Representation of Arab Culture in Contemporary Digital Literature: An Interdisciplinary Study

Authors

  • Rahmad Ahmadi Center for Research Arabic Literary and Cultural Studies, Amman, Jordan
  • Haddad Maududi Private Institute for Digital Humanities and Arabic Cultural Research, Doha, Qatar

Keywords:

Arab culture, Arabic literature, digital literature, cultural representation, cultural identity

Abstract

This study examines the representation of Arab culture in contemporary digital literature from an interdisciplinary perspective. The study aims to identify how Arab cultural identity, traditions, values, language, collective memory, and social practices are represented within contemporary digital literary spaces. This research employs a qualitative descriptive design using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates Arabic literary studies, cultural studies, media studies, and digital humanities. Data are analyzed through documentary analysis, close reading, and qualitative thematic analysis, focusing on cultural dimensions such as identity, tradition, religion, family, language, gender, place, cultural memory, and the relationship between tradition and modernity. The findings indicate that the representation of Arab culture in contemporary digital literature is characterized by three interconnected processes: preservation, negotiation, and transformation. Preservation refers to the maintenance and transmission of Arabic language, traditions, cultural values, and collective memory. Negotiation reflects the interaction between tradition and modernity, local and global influences, and changing individual and collective identities. Transformation demonstrates how digital technologies reshape literary forms and create new ways of producing, circulating, and experiencing Arab cultural representations. The study concludes that contemporary digital literature functions simultaneously as a cultural archive, a space for identity negotiation, and a medium of cultural transformation. An interdisciplinary perspective is therefore essential for understanding the dynamic relationship between Arab literature, cultural identity, and digital technology

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Published

2026-09-22