Global Arc

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.

An intensive course covering CHI 101 and CHI 102 in one semester for beginning heritage learners and students with fair fluency and limited ability in reading and writing skills. This course will emphasize the integration of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Prerequisite: instructor's permission (oral interview in Chinese). Five hours of class.

A study of modern spoken and written Chinese, this course shifts the emphasis to the reading of contemporary Chinese dialogues and short essays on daily life topics. While reinforcing the knowledge students have acquired thus far, this course will further develop the students' audio-lingual proficiency and bring their reading and writing ability to a higher level. Five hours of class.

A four-week summer intensive language course taught in Beijing, China, at Beijing Normal University. Students work on developing a strong foundation for modern spoken and written Chinese. Admission by application. Prerequisite: 101-102, or equivalent. Five two-hour classes, five two-hour drill sessions, plus individual tutorial sessions.