Course Listing

The following are examples of courses offered as part of the Arabic Language Program and Minor.  This program is only available to students enrolled in the BSFS degree program. Review the course listing each semester to see the most current Arabic language course offerings.  

Post-Advanced Arabic Courses

Cinema of the Arab World

  • Language: Arabic
  • Course number: ARAB 3320
  • Prerequisites: ARAB 2217 or ARAB 2221 or placement by test
  • Credits: 3.00
  • Course info: This course examines how cinema in the Arab world constitutes a space through which filmmakers negotiate and reflect on significant political, cultural, social, and aesthetic themes and concerns. 

Introduction to the Arabic Short Story

  • Language: Arabic
  • Course number:  ARAB 3335
  • Prerequisites: ARAB 2217 or ARAB 2221 or placement by test
  • Credits: 3.00
  • Course info: This course deals with the Arabic short story, covering its genesis and major developments, trajectories, contexts, and authors in the past century. It introduces students to the main influences that had an impact on the pioneers of the genre. 

Language Policy and Development in the Arab World

  • Language: Arabic
  • Course number: ARAB 4431
  • Prerequisites: ARAB 2217 or ARAB 2221 or placement by test
  • Credits: 3.00
  • Course info: This course explores the language policy and its political, economic and educational ramifications in the Arab world. It discusses the linguistic situation of Arabic and language policies adopted by the governments in the Arab countries. 

Topics in Arab World

  • Language: Arabic
  • Course number: ARAB 3308
  • Prerequisites: ARAB 2217 or ARAB 2221 or placement by test
  • Credits: 3.00
  • Course info: This course will focus on contemporary issues shaping the Arab world using various authentic texts. Students will improve their language skills through reading, writing, presentations and discussions related to different topics including, but not limited to, politics, society and culture. 

Heritage versus Post-modernity in Contemporary Arabic Writing

  • Language: Arabic
  • Course number: ARAB 4453
  • Prerequisites: ARAB 2217 or ARAB 2221 or placement by test
  • Credits: 3.00
  • Course info: Contemporary Arabic writing is characterized by ambivalent trends. On one hand we find writers experimenting with the latest trends of post- modernity, and on the other hand there are authors who strive to revive the old Arabic heritage. 

Courses about the Arabic Language, Taught in English 

Inside Arabic: How it works

  • Language: English
  • Course number: ARAB 2261
  • Prerequisites: ARAB 1012 or equivalent or placement by test
  • Credits: 3.00
  • Course info: This course aims to help students understand how Arabic works in comparison to English in structure and processes. It aims to clarify Arabic for all learners of Arabic, native and non-native alike. It provides students with a concise overview of the sound system, word and sentence structure, meaning and form, etc. Students will engage with the material and undertake specific exercises to facilitate the understanding of different concepts. 

Arabic Sociolinguistics

  • Language: English
  • Course number: ARAB 3393-70
  • Prerequisites: ARAB 1012 or ARAB 1121 or placement by test
  • Credits: 3.00
  • Course info: This course focuses on how Arabic (both standard and the colloquial) is used in the different Arab societies of the Arab world. We will study how the variation in how Arabic is used is influenced by different sociological variables such as education, social status, politics, gender, and religion.