Professor Honored for Contributions to Arabic Literature
April 2006
A professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations was one of 10 scholars of Arabic literature to be honored by the Egyptian government.
Roger Allen, a professor of Arabic and comparative literature, was cited for his many contributions to the field at a ceremony in Cairo. He received a plaque from Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and the Egyptian minister of culture. Other honorees were from Italy, China, Japan, France, Jordan, Russia, Spain, Egypt and Germany.
The event was held in conjunction with a celebration of the Egyptian National Translation Project, which recently published its 1,000th volume. Two of Allen's works have been translated as part of the series.
At Penn since 1968, Allen's achievements in Arabic literature include consulting on The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature and editing one of its volumes; as well as writing The Arabic Literary Heritage in 1998, which has become known as the standard work in the field. He has also served as editor of several journals, including the Journal Of Arabic Literature, Literature East & West and Al-Arabiyya.
Allen also directs the Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business.