Arabic courses
101. Elementary Arabic with Lab.
This course is perfect for beginners with no prior experience in Arabic. Start with the basics as you learn the sounds and letters of this fascinating language, then move on to developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Arabic 101 emphasizes functional communication and helps you use Arabic in real-life contexts while exploring the rich culture and everyday life of the Middle East and North Africa. You'll gain the confidence to read and write Arabic at a basic level through engaging lessons and interactive labs. This course fulfills DIV13, DIV LANG, and ARTS requirements. Also offered through African Studies.
102. Elementary Arabic with Lab.
This is a continuation of Arabic 101. Students learn to differentiate among verbs, nouns, and adjectives and to conjugate verbs in the present and the past. Emphasis is on the four communication skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Understanding more complex elements of Arabic culture and writing is stressed. Also offered through African Studies. This course meets one of two Diversity (DIV13) requirements and the ARTS requirement.
103. Intermediate Arabic with Lab.
This course is designed to build on the foundation of Arabic 101 and 102 while sharpening your conversational and writing abilities. Dive deeper into the language as you enhance your reading skills with more advanced literature and practice writing through short essay compositions. This course focuses on improving your fluency and helping you navigate real-life situations in Arabic, making it practical and engaging. You'll gain practical experience through interactive labs designed to make the language engaging and applicable. Prerequisite: Completion of Arabic 102 or an equivalent level. This course fulfills the DIV LANG requirement. Also offered through African Studies.
104. Intermediate Arabic 104 with Lab
This course focuses on expressing yourself: talking about your experiences, expressing opinions and wishes, and presenting persuasive speeches. Social roles are practiced, and many cultural topics are discussed. Grammar is systematically reviewed. The course involves reading and discussing literary works, poems, biographies, and traditions of the Arab World. Arabic media (movies, songs, and online resources) supplement readings, expanding contexts, and vocabulary for further interaction in Arabic. In this class, students will learn popular Arabic songs and will practice reading and writing Arabic with increasing difficulty. Selected passages from the 1001 nights (Arabian Nights), Kalila wa dimna, Modern poems will also be introduced for analysis and discussion. This course satisfies the ARTS requirement.
201. Advanced Arabic (occasionally taught)
In this course, we focus on Arabic at the advanced level through an in-depth examination of grammar, and reading of selected texts to develop the student’s ability in the critical oral and written analysis of integral literary texts. Colloquial Arabic will be introduced (Lebanese). Many cultural subjects will be covered as many films will be discussed and analyzed.
203. Arabic Society through Graphic Novels and Films
Taught in English, this course offers a compelling exploration of Arabic society through various creative and cultural mediums, including films and graphic novels from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Topics include family dynamics, personal rights, gender relations, religion, freedom of speech, the Arab experience in the U.S., Arab American relations, and the stereotypes often associated with the region. The course aims to deepen students' understanding of multicultural issues and increase their sensitivity to racial bias through engaging discussions, readings, and critical analysis. We will examine films and other materials as stories created by society, helping us understand the main challenges and issues faced by the cultures they come from. Students will also be introduced to the diverse genres of Arab cinema, including epic, comedy, drama, documentary, and historical films, as tools to better understand the complexities of Arabic society. Students can count this course toward minors in Arabic and Film Studies, or majors in Multi-Language (World Cultures & Media track) or Film Studies. Fulfills the ARTS distribution.
210. Mediterranean Culture Through Cinema
Taught in English. Explore the Mediterranean as a dynamic crossroads of cultures, ideas, and histories. This course examines the region's rich traditions and contemporary issues, focusing on topics like nationalism and identity, gender roles and sexuality, social justice, recent revolts, colonialism, ethnic and religious conflicts, oppression and censorship, poverty, and the ongoing impacts of wars and the refugee crisis. Through a combination of reading and select films, we'll investigate how these themes shape the lives and experiences of Mediterranean societies. No prior coursework in languages or Film Studies is required. Students can count this course as one of the two English courses that count toward minors in Arabic, Italian, and Film Studies or majors in French, Spanish, and Film Studies. It fulfills the ARTS distribution.
489-490: Senior Year Experience (SYE)