Abstract
This article examines Abdelfattah Kilito’s critical project in reading the Arabic literary heritage, focusing on its position within contemporary Moroccan literary criticism and the debates it has generated in Arab, Moroccan, and Western contexts. The study is based on the assumption that Kilito’s work does not aim to establish a closed methodological model, but rather articulates an “ethics of reading” in which the act of reading itself becomes the central object of reflection. The article analyzes the main criticisms addressed to Kilito, showing that many of them evaluate his work according to criteria foreign to his project, such as methodological formalization or direct ideological function. In contrast, the study highlights Kilito’s contribution to renewing heritage studies by shifting critical inquiry from what the text says to how it works, and from intellectual history to the dynamics of language and narrative. The article also discusses the impact of his work on Moroccan academia and its role in fostering critical thinking grounded in doubt, interpretation, and openness, without abandoning historical knowledge. The study concludes that Kilito’s approach offers a viable model for renewing literary criticism in Morocco, based on a balance between aesthetics, interpretation, and heritage knowledge.
Recommended Citation
Tadghout, Mourad and Tadghout, Mrad
(2026)
"Between Text and Reading: Reflections on Classical and Modern Arabic Literary Criticism :Abdelfattah Kilito’s Project as a Case Study,"
Soroud: The journal of Literacy Criticism: Vol. 9:
Iss.
1, Article 13.
Available at:
https://scholarhub.univh2c.ma/soroud/vol9/iss1/13