classic in its field. It posited a new theory of the genesis of new literary genres that emerged in Arabic culture, such as the short story, the novel and drama, as a result of a very complex socio-cultural developments and changes.

Hafez noted that the short story genre has been neglected in narrative theory which concentrated on the novel. “The reason for the wider interest in my book, may be because it offers a fresh theory on the short story genre, akin to the one offered by Benedict Anderson and his ‘imagined communities’ in connection with the novel,” he said.

He added: “It posits the genre as suited to new beginnings, to a quest for new identities. It is the expression of a solitary individual’s search to articulate his/her personal situation, vision, and social agenda as distinct from the novel that expresses the sense of a nation, a community of socio-cultural cohesion”.

Hafez said that his achievement would reflect favourably on the Department, the College and the University in the international arena. “It also points to the insightful vision of Dr Moneera Al-Ghadeer, the Department Head, in her drive to attract expert faculty and raise the profile of the Department of English Literature and Linguistics at QU, ”he said.

“Prof Hafez is one of the leading comparative literature scholars in the west and is recognized for his critical explorations of modern literature and literary theory. Students studied his texts in research institutions in America and Europe – I am one of those who studied and later taught his comparative texts in the US. Hence Choice magazine’s selection of his book is a timely affirmation and well-deserved acknowledgement,” Al Ghadeer said. 

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