A doctoral dissertation at the College of Education for Humanities at the University of Basra explored the promotional discourse in the Maqamat of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani.
The dissertation, submitted by student Hanan Risan Talib, aimed to demonstrate the extent to which promotional discourse is present in the Maqamat of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani. This was achieved by uncovering the linguistic, argumentative, and stylistic mechanisms employed by al-Hamadhani to persuade the audience. The dissertation also sought to show how the promotional dimension manifested itself as a fundamental component of the Maqama's structure, contributing to the portrayal of the characters, influencing the audience, and serving social, political, religious, and cultural objectives.
The thesis included a study and analysis of the promotional discourse in the Maqamat of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani, one of the most prominent pioneers of the Maqama genre in Arabic literature. The study began with the premise that the Maqamat are not limited to the narrative or linguistic dimension alone, but also include forms of persuasive and propagandistic discourse that serve social, political, religious, and cultural goals and objectives. It was divided into three chapters, preceded by an introduction that clarified the concepts of discourse, promotion, and Maqamat, and provided a definition of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani. The first chapter was titled: The Purpose of Promotional Discourse in the Maqamat of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani; the second chapter was titled: The Means and Mechanisms of Promotional Discourse in the Maqamat of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani; and the third chapter was titled: The Styles of Discourse. The study examines the use of advertising and its manifestations in the Maqamat of Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani. It concludes with a summary of the most important findings
