Social Marginalisation in the Saudi Novel between 1990 and 2011

Abstract

This study deals with and highlights social marginalisation in the Saudi novel between 1990 and 2011 and is important for three main reasons. First, social marginalisation has not been discussed and studied in the Saudi context through Saudi novels, although it can expose many social problems and cultural issues that have caused a big debate in Saudi society. Second, production of the Saudi novel has increased during the study period, showing an unprecedented increase and raising issues and questions never before discussed in the work of previous novelists. Third, the era between 1990 and 2011 caused dislocations in many cultural and intellectual thoughts and produced many social transformations due to two significant events: the Gulf War in 1990 and the 9/11 event in 2001.This study is based on the analysis and description of the phenomenon of social marginalisation in selected novels and explores it by tracking and employing the most prominent social theories, exploring social phenomena in humanities to help explain many manifestations of social life in Saudi Arabia, such as gender theory, feminism, tribalism and classism.The research traces the important studies on social marginalisation and those dealing with the Saudi novel alike. It was important to address these in order to define the study limits and explore the areas of the specific social subject that can be analysed and described in the selected novels. It also emphasises that the Saudi novel could evoke and express many sectors of socially marginalised people in Saudi society by employing different styles and techniques in writing. However, it can be said that the Saudi novel could not cover all segments of the socially marginalised people in Saudi Arabia, and therefore the remit of this thesis is determined by the themes found in the selected novels.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Dalia Mostafa (Supervisor) & Zahia Smail Salhi (Supervisor)