Texts from the Imperial Aramaic period (c. 600-200 BCE) are read with special attention to the historical development of the grammar of Aramaic during this time period.
Prerequisites: Second-year standing and ARAM 10101
This course provides a thorough introduction to the grammar of the Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible during the first few weeks. The remainder of the course is spent reading texts from the books of Daniel and Ezra.
Prerequisites: HEBR 10103 or equivalent
This course on classical Arabic literary theory will focus on close reading of sections from the seminal works of Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani: Asrar al-balagha and Dala'il al-Ijaz.
Prerequisites: Three years of Arabic. Open to qualified undergraduates with instructor's permission.
Through a close reading and analysis of the orations, epistles and words of wisdom attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib in the Nahj al-balagha, this course will explore an early stage of the development of these three important prose genres of classical Arabic literature, and Ali's key themes and stylistic features. A main focus of the class will be on themes of virtue and piety.
Prerequisites: Three years of Arabic. Open to qualified undergraduates with Instructor's permission.
This is a graduate level survey course of the rise and development of the modern Arabic novel. It will cover texts from the nahḍa to the late twentieth century. We will read these texts with particular attention not only to the ways they engage the key social and political issues of their day, but also to the manner in which they probe central questions of form, genre, and language. By reading the novels alongside theoretical readings in English and Arabic that frame them, we will also interrogate the processes of the formation of the modern Arabic literary canon.
Prerequisites: Three years of Arabic at UChicago or their equivalent.
Advanced Readings in Arabic
This course is meant to prepare heritage speakers of Arabic to enter either Arabic 202 or Arabic 302 in the Winter Quarter. By “heritage” learners, we mean those students who know the alphabet, speak or have spoken Arabic at home, are familiar with a broad vocabulary but lack the grammatical underpinnings of Arabic, its case system, its structure, verb forms, etc. As such, the course will train students in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Modern Standard Arabic, but with an overt and systematic focus on grammar. Materials used will be authentic, up-to-date, and relevant to student interests.
Media Arabic is a course designed for the advanced student of Modern Standard Arabic. The course objective is to improve students' listening comprehension skills. Students will advance toward this goal through listening to a variety of authentic materials from Arabic TV (on politics, literature, economics, education, women, youth, etc.).
This course is an introduction to the texts, contexts, functions and rhythms of Arabic poetry. Students read, translate, and analyze the most eloquent verse of the Arabic poetic canon, with a view to understanding its themes, metaphors, and forms. Among the genres studied are brigand poetry, love lyrics, court panegyrics, satires, and mystical poetry. In addition, students study the prosody and rhetoric that underpins these texts in order to acquire a feel for its music and aesthetics. Focus is on the classical material, but modern poetry is also introduced. Excerpts from poetry texts are read in the original Arabic, and full poems in translation.
Prerequisites: Two years of Arabic
This is a three-segment course offered in three quarters; Autumn, Winter and Spring. The main objective of the complete three segment is to develop strong pedagogical strategies in the four Arabic language skills to acquire proficiency in handling Arabic classical texts. By the end of the three quarters students should know the distinctive features of classical Arabic texts and the various genres and sources of such texts. They will build strong command on expanded grammatical features and structural rules governing classical texts of different variations. Students will be able to produce written documents reflecting reading comprehension, personal opinions and text critique. Students should be able to make oral presentation and conduct research using electronic resources as well as traditional classical sources. The class is conducted entirely in Arabic with occasional use of English in translation and explanation of complex cultural and linguistic issues. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 20103 or equivalen
