Bassam Frangieh (Arabic: بسام فرنجيه) is a scholar of contemporary

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

and culture. He is best known for his pedagogical innovations in the study of the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

, as well as his translations of modern Arabic poets and novelists. He is a language professor at Claremont McKenna College.

Education and career

Frangieh was born in a refugee camp in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

in 1949. His family, Palestinians who had owned an orange grove in Yaffa, had been relocated there due to the conflicts associated with the creation of the state of Israel. His family is distantly related to the famous Frangieh family of

, including former Lebanese president

Suleiman Frangieh Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh, last name also spelled ''Frangié,'' ''Franjieh,'' or ''Franjiyeh'' (, 15 June 1910 – 23 July 1992), was a Lebanese Maronite politician who was President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. Early life and education Sulei ...

, but the Palestinian Frangieh

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations of ...

diverged from the Lebanese family tree several generations ago. Frangieh eventually moved to Syria to attend university, earning a B.A. from

Damascus University The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...

in 1976. While in Syria, he earned fame as a

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

champion and professional soccer player. Frangieh attended graduate school in the United States, and received a Ph.D. in Arabic literature from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1987. After receiving his doctorate, Frangieh taught Arabic at Georgetown for several years before accepting a position at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. After his resignation from Yale in 2007, Frangieh joined Claremont McKenna College as a full-time Arabic professor and the head of the Arabic Department for the five

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)— Pomona College, Sc ...

while writing and researching new Arabic books. He is the head of the Middle East Studies Department.

Bibliography

Frangieh is a prolific author in both Arabic and English on contemporary Arabic literature. This is a list of some of his most prominent books and articles.

Textbooks

:*''Arabic For Life: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic'' (2011) :*''Anthology of Arabic Literature, Culture, and Thought'' (2005)

Translations

:*''The Crane'' (forthcoming), from ''Ṭā'ir al-Ḥawm'' by Ḥalīm Barakāt :*''Sun On A Cloudy Day'' (1997), from ''al-Shams fī Yawm Ghā'im'' by Ḥanna Mīna :*''Arabian Love Poems'' (1993), selected poems by Nizār Qabbānī

Scholarly works

:*''al-Ightirāb fī al-Riwāyah al-Filisṭīnīyah'' (forthcoming) :*''Bahjat al-Iktishāf'' (2003)

Articles

:*''Qassim Haddad: Irregular Rhythms of Life'' in ''Kalimat'' :*''Modern Arabic Poetry: Vision and Reality'' in ''Traditions, Modernity and Postmodernity in Arabic Literature'' :*''The Concept of Return in Issa Boullat's novel: Returning to Jerusalem'' in ''Dirāsāt `Arabīyah'' :*''Mahmoud Belaid: Ru'yah Tastashref Al Mustaqbal'' in ''Journal of the Arab Tunisian Union Writers''

References

External links

Official Frangieh Biography (Yale University)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frangieh, Bassam Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Palestinian writers Palestinian people of Arab descent 1950 births Living people

Bassam Bassam is an Arabic name and a given name roughly meaning "one who smiles". More accurately, it is the Arabic name "Basem" (often incorrectly written in English as Bassem) that translates to "one who smiles". Basem is the agent noun of the Arabic ve ...

Translators of Nizar Qabbani