CMS 320 A / MELC 337A / MELC 584A
Egyptian Cinema: Glamor on the Nile (Yusif Shahin) [Youssef Chahine] (Winter 26)
Instructor: Terri DeYoung Class Location: Denny 259
Office: 246 Denny Hall Class Time: TTh 2:30-520 PM
Email: tdeyoung@uw.edu
Instructor’s Office Hours (either on Zoom or in person): by appointment, set up a time through email
Telephone: (206)543-6184 (office) or
(206)543-6033 (MELC Department Main Office—leave message)
TA: Roman Pomeshchikov
Office: TBA
Email: romanpom@uw.edu
TA’s Office Hours (either on Zoom or in person): by appointment, TBA
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Course Description
Egypt has traditionally been the venue where Arab filmmaking most clearly confronted the opportunities and challenges inherent in creating a national film tradition. The course examines a range of topics, including the transition to sound, differentiation into genres (with a focus on an examination of the musical and the historical epic), the nationalization of the film industry in the 1960s and how it relates to the “art house” film movement in the West, the decline of the Egyptian film industry in the 1980s and 1990s, and its recovery after 2000.
This quarter, however, the course will also concentrate on the role of the director as auteur through assessing the career Youssef Chahine, whose 100th birthday (January 25, 1926) is being celebrated by The Criterion Collection ( www.criterioncollection.com ) with a comprehensive retrospective of his films in remastered and newly subtitled versions.
Since this is a MELC and CMS prefix course we will only be viewing films subtitled in English. Therefore, no knowledge of Arabic (or any other language except English) is required for the class.
In Winter 2026, I am planning on viewing the 9 films listed below (in chronological order): 1) Barsum Looking for a Job (1923); 2) Dananir (1940), starring Umm Kulthum; 3) The Blazing Sun (Al-Sira‘ fi al-Wadi, 1954), starring ‘Umar al-Sharif, directed by Yusuf Shahin; 4) Cairo Station (Bab al-Hadid, 1958), starring and directed by Yusuf Shahin; 5) Saladin (El Nasir Salah al-Din, 1963), directed by ‘Izz al-Din Dhu al-Fiqar and Yusuf Shahin; 6) The Land (Al-Ard, 1968), by ‘Abd al-Rahman al Sharkawi, directed by Yusuf Shahin; 7) Alexandria, Why? (Al-Iskindiriyah, Lay?, 1978) directed by Yusuf Shahin; 8) The Emigrant (Al-Muhajir, 1994), directed by Yusuf Shahin; and Destiny (Al-Masir, 1997), directed by Yusuf Shahin.
Depending on circumstances, films will be available through UW Library Streaming Services, or a monthly subscription to the Criterion Channel, or an optional in-class presentation.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the course, students should be familiar with the following:
- Issues surrounding the representation of images in the Islamic world
- The development of commercial cinema in Egypt from the 1890s to the present day
- The major genres of film (musicals,, comedies, historical epics, literary adaptations and melodrama) produced by Egyptian studios and how they compare to cinema productions in other parts of the Arab world and internationally
- The major features of the studio system as it developed in the 20th century in Egypt and the nature of the financing system it has been succeeded by
- The meaning of the French word “auteur” and how it applies in Egyptian cinema
- The technical achievements of Egyptian filmmakers since the 1920s
- How Egyptian filmmakers both supported and questioned the concept of nation in their work
Course Requirements
The grade for this course will be determined mainly through evaluation of the student’s written projects. It will, however, also include class participation.
Formal Writing Assignments:
- A position paper (at least 2 pages long) will be due Friday 16 January 2026 at midnight. The topic of the paper should be either “What are my goals in taking this course?” or “How was Ibn al-Haytham’s theory of optics influenced by the traditional Muslim prohibitions against the making of images? This paper will count for 5% of the final course grade.
- A second position paper (at least 2 pages long) will be due on Friday 30 January 2026 at midnight. The paper should answer the prompt: “Why do you think it is useful for Virginia Danielson to call Umm Kulthum “the voice of Egypt” in her biography of the singer? What does that mean? Is it significant that the producers of the film version of the book changed the title phrase to “a voice like Egypt”?” This assignment is designed to give guidance on the use of AI resources in writing. The paper will count for 5% of the total course grade.
- A third position paper (at least 3 pages long) will tentatively be due Monday 16 February 2026 at midnight. It should answer the prompt: “Which Western cinematic style—Italian neo-realism or film noir—had the greater influence on Yusuf Shahin’s Cairo Station? What elements of the film helped you reach this conclusion?” This paper will count for 15% of the total grade.
- A fourth position paper (at least 3 pages long) will tentatively be due on Monday 23 February 2026 at midnight. It should answer the prompt: “Is chronological narrative a crucial part of the aesthetic in Yusif Shahin’s film Alexandria Why? How can this label be useful in placing Alexandria Why? In relation to other films in Chahine’s body of work? This paper will count for 15% of the total grade.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
I prefer the following format for the papers: doubled-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font. Since these are position papers (not research writings) you do not need to use material from outside the course to receive a passing grade. If you do refer to an outside source, you need to follow a particular reference style (Chicago, MLA or APA are common ones) though you are welcome to do so. You do need, however, to give me enough information about the reference (author, title, web address, date, page number) so that I can find it for myself to read the source material.
Online Written Assignments
In addition to the papers, there will be two sets of (very) short, informal on-line written assignments due during the quarter.
A set of three questions (see handout posted in the “Modules” tab for examples) will be due at the beginning of discussion about each of the following two films, 1) Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt and 2) Nasser’s Republic: The Making of Modern Egypt See the “Assignments List” in the Modules tab for exact due dates for these assignments. These question sets will count for 5% of the total grade
A post-lecture reflection to be submitted to Canvas following the lectures about two of the films we will looking at during the quarter: 1) The Land (Al-Ard) and 2) The Emigrant (Al-Muhajir). See the “Assignments List” in the Modules tab for exact due dates for these assignments. These “reflections” will count for 5% of the total grade.
Exams
There will be one exam, a take-home final exam (tentatively due Friday 20 March 2026 by midnight). Students will have the option to substitute (with Professor DeYoung’s permission—obtained at least two weeks in advance of the end of classes—a research paper (about 5-8 pages in length) for the take-home final exam. This paper will be due at the same time as the final exam.
The Take-Home Final Exam or Paper will count for 40% of the final grade. Details of the exam will be finalized at least two weeks prior to the end of the quarter.
Class Participation
The remaining 10% of the grade will be based on in-class participation. This means that you will be expected to have read (or viewed) the “Primary Readings” before coming to class, and do whatever other reading is necessary so that you can participate actively in the class discussions. Asking at least one question in the course of a lecture or TA session will count as “active participation.”
Attendance records (according to University of Washington regulations) may not be included in this portion of the grade, so it is up to the student to participate in the class discussion, in order to receive full credit for “class participation.”
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Additional Requirements for MELC 584 Students
Those taking the course under the “584” number will be required to turn in a paper (of at least 10 pages) instead of the Take-Home Final Exam.584 students should make a separate Zoom appointment to talk about their paper with Professor DeYoung by Friday 20 February 2026. The paper will be due on the last day of Finals week.
In addition, those enrolled in 584 will be required to prepare either 1) a presentation (about 15 minutes) to be given in class outlining the background of the production of one of the films covered in the course or 2) a review paper of John Luc Godard’s video Le Livre d’image, assessing its relevance to the work of Yusif Shahin or 3) an English translation of one of Mohamed Abou Soliman’s short videos in Arabic (available on Youtube)
Students enrolled in the 584 section of the course should consult Professor DeYoung about these extra assignments as soon as possible. The presentation or review paper will count for 10% of the final grade and substitute for the first position paper.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Academic Concerns, Late Assignments and Incompletes
Failure to turn in any assignments on time will result in an automatic .3 deduction in the studen’ts grade for that assignment or test. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all assignments are submitted on time and in readable format to the instructors.
Per Ferpa rules, the instructors cannot discuss grades with students via email. Please make an appointment to talk with Professor DeYoung in person or via Zoom if you have concerns.
Incompletes will be awarded only in accordance with UW policy and must be requested and approved by the end of classes. In the MELC department, only the Dept. Chair may approve incompletes.
Plagiarism and AI Resources
The University Student Conduct Code states: “Plagiarism occurs whenever someone uses the ideas or writing of another as their own without giving due credit. This applies to both exams and papers.”
All policies in place concerning academic honesty at the University of Washington apply to this course. It is the student’s responsibility to become fully informed about those policies. Refer to the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120), for more information on the subject , or search “Community Standards and Student Conduct / Academic Misconduct.”
Since the UW does not yet have a policy in place fully differentiating AI and other online resources from any other written sources, you may use them in writing your papers and exams, as long as you give credit to them in citations.
However you should use caution in relying on AI agents as your sole source of information. Many online sites now attach some form of the following disclaimer to guides and summaries: “This material was compiled using AI resources. AI resources may include mistakes.” This warning should be taken seriously.
Course Schedule and Readings
The exact schedule of course readings will be found in the Assignments Lists (Weeks 1-4, 5-7, and 8-10) in the Modules Section of the Canvas website for this course (Week 1-4 will be made available by the beginning of the second week of classes)
“Primary Readings” —This section on the Assignments List will identify films to be viewed (primarily on YouTube / The Criterion Channel / UW Library Streaming) before the indicated class meetings. In addition, a selection of translated texts or articles will be listed for some weeks of class. Finally, Handouts (numbered) will be listed that should be accessed before the indicated class meeting.
These texts will be made available on Canvas directly to students during the quarter. If you think you cannot receive texts through Canvas, please talk to Professor DeYoung as soon as possible, in order to make suitable arrangements so that you can get access to the texts quickly.
“Recommended Readings”—these are useful research resources that are for the most part available on line, or in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library on closed reserve.
“Supplementary Readings”—additional research readings that will mostly be found in the Suzzallo / Allen library in the stacks. You should see Professor DeYoung if you have any difficulty obtaining one of these supplementary readings.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Disability Accommodations
If you have not yet established services through Disability Resource Services (DRS), but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to: mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts) you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or Disability Resources for Students. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and / or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. More information is available at Disability Resources for Students.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Religious Accommodations
Since 2019 the University of Washington has implemented the following policy about arrangements for religious observances:
“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (/staff-faculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (/students/religious-accommodations-request/).”
More information on the policy is available on the webpage for the Office of the Registrar.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Classroom Courtesy
Hydration is important. Therefore it is more than acceptable to drink water (or other beverages) during lectures or TA class sessions. Since the consumption of food may interfere with class participation and is often distracting to others, you are requested to refrain from this during class sessions (including on Zoom). Your cooperation with these requests will be appreciated.
Ramadan begins this quarter on Tuesday 17 February 2026. After that date to drink water or east food in class should be avoided by everyone. Your cooperation in this matter would be especially appreciated by Muslim students observing Ramadan in the class. In addition, I am planning to hold the 17 February class lecture on Zoom, if possible to allow for special arrangements to mark the beginning of Ramadan
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Student Conduct
The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu /studentconduct/
Dispute Resolution
If you have any concerns about the class, try to resolve them first through a meeting with your classroom instructor. You may also contact the appropriate department chair. If the matter cannot be resolved that way, there are other resources available to students to resolve complaints or grievances, including Humanities Academic Services Student Academic Support Resources | Humanities Academic Services Center.