This is the beginners course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It will introduce you to the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in the standard means of communication in the Arab World. The course is proficiency-based, implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, dictations, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that by the end of this course, students will range in proficiency from Novice High to Intermediate Low on the ACTFL scale; in other words (using the terminology of the government's Foreign Service Institute), from 'incipient survival' to 'full' survival' in the native-speaking environment.

This is the beginners course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It will introduce you to the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in the standard means of communication in the Arab World. The course is proficiency-based, implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, dictations, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that by the end of this course, students will range in proficiency from Novice High to Intermediate Low on the ACTFL scale; in other words (using the terminology of the government's Foreign Service Institute), from 'incipient survival' to 'full' survival' in the native-speaking environment.

This course is intended to provide a more advanced exposure to Arabic language skills beyond those offered by the standard Arabic curriculum, particularly in reading, writing, and grammar of MSA and some exposure historical forms of Arabic like Classical Arabic and Middle Arabic, not to mention important genres like the modern academic article, memoirs, chronicles, and biography. Students will refine their readings skills and will be able to read at a quicker rate by the end of the semester, and increase their active vocabulary accordingly. Students will also practice writing and explore some of the finer points of Arabic grammar. Along the way, students will learn a good bit about the history of the Arab world, and grapple with the fuzzy border between history and memory, fact and fiction.

This is a proficiency-based course which builds on the lessons from Intermediate Arabic. Emphasis continues to be on all four language skills: Speaking, Listening, Reading, & Writing. The readings for the class are chosen from actual texts from both medieval and modern Arabic in a variety of fields and subjects. Students will be expected to give classroom presentations and to write short essays in Arabic. Evaluation will be both Achievement- and proficiency- based.

This is the continuation of the Elementary course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This course is also proficiency-based, implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that students range from Intermediate Low to Intermediate High according to the ACTFL scale.

This is the continuation of the Elementary course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This course is also proficiency-based, implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that students range from Intermediate Low to Intermediate High according to the ACTFL scale.

This course is a continuation of first semester Elementary Arabic, and builds on the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in the standard means of communication in the Arab World. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, dictations, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that by the end of this course, students will range in proficiency from Novice High to Intermediate Low on the ACTFL scale.

This is the beginners course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It will introduce you to the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in the standard means of communication in the Arab World. The course is proficiency-based, implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, dictations, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that by the end of this course, students will range in proficiency from Novice High to Intermediate Low on the ACTFL scale; in other words (using the terminology of the government's Foreign Service Institute), from 'incipient survival' to 'full' survival' in the native-speaking environment.

This is the beginners course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It will introduce you to the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in the standard means of communication in the Arab World. The course is proficiency-based, implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, dictations, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that by the end of this course, students will range in proficiency from Novice High to Intermediate Low on the ACTFL scale; in other words (using the terminology of the government's Foreign Service Institute), from 'incipient survival' to 'full' survival' in the native-speaking environment.

This course is a study of modern Arabic literary forms in the context of the major political and social changes which shaped Arab history in the first half of the twentieth century. The aim of the course is to introduce students to key samples of modern Arabic literature which trace major social and political developments in Arab society. Each time the class will be offered with a focus on one of the literary genres which emerged or flourished in the twentieth century: the free verse poem, the prose-poem, drama, the novel, and the short story. We will study each of these emergent genres against the socio-political backdrop which informed it. All readings will be in English translations. The class will also draw attention to the politics of translation as a reading and representational lens.