Undergraduate

ARAB 20115 Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Language and Culture

Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Language and Culture I is an introductory course designed to familiarize students with the Egyptian Arabic dialect, the most widely spoken and understood dialect in the Arab World. To be eligible for this course, you must have completed 1-year of university-level Arabic or have the consent of the instructor. The course will develop the student's proficiency in Egyptian Arabic in all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Additionally, students will explore various aspects of the rich Egyptian culture. This course is part of a 3-course sequence. Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Language and Culture I, II and III are offered in the Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters respectively.
Prerequisites

ARAB 10101 or equivalent

Zainab Hermes
2025-2026 Autumn

ARAB 20101 Intermediate Arabic I

The first quarter of the three-quarter Intermediate Arabic sequence. 
Prerequisites

ARAB 10101 or equivalent

Hala Abdel Mobdy, Zainab Hermes
2025-2026 Autumn

ARAB 10101 Elementary Arabic I

Elementary Arabic is a 3-course, year-long sequence intended for complete beginners. It targets both literacy in the formal, standard, written form of Arabic (fuSHa), and also integrates the spoken dialect (‘ammiyyah) when needed. Through in-class practice and intensive homework projects, students will gain a solid foundation in the four skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). At the end of the sequence, students will gain basic functional fluency on a variety of personal topics (self, family, studies, location, daily activities, etc.). These courses adopt a project-based approach to learning, and therefore meet three times a week for 80 minutes.
Hala Abdel Mobdy, Osama Abu-Eledam, Abdallah Soufan
2025-2026 Autumn

ARAB 20601 High Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic

High Intermediate Arabic, the modern track, provides students with a full academic year to activate the language and grammar studied in the first two years, while expanding their cultural and literary knowledge of the Arab world. This three-quarter sequence is taught in Arabic and focuses on all four language skills. The purpose of this sequence is conceived of functionally (what can students do) rather than with an eye to finishing a given textbook. It will have reached its objective if each student leaves with a clearly improved ability to produce oral and written Arabic in a variety of contexts (personal and professional correspondence, description, prescription, comparison, narration, argumentation, etc.), to listen and understand spoken MSA, and to read a variety of texts (short stories, a novel, media writing, poetry, social media, opinion pieces, etc.) and a deepened understanding of the diversity of the Arab experience. An important component of the course is taking the learning outside the classroom: through visits to an Arab neighborhood, interviews of Arabs in Chicago, producing a play.
Prerequisites

ARAB 20103 or equivalent

Hala Abdel Mobdy
2025-2026 Autumn

ARAB 20211/30211 Poetry and Empire: Readings in Abbasid Arabic Poetry

(CMLT 20211, CMLT 30211, ISLM 36211)
Arabic poetry has been a major force in Middle Eastern societies since the seventh century when it became the elite culture of the Arabo-Islamic empire until today. This course focuses on poetry from the “Golden Age of Islam” during the Abbasid period and especially on three famous poets: Abū Nuwās (d. 814), al-Mutanabbī (d. 965), and al-Maʿarrī (d. 1057).
While the emphasis will be on close reading of their poems (in Arabic), we will also discuss broader questions: How does this poetry reflect the vast and quickly evolving world of the Islamic empire? How does it relate to its societies, political structures, and religious institutions?
Ideally, students with 3 years of Arabic (or equivalent) would take this class. If you have less and have a good reason to take it, please contact the instructor.
Prerequisites

3 years of Arabic (or equivalent), contact instructor with questions

Pamela Klasova
2025-2026 Autumn

NEHC 20201/30201 Islamicate Civilization I: 600 - 950

(HIST 15611, HIST 35621, ISLM 30201, MDVL 20201, RLST 20201)
This course is an introduction to the history and the study of early Islamicate societies, from the rise of Islam in late antiquity to the early Abbasid period (ca. 600-950 CE), considering various religious and social groups. We will look at the same historical arc from multiple perspectives: political events, such as the Muslim conquests and the rise of ruling dynasties, but also other factors that impacted people’s lives in the early centuries of Islamic rule—the environment they inhabited and transformed, documents they created, social institutions, and economic activities. What broad developments characterized the early Islamic period? Who brought those changes about? And how are they studied today?
Pamela Klasova
2025-2026 Autumn

HEBR 20001 Hebrew Letters and Transcriptions

Acquisition of the ability to read Hebrew and Transjordanian inscriptions of the pre-exilic period
Dennis G. Pardee
2025-2026 Autumn

HEBR 20104 Intermediate Classical Hebrew I

(JWSC 22300)
Review basic Hebrew grammar, emphasis on morphology and basic syntax - Review/acquire historical morphology - Acquire facility in reading Biblical Hebrew prose
Prerequisites

HEBR 10103 or equivalent

Dennis G. Pardee
2025-2026 Autumn

HEBR 20501 Intermediate Modern Hebrew

(JWSC 25300)
The course, which builds upon Introductory Modern Hebrew, focuses on the acquisition of proficiency and communicative skills in Modern Hebrew.
The purpose of this class is to expand and strengthen beginners' Hebrew skills so that they become more self-assured, communicative, and versatile when they listen to, read, speak, and write Hebrew. It emphasizes both communicative and cultural themes and focuses on developing a rich and active vocabulary in several language domains.
Prerequisites

HEBR 10503 or equivalent

Ariela Almog
2025-2026 Autumn

HEBR 10501 Introductory Modern Hebrew I

(JWSC 25000)
The beginner’s course is the first of three sequential courses offered to students at the university. The course aims to introduce students to reading, writing and speaking Modern Hebrew. Toward that end, all four-language skills are emphasized: comprehension of written and oral materials; reading of non-diacritical text; writing of directed sentences, paragraphs, and compositions; speaking. You will learn the Hebrew root pattern system, and by the end of the year you will have mastered the five (active) basic verb conjugations in both the past and present tenses (as well as simple future). This grammatical knowledge is complemented by an 800+ word vocabulary, which is presented with an eye toward the major syntactic structures, including the proper use of prepositions. At the end of the year, you will conduct short conversations in Hebrew; read materials designed to this level and write short compositions.
Ariela Almog
2025-2026 Autumn
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