Arabic and Syriac
Spring 2012 Courses
Arabic Language/Literature
MEAR 10002/60002 01: First Year Arabic II
Professor Amaya Martin
MWF 8:30-9:20
Also meets R 9:30-10:20
4 credits
Section 02
Professor Amaya Martin
MWF 9:35-10:25
Also meets R 11:00-11:50
4 credits
Section 03
Instructor: TBA
MWF 11:45-12:35
Also meets R 11:00-11:50
4 credits
Prerequisiste: MEAR 10001/60001 or equivalent
This two-semester sequence of courses is a basic introduction to all aspects of the Arabic language through a comprehensive and integrated method. The focus is on language proficiency in all areas of the language including speaking, reading, and writing. The course also introduces students to aspects of Arabic culture and everyday life in the Middle East.
MEAR 10001 is offered each fall semester and MEAR 10002 is offered each spring semester.
MEAR 20004/60004 01: Second Year Arabic II
Professor Ghada Bualuan (This section canceled)
MWF 8:30-9:20
3 credits
Section 02
Professor Mostafa Atamnia
MWF 10:40-11:30
3 credits
Section 03
Professor Amaya Martin
MWF 1:55-2:45
3 credits
Prerequisite: MEAR 20003/60003 or equivalent
This course is geared to consolidating skills gained in the previous three semesters while enhancing the ability to converse and conduct oneself in Arabic. Reading skills are enhanced by exposure to more sophisticated examples of literature. Original written expression is encouraged through the composition of short essays.
MEAR 20020: Lebanese Colloquial
Professor Ghada Bualuan
MWF 9:35-10:25
3 credits
Prerequisite: MEAR 10002 or equivalent
Colloquial Arabic, rooted in classical Arabic, is used in daily communication between people in the Arab world. This course initiates speech and dialogue through audiovisual aids, and focuses on the development of listening and speaking skills in interactive settings. Materials in the course are designed to provide students with very rich vocabulary needed in every day communication with Lebanese people. It presents a wide variety of themes and presents vocabulary in context. The Lebanese colloquial is a variety of Levantine Arabic (closely related to the Syrian, Palestinian, and Jordanian dialects) and is understood throughout the Arabic-speaking Middle East.
MEAR 30006/60006 01: Third-Year Arabic II
Professor Mostafa Atamnia
MWF 1:55-2:45
3 credits
Section 02
Professor Mostafa Atamnia
MWF 3:00-3:50
3 credits
Prerequisite: MEAR 30005/60005
This third-year Arabic course emphasis is on developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in interactive settings. Vocabulary building will be the focus of drills; we will cover basic vocabulary in various authentic uses of the language. Special attention will also be given to media Arabic. Basic Arabic grammar should be completed by the end of the year. We will continue with Part 2 of the Kitaab sequence. Supplementary materials, mainly from Arabic media (BBC Arabic News, newspapers, magazines), will be provided. Tests, both oral and written, will cover the textbook material, in addition to the basic grammar and the cumulative vocabulary.
MEAR 40008/60008: Fourth Year Arabic II
Professor Amaya Martin
MWF 12:50-1:40
3 credits
The focus of this course is the integration of formal and spoken Arabic. This is accomplished through a series of readings students prepare in advance of class. Class time is spent conversing in idiomatic Arabic about the text. Arabic media (movies, on-line resources) are intended to supplement the readings and expand contexts and vocabulary for further interaction in Arabic.
Middle East Literature/Culture
MELC 10101: Introduction to Arabic Culture and Civilization
Professor Ghada Bualuan
MWF 10:40-11:30
3 credits
First Year of Studies
This course is an introductory survey of Arabic culture and civilization from the pre-Islamic era to the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The course will trace the origins of the Arab people and their distinctive culture and literature. The revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad and subsequent development of Islam will be treated in detail. Following this, the course will focus on the spread of Islamic civilization, its interactions with other cultures, and its contributions to scholarship in the areas of literature, art, and architecture.
MELC 20070: Intro to Islamic Civilization
Professor Li Guo
TR 12:30-1:45
3 credits
This course is designed to introduce students to Islamic civilization and Muslim culture and societies. The course will cover the foundations of Islamic belief, worship, and institutions, along with the evolution of sacred law (al-shari‘a) and theology, as well as various aspects of intellectual activities. The Koran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad will be examined in detail. Both Sunni and Shi‘i perspectives will be considered. Major Sufi personalities will be discussed to illuminate the mystical, and popular, tradition in Islam. Topics on arts, architecture, literary culture, and sciences will be covered. Although the course is concerned more with the history of ideas than with modern Islam as such, it has great relevance for understanding contemporary Muslim attitudes and political, social, and cultural trends in the Muslim world today.
MELC 30036: The Medieval Iranian World
Professor Deborah Tor
MW 10:40-11:30, F 10:40 or 11:45
3 credits
Cross listed with HIST 30083, MI 30245
Must sign up for tutorial (HIST 32083) on Friday
The Iranian cultural world, from late antiquity until the 13th century, stretched from what is today Iraq all the way to India, and from the Persian Gulf deep into Central Asia. Although in the seventh century the early Islamic conquests put an end to the Persian Empire and occupied the Iranian world, a new era of Iranian hegemony began in Islamic history with the 'Abbasid Revolution in 750 and the establishment of the new Islamic capital, Baghdad, in the old Persian heartland. This event inaugurated a growing dominance by Iranians, and Persian traditions, in all areas of Islamic civilization- cultural, religious, military, and political- culminating in the establishment of the autonomous Persianate dynasties which ruled the Islamic heartland from the ninth century until invading Turco-Mongol tribes seized political control of the Islamic world in the twelfth century. This course will explore the many ways in which the Persianate world- today's Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia- helped form the Islamic world, focusing on its contributions to political order and ideology; its leading role in the formation and elaboration of Sunnism; its rich cultural productions; and its expansion of the borders of Islam.
MELC 30040: Christianity in the Middle East
Professor Joseph Amar
MW 3:00-4:15
3 credits
The spread of Christianity from Palestine to the West is well-documented. Less well-known is the development of Christianity in the lands of its origin, the Middle East. This course introduces students to the largely untold story of Christianity that expresses itself in the native Aramaic language and culture of the Semitic East. The origins of the indigenous Christian churches of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. The development of these traditions will be viewed in relation to western/European forms of Christianity that have come to be viewed as mainstream and normative. The course concludes with an assessment of the impact of religious “fundamentalisms,” the diaspora of Middle Eastern Christians throughout Europe and the United States, and the contemporary state of Christianity in the Middle East.
MELC 30081: Cultures of the Middle East
Professor Asli Baykal
MW 4:30-5:45
3 credits
Crosslisted with ANTH 40371
This course is designed as an advanced introduction to the Middle East. It covers the anthropological research that has been conducted in the Middle East to provide students with the cultural knowledge necessary to understand and interpret contemporary social, political and economic dynamics of the region. Some discussion will be devoted to nearby Muslim societies of Central Asia. We will begin by outlining the underlying principles and tensions of Middle Eastern history and social organization, then move to a discussion of the ways in which these principles and tensions are expressed in religious, communal, gender and political relationships. We also will consider the effects of the media and global market on authority and power relations within these settings.
MELC 30090: Arab Women Writers
Professor Li Guo
TR 3:30-4:45
3 credits
This course explores literary works by modern Arab women that remain largely unknown in the West. While the focus is on a close reading of original writings—mostly in Arabic, some in French—in various genres of non-fiction (memoir, autobiography) and fiction (poetry, short story, novel), we will also read scholarly secondary literature for contextualization and theoretical discourse. We deal with themes such as the conflict between tradition and modernity, colonialism and Arab nationalism, war and violence, love and sexuality, religion and gender roles. Readings include writings by the pioneers (Nazika al-Mala’ika, Huda Sha’rawi), leading feminists (Nawal El Saadawi, Fatima Mernissi, Leila Ahmed), and prominent authors (Hanan al-Shaykh, Layla Ba’labakki, Assia Djebar). The course includes screenings of several films by Arab women filmmakers. All readings are in English translation. No knowledge of Arabic is required.
MELC 40700: Islamic Ethics of War & Peace
Prof. A. Omar
TR 11:00-12:15
3 credits
Since September 11, 2001, topics related to Islam have inundated the airwaves, aroused the curiosity of many and troubled the minds of some. In order to better understand current events, it is important to have a greater understanding of the world view of Islam. This course on Islamic Ethics of War and Peace will provide students with such an opportunity. It examines the major principles of Islamic ethics and the key theories of classical and contemporary Muslim ethicists. These principles and theories will be applied to analyze contemporary Muslim perspectives on war and peace. Cognizant of the various contexts within which ethical questions are debated, students will be encouraged to explore the impact of modernity, post-modernity, globalization and liberalism on Muslim ethical discourses. Students will also be encouraged to compare the ethical principles and theories of Islam on war and peace with that of other philosophical and religious theories to discover points of difference as well as convergence. Students are not expected to emerge from this course as experts on Islamic ethics or any of its subfields, but rather, they will be exposed to major authors and arguments and be provided with a number of conceptual lenses that can be applied to their analysis of the diverse ways in which Islam is implicated in conflict, violence and peacebuilding on both a global and local level.
Syriac Language/Literature
CLSS 60400: Readings in Syriac (continuation of Introduction to Syriac CLSS 60300)
Professor Joseph Amar
MW 4:30-5:45
3 credits
This course is an introduction to literature in the Syriac dialect of Aramaic. It will introduce students to the variety of alphabets, vocalization systems, and genres of literature produced during the first five Christian centuries. The primary work of the course will consist in vocalizing and translating Syriac texts for reading in class. The instructor will provide background to authors and place them in historical context. The goal is to give students an appreciation of Syriac as a major Christian language and the role of Syriac Christian literature in the articulation of a distinct Semitic Christianity.
Hebrew Language/Literature
MEHE 10002: Elementary Hebrew II
Professor Abraham Winitzer
MW 3:00-4:15
3 credits
Cross listed with THEO 60003
This is a two-semester introductory course in biblical Hebrew; under normal circumstances, the student must complete the first in order to enroll in the second. The fall semester will be devoted to learning the grammar of biblical Hebrew. The spring semester will be divided into two parts. For the first six weeks we will finish and review the grammar. In the remaining part of the course we will read and translate texts from the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, and Rabbinic literature. The course will focus on developing reading and comprehension skills in biblical Hebrew through the study of biblical texts. In addition, students will learn how to use reference grammars, concordances, and apparatus to the Biblical Hebraica. The course encourages students to think about the grammatical forms and their implications for biblical interpretation.
