Arabic (ARA)

ARA 101. Elementary Arabic I. 3 Credit Hours.

This course introduces the basics of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Students will start with the Arabic alphabet, word formation, and build on new vocabulary for everyday use and sentence structure. Students will learn essential communicative skills related to real-life situations such as personal queries, family, work, and study. Students will focus on the four language competencies speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. No prior knowledge of Arabic required.

ARA 102. Elementary Arabic II. 3 Credit Hours.

This course is the continuation of ARA 101. Students will be exposed to new grammar and continue adding to the Arabic vocabulary. Cultural components will be integrated at this level into the four competencies: speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.

Prerequisite: ARA 101 or permission of the department chair.

ARA 201. Intermediate Arabic I. 3 Credit Hours.

This course is a continuation of first-year Arabic. Students will continue perfecting their knowledge of Arabic by integrating the four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing using a proficiency-based approach and a communicative teaching method.

Prerequisite: ARA 102 or permission of the department chair.

ARA 202. Intermediate Arabic II. 3 Credit Hours.

This course is the continuation of ARA 201.

Prerequisite: ARA 201 or permission of the department chair.

ARA 301. Arabic Conversation. 3 Credit Hours.

This course focuses on spoken skills in order to improve communication by working with authentic media materials from different parts of the Arab world. Class discussions are based upon interactions with social media, newspapers, magazines, and a variety of audio-visual material. The course is conducted in Modern Standard Arabic.

Prerequisite: ARA 202 or permission of the department chair.

ARA 302. Arabic Conversation II. 3 Credit Hours.

This course is a continuation of ARA 301. Students will enhance their spoken skills in Modern Standard Arabic and will be exposed to authentic materials which will enhance their in-class discussions.

Prerequisite: ARA 301 or permission of the department chair.

ARA 310. Business and Trade in the Middle East And North Africa. 3 Credit Hours.

This course exposes students to business practices and their histories in the Middle East and North Africa. For example, a "Souk phenomenon" exists where a series of merchants sell the same products in a designated area, each attracting different customers. Being geographically located on the silk road shaped the attitudes, practices, and psyches of the Arabs. This course demonstrates the importance of trade in forming a people's cosmopolitanism and vice versa. Furthermore, the relevance of multilingualism in laughing "start-ups" in Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt connects the Arab world with European countries such as France, Italy, and Germany. Students will discover the cultural meaning of "Baksheesh" in the region and the history behind the term. Doing business in the Arab world calls for open-mindedness, knowledge of the nuances between Abu Dhabi, Cario, and Rabat, and understanding of the history behind business culture in this ancient region. Fulfills Core Requirements: Diversity (DIV) and Cultural Elective (CE).

ARA 311. Diplomacy in the Arab World. 3 Credit Hours.

In 1797, U.S. Consul General William Eaton was sent to Tunis to negotiate a treaty ending piracy on the Barbary Coast of North Africa. In 1799, Hammouda Basha, the Bey of Tunis, gifted General Eaton 8--10 Tunis sheep to take home to George Washington in a diplomatic gesture of gratitude and goodwill toward the United States of America. This course departs from this diplomatic moment in the US/Tunisia relations to explore a broader range of diplomatic moves hitherto. Students will explore US-Saudi Relations, Tunisia's abolition of slavery in 1846, US=Eguptian relations, morocco and the Western Sahara conflict, Habib Bourguiba and Muammar Gaddafi's relationship (Tunisia/Lybia), the Oslo Accords, the US invasion of Iraq, and Lebanese civil War. This course looks at historical moments of diplomacy and other moments of lack of diplomacy and the language of diplomacy used throughout the Arab world. Fulfills Core requirements: Diversity (DIV) and Cultural Elective (CE).

ARA 390. Independent Study. 1-6 Credit Hours.

A student who wishes to pursue an independent study project for academic credit must submit, prior to registration, a proposed plan of study that includes the topic to be studied and goal to be achieved, the methodology to be followed, schedule of supervision, end product, evaluation procedure and number of credits sought. The proposal must be approved by the supervising faculty member, the department chair and the academic dean. The proposal will be kept on file in the academic dean's office.