ARAB

This is a course for the advanced student of Arabic, focusing on improving listening comprehension and instilling an awareness of the social associations accompanying different speech styles. Through intensive exposure to a variety of authentic oral texts (talk shows, songs, soap operas, films, news shows, ads, comedy skits, etc.), students will delve into current social and political issues, as well as become sensitive to code switching between MSA and colloquial (all the major dialects). Through these texts, we will examine the themes of diglossia and code-switching; gendered discourse; urban-rural differences; class differences; youth language. A heavily aural course, class activities will involve student presentations (group and solo), discussion groups, and a final oral presentation project.

This course provides a survey of the primary literatures of Islamic law and their treatment in modern scholarship. Primary texts read and discussed in class cover the following genres: compendium (mukhtasar), commentary (sharh), legal disputation (jadal), legal theory (usul al-fiqh), legal maxims (qawa'id fiqhiyya), handbooks for judges (adab al-qadi), handbooks for muftis (adab al-mufti), and legal responsa (fatawa). We will read closely selected excerpts from each of these genres and discuss relevant secondary literature in order to contextualize the primary texts thematically and historically and to examine critically the research questions that have thus far animated the modern study of Islamic law. Undergraduate students by instructor permission only.

The course explores the role of eschatological and apocalyptic ideas in the inception and early history of the Islamic community, through readings of relevant Arabic sources from the seventh through ninth centuries CE, and modern scholarship exploring these issues.

Advanced Readings in Arabic

The goal of Advanced Readings in Arabic (1 and 2) is that students achieve the advanced-low level of reading proficiency, at least, by the end of the two terms, while improving their ability to write and speak fluently in MSA. To accomplish this, we will read, discuss, and enjoy a variety of short modern fiction in Arabic (short stories, novellas, and novels) by twentieth- and twenty-first-century writers. Open to students who have taken Arabic 30203 or 30303 or who have reached a commensurate level.

This two-quarter sequence is an introduction to the classical Arabic language. It is useful for students whose research includes the reading of classical Arabic texts in varied fields such as literature, history, political science, theology and philosophy. In the class 1) rules of Arabic grammar are studied intensively, topic by topic; 2) parsing (i'rab) is an important component, with a view to understanding the structure of the language; 3) brief texts from different fields of classical Arabic are read focusing on their grammatical structure, and 4) some theory about the development of the grammatical genre is introduced, as are the basic features of prosody ('arud) and rhetoric (balagha).

This two-quarter sequence is an introduction to the classical Arabic language. It is useful for students whose research includes the reading of classical Arabic texts in varied fields such as literature, history, political science, theology and philosophy. In the class 1) rules of Arabic grammar are studied intensively, topic by topic; 2) parsing (i'rab) is an important component, with a view to understanding the structure of the language; 3) brief texts from different fields of classical Arabic are read focusing on their grammatical structure, and 4) some theory about the development of the grammatical genre is introduced, as are the basic features of prosody ('arud) and rhetoric (balagha).

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. In addition, the class will host guests from Chicago’s Arab community to visit and speak with the students.

Media Arabic is a course designed for the advanced student of Modern Standard Arabic. The course objective is to improve students' listening comprehension and writing skills. Students will advance toward this goal through listening to and reading a variety of authentic materials from Arabic Media (on politics, literature, economics, education, women, youth, etc.).

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.