Program Overview

Master's in Emirati Folk Literature

The Master's in Emirati Folk Literature is a program that focuses on the study of Emirati folk literature, its sources, major genres, and leading figures. The program examines the distinctive formal, thematic, and functional features of this body of literature and traces its transformations over time, in comparison with related folk literatures in the wider region and beyond.

Programme Overview

This program centers on Emirati folk literature, shedding light on its sources, major genres, and leading figures. It brings Emirati folk texts into the field of systematic analysis and studies them in their historical and cultural contexts, as well as in relation to the different circumstances that shaped their production and transmission.

Program Objectives

The program aims to:

• Identify and describe the main sources of Emirati folk literature and its principal genres.
• Compare Emirati folk literary production with parallel traditions in the wider Gulf region and in other world literatures.
• Critically analyze Emirati folk texts using appropriate methodological approaches and analytical tools.
• Utilize their study of Emirati folk literature to design and conduct scholarly research.
• Apply recent scholarly, technological, and digital developments to the documentation and textual investigation of folk literature.

Study Plan

The Master's in Emirati Folk Literature is a 36-credit hour program. The study plan includes:

• Compulsory courses (24 credit hours):
  • MEFL600: Gulf Folk Literature (3 credit hours, on-campus)
  • MEFL601: Sources of Emirati Folk Literature (3 credit hours, on-campus)
  • MEFL603: Emirati Nabati Poetry (3 credit hours, online)
  • MEFL605: Methods of Analysing Folk Literature (3 credit hours, on-campus)
  • MEFL602: Folk Narrative Arts (3 credit hours, on-campus)
  • MEFL604: Analysis of Emirati Folk Narrative Discourse (3 credit hours, on-campus)
  • MEFL606: Analysis of Emirati Nabati Poetic Discourse (3 credit hours, online)
  • MEFL608: Textual Criticism and Authentication of Written and Oral Folk Texts (3 credit hours, on-campus)
• Elective courses (3 credit hours):
  • MEFL607: Arabic Folk Literature (3 credit hours, on-campus)
  • MEFL609: Dialectal Diversity in the UAE (3 credit hours, on-campus)
• Dissertation (9 credit hours):
  • MEFL691: Dissertation (9 credit hours)

Program Structure

The program is structured over two to three years, with the following course sequence:

• Year 1: Semester 1 and Semester 2
  • MEFL600: Gulf Folk Literature
  • MEFL601: Sources of Emirati Folk Literature
  • MEFL602: Folk Narrative Arts
  • MEFL603: Emirati Nabati Poetry
  • MEFL604: Analysis of Emirati Folk Narrative Discourse
  • MEFL605: Methods of Analysing Folk Literature
  • MEFL606: Analysis of Emirati Nabati Poetic Discourse
  • MEFL608: Textual Criticism and Authentication of Written and Oral Folk Texts
• Year 2: Semester 3 and Semester 4
  • Elective course
  • MEFL691: Dissertation
• Year 3 (if applicable): Semester 5 and Semester 6
  • MEFL691: Dissertation

Head of Department

The Head of Department for the Master's in Emirati Folk Literature is Professor Haithm Zinhom Morsy.