Date of Award

Spring 6-13-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in English

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, English and Literary Arts

First Advisor

Clark Davis

Second Advisor

Scott W. Howard

Third Advisor

Kristy L. Ulibarri

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

American literature, Antebellum America, Comparative literature, Edgar Allan Poe, Orientalism, Postcolonialism

Abstract

This dissertation posits a comprehensive overview of the debate about Orientalism, particularly early American depictions of the Islamic Orient. The study investigates the antebellum American portrayal of the Islamic Orient, focusing on Edgar Allan Poe’s Orientalist readings. While Said’s Orientalism concentrates heavily on aspects of power in West-East relations throughout history, this study expands on several aspects of Said’s book. This study provides a new approach to exploring the field of Orientalism by giving a voice to Arabic sources that are absent in Said’s Orientalism and rarely known to Western audiences. Such sources are medieval Islamic sources, which include phantasies and depictions of Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. Other Arabic sources reflect the Arab critics’ views of Orientalism. This study further elaborates nineteenth-century American Orientalism, such as Washington Irving’s Orientalist writings, which are analyzed in line with Poe’s Orientalist readings. Since this study focuses on Poe and his writings, it discusses the reception of his writings in Arabic literature, which was a result of the American cultural influence in the Arab world.

The introduction centers on the controversy relating to issues of Orientalism, providing new voices, like Arabic critics of Orientalism and nineteenth-century German Orientalists in the field. The second chapter discusses the depictions of the Islamic Orient in colonial America and the antebellum era reflected through Protestant depictions of Islam, Barbary piracy, and early American foreign policy toward the Islamic Orient. The third chapter investigates the portrayal of the Islamic Orient in Poe’s writings, especially The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. This chapter explores the influence of early nineteenth-century American narratives, such as James Rielly’s An Authentic Narrative, on Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. This chapter also discusses the theme of the Adamic myth in Poe’s novel, depicted through Arabic and Islamic sources. The fourth chapter concentrates on the influence of Oriental tales and philosophy on Poe’s writings like “The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and Eureka. The fifth chapter investigates the influence of Poe and his writings in modern and contemporary Arabic literature, like poetry, short stories, and novels.

Copyright Date

6-2025

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Sohaib Alkamal

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

330 pgs

File Size

1.7 MB

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