Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Asfour is a Jordanian academic, researcher, translator, critic and poet, born in the village of Ain Ghazal , Haifa District , in 1940 He teaches English literature and translation at the University of Jordan and Philadelphia University .
He studied English at the University of Baghdad and obtained his BA in 1964 and completed his MA studies at Indiana University in the United States in 1970. He obtained his PhD in English Literature from Indiana University in 1973. Asfour served as the Head of the English Department at the University of Jordan for 8 years, starting in 1982. He also served as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Jordan and then as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Asfour teaches a variety of literary subjects to university students, whether at the undergraduate, master's or doctoral levels. He has taught poetry, drama, literary criticism, European literature, comparative literature, literature in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in addition to teaching creative writing, the arts of rhetoric, debate and literary appreciation.
Works translated by
“The Refusal,” a short story by Franz Kafka , Oil Workers (May 1965), 22-23.
“Cinema Censorship in Different Countries,” by various writers, Dialogue (January–February 1966), 135–149.
William Dean Howells , in Three Centuries of Literature, supervised by Forster and Fooke, selected and translated by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, 1967), Part 3, pp. 17-33.
“Lifeboat” by Stephen Crane , in the previous source, pp. 206-240.
Hunters in a Narrow Street, a novel by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra , Beirut, Dar Al-Adab, 1974. The translation was published in several other editions.
“The Elixir of Life,” a story by Richard Garnett, Scientific Culture (November 1980), 4-8.
Primitive, edited by Ashley Montague, Kuwait, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 1982.
Critical Concepts, by Rene Welle, Kuwait, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 1987.
Is Humanity Winning Its Battle? Report of the United Nations Independent Commission on Humanitarian Issues (Amman: 1989).
Biology, Anthropology and Human Nature, by Stephen Rose et al., translated by Dr. Mustafa Ibrahim Fahmy and revised by Muhammad Asfour (Kuwait: National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 1990).
“Love in the Time of Cholera,” Foreign Culture Magazine (Kuwait).
Eliot and Curtis, Foreign Culture Magazine (Kuwait).
“The Ingmar Bergman File ,” Foreign Culture Magazine (Kuwait).
“American Literature,” Foreign Culture Magazine (Kuwait).
“Scientific Books of the Year,” Foreign Culture Magazine (Kuwait).
Anatomy of Criticism, by Northrop Frye, Amman, University of Jordan, 1991.
Genius, Creativity and Leadership, by Dean Keith Simonton, translated by: Abdul Hamid Shaker , reviewed by: Muhammad Asfour, Kuwait, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 1993.
Orality and Writing, by Walter J. Ong, translated by Hassan al-Banna Izz al-Din , reviewed by Muhammad Asfour, Kuwait, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 1994.
Structuralism and Beyond, edited by John Strouk, Kuwait, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 1996.
“The Andalusian Garden: A Study of Its Symbolic Implications,” by James Dickey, published in a book edited by Dr. Salma Al-Khadra Al-Jayyousi
Introduction to Dr. Salma Al-Khadra Al-Jayyousi ’s book , Selections from Palestinian Literature (Beirut: Arab Institution for Studies and Publishing, 1997), pp. 1-100.
Modern Social Theory, by Ian Craib, translated by Muhammad Hussein Ghuloum , reviewed by Muhammad Asfour, Kuwait, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 1999.
The Dawn of Modern Science, by Toby Huff, Kuwait, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, 2000.
The Turks, the English and the Moroccans in the Age of Exploration, by Nabil Matar , Beirut, Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, 2012.
The Zionist Question, by Jacqueline Rose, Cairo, National Center for Translation, 2007.
Forster and the Politics of Imperialism, by Mohamed Shahin , Cairo, Supreme Council of Culture, 2009.
The Novel and the Nation, by Patrick Parrinder (Cairo: Supreme Council of Culture, 2009)
Genealogy of Religion: Control and the Causes of Power in Christianity and Islam, by Talal Asad , Beirut, Dar Al-Kitab Al-Jadeed, 2014
The World, the Text, and the Critic, by Edward Said (forthcoming)
Two Rocks of Time: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life, by Stephen Jay Gould, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Antiquities [Word] 2010
Teach with Confidence, by Douglas Lemov. Amman: Queen Rania Teacher Academy,
His writings in Arabic
“Two Attitudes Towards Free Verse,” Al-Adab (August 1964), 61-62.
“Hunters in a Narrow Street,” Al-Adab (June 1974), 38-41.
“ Maher Al-Batouti Distorts Joyce’s Image,” Foreign Literature (July 1976), 290-297.
“The Image of Islam and Muslims in Western Literature until the Eighteenth Century,” Alam al-Fikr (January-March 1978), 135-154. The paper was republished in Islamic Studies, an anthology published by Alam al-Fikr in 1984.
“Meaning in Poetry,” Afkar (June 1978), 68-75.
“Singers in the Shadows” (a study of one of Jabra’s stories), Ideas (September 1978), 169-174.
“Notes on the Short Story in Jordan,” The Third Annual Festival of the Jordanian Writers Association: Poetry and Story Supplement (Amman, Publications of the Jordanian Writers Association, 1980), pp. 133-143.
“The Mythical Structure in a Long Night’s Scream,” literary and historical chapters by a group of scholars and writers dedicated to Nasser al-Din al-Assad , edited by Hussein Atwan (Beirut, Dar al-Jeel, 1993), pp. 401-416. Republished in Anxiety and the Glorification of Life: A Book Honoring Jabra Ibrahim Jabra , edited by Abd al-Rahman Munif (Beirut, Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, 1995), pp. 112-124.
“The Western Influence on Al-Shabbi’s Poetry and Criticism,” Abu Al-Qasim Al-Shabbi Session : Symposium Research and Proceedings (Kuwait, Abdul Aziz Saud Al-Babtain Foundation for Poetic Creativity, 1996), pp. 197-223.
“ Jabra Ibrahim Jabra as a Poet,” Critical Studies in the Works of Al-Sayyab, Hawi, Dunqul, Jabra, edited by Fakhri Saleh (Beirut: Arab Institution for Studies and Publishing, 1996), pp. 137-183. The research was also published in the book In the Sanctuary of Knowledge: Studies Dedicated to Ihsan Abbas , edited by Ibrahim Al-Saafin (Beirut, Dar Sader and Dar Al-Gharb Al-Islami, 1997), pp. 369-408.
“Psalms of the Fugitive Rebel: Mahmoud Darwish and the Crisis of the Palestinian Poet,” Zaytounat al-Manfa: Studies in the Poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, edited by Grace Samawi (Beirut, Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, 1998), pp. 107-124.
“The History of the Relationship between Jabra: The Professor and the Friend,” New in the World of Books and Libraries, Issue 2 (Spring 1994), pp. 20-21.
The Status of Scientific Research in Jordanian Higher Education Institutions 1962-1989, with a group of researchers (Amman: Al al-Bayt University, 1997).
“The Great Being: A Study of the Novel Searching for Walid Masoud ,” Studies, Special Issue (2001), pp. 1-16.
Communication Skills in Arabic (with others). Two parts (Amman: University of Jordan Press, 1999).
“Mahmoud Seif El-Din El-Irani,” a research prepared on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his death.
“Mahmoud Al-Samra and European Literature” Mahmoud Al-Samra, the critic, intellectual and human being, written by Khalil Al-Sheikh and others, Amman: Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation and Beirut: Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, 2002, pp. 51-67.
“ Ihsan Abbas, Translator,” A Year After His Departure, by a Group of Researchers (Amman: Ministry of Culture, 2007), pp. 209-233.
“Who Takes and Who Gives in Translation and Why?”, Translation and the Interaction of Cultures: A Research Seminar, by a Group of Researchers (Cairo, Supreme Council of Culture, 2004), pp. 901-925.
“Jabra’s Political Poetry” (published in a recent issue of the Cultural Magazine issued by the University of Jordan)
“The Impact of Translation on the Arabic Language,” Sharjah University Journal of Sharia and Humanities, Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2007), pp. 195-216.
Studies in the Art of Translation and Its Criticism (Beirut: Arab Institution for Studies and Publishing, 2009)
Narcissus and the Mirrors: A Study of the Creative Writings of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (Beirut, Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, 2009)
Punctuation in the Arabic Language (Amman, Dar Al-Barakah, 2009)
“Consecutive Chandeliers, a Continuation of the Stars in the Sky: Jabra Ibrahim Jabra and Jerusalem.” Cultural Magazine, Issue 76 (2009), pp. 20-31.
“ Muhammad Adnan Al-Bakhit’s Contribution to Planning and Editing the Book of Human History,” Muhammad Adnan Al-Bakhit: Historian, Documentarian, Professor, and Founder, for a Number of Writers (Beirut: Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation and the Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, 2010), pp. 315-337.
“Interdisciplinary and Specialized Studies in the Humanities,” Journal of Arts: A Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journal Published by King Saud University, Volume 25, Issue 2 (May 2013), pp. 231-240.
" Mahmoud Darwish as a prose writer."
His writings and research in English
“Motivation in The Cenci,” Dirasat (May 1975), pp. 19–35.
“Islam in Southey's Epics,” Dirasat (December 1978), pp. 7–37.
“Some Aspects of the Influence of English Poetry on Arabic Poetry,” Dirasat (May 1979), pp. 37–47.
Notes on Rasselas (London: Longman York Press, 1981).
“Cultural Barriers in Teaching English Literature to Arab Students,” Papers from the First Conference on the Problems of Teaching English Language and Literature at Arab Universities, ed. MH Ibrahim and Eid Dahiyat (Amman: University of Jordan, 1983), pp. 78–92.
“'The Letter Killeth': A Study of The Merchant of Venice,” Dirasat, XII.8 (1985), 7-18.
“Acting in Hamlet,” Dirasat XII.8 (1985), 13-30.
“The Politics of Love,” Dirasat XIII.1 (1985), 7-18.
“Literary Prophecy,” Abhath al-Yarmouk IV.1 (1986), 7-18.
“Thomas Moore and the Pitfalls of Orientalism,” International Journal of Islamic and Arabic Studies X.1 (1987), 75-92.
The Fourth International Conference on the History of Bilad al-Sham During the Byzantine Period, vol. II, ed. With Adnan al-Bakhit (Amman: , 1986).
Arabic in Three Months (London: Hugo Language Books, 1990).
Reading On: An Anthology for Students of Literature (London: Prentice-Hall, 1990).
“Jabra’s English Poetry,” Dirasat (Special Issue, August 1999), pp. 19–33.
Communication Skills (with others), 2 vols. (Amman: University of Jordan, 1999).
“The Translation of Poetry: An Example from Nazik al-Mala’ika,” From Silence to Sound, ed. Mohammad Shaheen, (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 2000), pp. 458–508.
“Ibn Battuta,” The Literature of Travel and Exploration: An Encyclopedia. 3 vols. (London: Dearborn Publishers, 2003), pp. 577–578.
“Deconstructive Reading,” IJAEAS 3: 1& 2 (December 2002), pp. 45–53.
“Problems in Modern English-Arabic Lexicography,” Journal of Arabic Linguistics 42 (2003):41-52.
“The Translation of Names,” Turjuman (Turjuman, forthcoming).
“The Influence of Translation on Arabic,” University of Sharjah Journal for Shari’a Sciences and Humanities, vol. 4, No. 2 (June 2007), 195-216. This essay has been translated into Turkish and published recently in Şarkiyat Mecmuasi, Sayi xix (2011-2012), pp. 172–196
Achievements and Awards
Awards and Scholarships
Muhammad Asfour has received many awards of appreciation for his literary works and contributions in the field of literary criticism, translation and advocacy for the Arabic language. During his studies in 1964, he won the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Award for achieving first place in the English Department at the University of Baghdad . Later, while working as a teaching assistant at the University of Jordan, he received a university scholarship to obtain his master’s and doctorate degrees from Indiana University between 1967 and 1973. He also received the Kuwait Prize for Scientific Advancement for the best translated book in 1983, and a Philadelphia University certificate in appreciation of distinguished works in translation into Arabic in 2004. He also received the Jordanian State Appreciation Award in the field of translation in 2012.
- Years in active
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