Mrs Catherine Cobham, Lecturer
Contact Information
cmc1@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: 01334 463642
Office: Buchanan 108
Research and Teaching
Catherine Cobham’s research area is modern Arabic fiction. She has published papers on aspects of the writing of Naguib Mahfouz, Abdelilah al-Hamdouchi and Hanan al-Shaykh, among others. Over the last few years she has had a particular interest in Iraqi novels and short stories written by the generation of writers who came to prominence between the 1950s and 1970s, notably Gha’ib Tu’ma Farman, Fu’ad al-Takarli, and Mahdi Isa al-Saqr. Her work is distinguished by an emphasis on detailed textual analysis, by its understanding of the literary and cultural context of the works analysed (including the way they were received by contemporary critics in the Arab world), and by its ability to draw on modern literary critical themes and approaches. She has also translated numerous works by modern and contemporary Arab writers, including Mahmoud Darwish, Yusuf Idris, Naguib Mahfouz, Hanan al-Shaykh and Fuad al-Takarli.
She currently teaches both Arabic language (at the honours level) and modern Arabic literature, in the following modules: Advanced Arabic Language, Literary Arabic, Exile and Identity, the Arabic Novella. In the past she has also taught modules on the Postcolonial Arabic Novel in English translation and contributed to subhonours language and literature teaching.
PhD Supervision
Selected translations
A River Dies of Thirst, translation of Athar al-farasha, prose and poetry by Mahmud Darwish, London: Saqi, 2009; New York: Archipelago Books, 2009
Only in London, translation of Innaha Lundun, ya 'azizi by Hanan al-Shaykh (selected for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize; reprinted Bloomsbury 2010)
The Long Way Back, translation of al-Raj' al-ba'id by Fu'ad al-Takarli (American University in Cairo Press, 2001)
The Harafish, translation of al-Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz (American University of Cairo Press and Doubleday, New York, 1994)
Publications
A River Dies of Thirst, translation of journals (prose/poetry) by Mahmoud Darwish
Cobham, C. M.
2009
London:
Saqi Books
.
165 p.
Research output
:
Book/Report
›
Book
The poetics of space in two stories by Hanan al-Shaykh
Cobham, C. M.
2002
In:
La poétique de l'espace dans la littérature arabe moderne.
Hallaq, B., Ostle, R. & Wild, S. (eds.).
Presses Sorbonne Nouvelle
,
p. 131-142.
Research output
:
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
›
Chapter
Bread and Cinema: Baghdad in
al-Nakhla wa-'l-jiran
by Gha'ib Tu'ma Farman
Caiani, F.
&
Cobham, C. M.
2010
In :
Middle Eastern Literatures
.
13
,
3
,
p. 231-259.
28 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The Other Shore: Dialogue and Difference in Mahdi Isa al-Saqr's al-Shati' al-thani
Cobham, C. M.
&
Caiani, F.
2008
In :
Middle Eastern Literatures
.
11
,
3
,
p. 265 – 281.
17 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
Khazin al-la-mar'iyyat: heroes for our time, or 'He not busy being born is busy dying'
Cobham, C. M.
Aug-2006
In :
Middle Eastern Literatures
.
9
,
2
,
p. 217-223.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
Enchanted to a stone: heroes and leaders in The Harafish by Najib Mahfuz
Cobham, C. M.
Aug-2006
In :
Middle Eastern Literatures
.
9
,
2
,
p. 123-135.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
Reading and Writing in Al-Masarrat Wa'l-Awja by Fu'ad al-Takarli
Cobham, C. M.
Jan-2004
In :
Journal of Arabic Literature
.
35
,
1
,
p. 25-44.
20 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The Long Way Back: possibilities for survival and renewal in al-Raj' al-ba'id by Fu'ad al-Takarl l
Cobham, C. M.
Jul-2002
In :
Middle Eastern Literatures
.
5
,
2
,
p. 181-194.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The Arabic literary heritage: The development of its genres and criticism
Cobham, C.
2001
In :
JOURNAL OF SEMITIC STUDIES
.
46
,
p. 183-185.
3 p.
Research output
:
Contribution to journal
›
Article
The Long Way Back
Cobham, C. M.
2001
Research output
:
Other contribution
Only in London
Cobham, C. M.
2001
Research output
:
Other contribution
Sufism and irony in
Al-Taslim by Abdelilah al-Hamdouchi
Cobham, C. M.
1997
Research output
:
Other contribution