Global Arc

This course trains students in the practice of translating of Arabic texts from a wide variety of genres into English. Attention will be given to both theoretical and practical problems of translation for research and professional ends.

This course will use the genre of the Arabic short story to help students expand their reading and, to a lesser extent, their speaking skills in Modern Standard Arabic. In addition, students will learn about the development of the Arabic short story through reading representative examples of the genre from a variety of periods and authors. The course will focus on a new short story each week, with one class meeting devoted to close reading of a portion of the week's story and the second focusing on a more general discussion - part in English and part in Arabic - of the story under consideration.

A continuation of ARA 307. The course focuses on the informal Arabic dialect of Cairo. Students in this course are assumed to have a basic working knowledge of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, having completed ARA 307. In this second term, students are trained to use Egyptian colloquial at higher registers, including discussions and debates on politics, religion, culture, history, education, and famous Egyptian and Arab personalities. In addition to the textbook, excerpts from Egyptian television, radio, film, music, and theater will be used as means to enhance students' understanding of Egyptian and Arab culture.

This course is based on thematic instruction featuring audio-visual materials of native speakers discussing their daily lives. Emphasis is on improving fluency in reading and speaking skills used in everyday contexts.

This is an introductory course in a widely spoken Arabic dialect in Morocco called Daarijah where Arabic and Indigenous Tamazight, the language of the Indigenous people of North Africa come together, making this language variety very rich and authentic. Students will learn the language of everyday life of conversation, commerce, administration, family, celebration, politics, spirituality, and literature. It is also familiar far beyond the borders of Morocco, given migration patterns from North Africa to Europe and the Americas. For these reasons, Daarijah is one component to achieving more linguistic and cultural competency in Arabic.

This course develops to a more advanced and natural level the linguistic skills of listening, speaking, and reading through the reading and class discussion of lengthy texts, primarily literary ones. Term papers written in Arabic provide the opportunity to improve composition, and aural comprehension is honed through the use of tapes of Arabic broadcasts, and through viewing films from various parts of the Arab world. Prerequisite: 301 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

Conducted entirely in Arabic, ARA 403 is intended for undergraduate and graduate students who are native speakers of Arabic, and for non-native speakers who have completed at least three year of Modern Standard Arabic and are interesting in a close reading of political texts. Course readings will be divided into themes, including Arab nationalism, democracy, dictatorships, conflicts and peace, and the role of women in politics. Texts will be supplemented by documentary films and interviews.

Introduces the conventions of major genres of history, belles-lettres and religious thought of the Abbasid era (750-1258 CE). Primary emphasis on reading comprehension and developing confidence in approaching classical sources. Conducted in Arabic, apart from translation exercises, and will also develop skills in writing, through projects, and speaking, through discussions and presentations. Course is divided into one or two-week units, focusing on excerpts from major texts. Students to complete major reading/writing project on a text of choosing.

An introductory course in modern spoken and written Chinese, stressing oral-aural facility and the integration of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Five hours of class.

Continued study of modern spoken and written Chinese, stressing listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Five hours of class.