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Daniel Beaumont, associate professor of Arabic languages and literature at the University of Rochester, will present "The Long and Short of It: The 1001 Nights, Voltaire and Proust" at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in 40 Irvin Hall.
His talk is the first in the "The 1001 Nights: Story Without End" series sponsored by the Italian studies program with support from the Havighurst Center's Silk Road program.
The medieval Arabic work The 1001 Nights is a collection of stories told by a young bride, Scheherazade, to prolong her life and entertain her new husband. These tales, from Persia, the Mediterranean, China and India, were carried by merchants on their travels along the Silk Road and through the Mediterranean. According to program organizer Karla Mallette (French and Italian), the oldest known manuscript of the collection dates to the 10th century; its translation into French at the beginning of the 18th century made it one of the most popular works of literature in the world.
Beaumont is author of Slave of Desire: Sex, Love and Death in the 1001 Nights. A scholar of medieval Arabic literature, Beaumont's research draws upon narrative and psychoanalytic thought to explore the meaning of such famous stories as The 1001 Nights. He argues that it "weaves together provocative themes otherwise repressed in medieval Arabic literature."
A film series is being held in conjunction with the program at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Nov. 15 in 1 Alumni Hall. The series is sponsored by the Italian studies and film studies programs, university libraries and the Havighurst Center.
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