Seth Harris '18 and Gray Babbs '18 hold sheets of paper with Arabic calligraphy in front of a chalkboard

The Middle Eastern Languages program invites students to explore the languages, culture, and history of this fascinating region. We focus on Arabic, Hebrew, and Judaic Studies, with language courses available for all levels from beginner to advanced. Beyond the language courses, we examine Middle Eastern literature, music, philosophy, religion, and more.

Seth Harris '18 and Gray Babbs '18 hold sheets of paper with Arabic calligraphy in front of a chalkboard

About Middle Eastern Languages

The Department of Middle Eastern Languages offers introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in Arabic and Hebrew language, and a variety of courses in classical and modern Arabic and modern Hebrew literature, mostly in English translation. Also in translation we offer courses on Jewish history and culture, on music in the Middle East, and on Israeli and Palestinian film and fiction.

Requirements for the Arabic Minor

In order to receive the minor in Arabic, students must satisfactorily complete 36 credits beyond 204, in the following distribution:

  • At least 24 credits in Arabic language
  • At least 6 credits from among the department of Middle Eastern Languages’ offerings in Arabic literature and/or culture in translation
  • No more than 12 credits from off-campus Arabic language study may be applied toward the minor.

Arabic Courses

  • ARBC 100 Arabs Encountering the West

    The encounter between Arabs and Westerners has been marked by its fair share of sorrow and suspicion. In this seminar we will read literary works by Arab authors written over approximately 1000 years–from the Crusades, the height of European imperialism, and on into the age of Iraq, Obama and ISIS. Through our readings and discussions, we will ask along with Arab authors: Is conflict between Arabs and Westerners the inevitable and unbridgeable result of differing world-views, religions and cultures? Are differences just a result of poor communication? Or is this “cultural conflict” something that can be understood historically?

  • ARBC 101 Elementary Arabic

    This is the first course in the Elementary Arabic sequence. This sequence introduces non-Arabic speakers to the sounds, script, and basic grammar of Arabic-the language of 200 million speakers in the Arab world and the liturgical language of over a billion Muslims. Students will develop basic listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Modern Standard Arabic. Classes will incorporate readings and audio-visual material from contemporary Arabic media, as well as popular music.

  • ARBC 102 Elementary Arabic

    This course sequence introduces non-Arabic speakers to the sounds, script, and basic grammar of Arabic–the language of 200 million speakers in the Arab world and the liturgical language of over a billion Muslims. Students will develop basic listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Modern Standard Arabic. Classes will incorporate readings and audio-visual material from contemporary Arabic media, as well as popular music.

  • ARBC 103 Elementary Arabic

    This course sequence introduces non-Arabic speakers to the sounds, script, and basic grammar of Arabic–the language of 200 million speakers in the Arab world and the liturgical language of over a billion Muslims. Students will develop basic listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Modern Standard Arabic. Classes will incorporate readings and audio-visual material from contemporary Arabic media, as well as popular music.

  • ARBC 144 Arabic Literature at War

    Arabic literature is a vibrant and humane tradition. At the same time, several Arab societies have experienced periods of exceedingly violent conflict throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries. In this course, we will investigate the ways these two currents—war and the literary—converge in several Arab societies. As members of societies at war, but also as literary artists, how do authors represent these conflicting narratives? What sorts of war stories do they tell, how do they tell them, and what sort of literary practice is produced? We will study the birth of the Lebanese Civil War novel as a bona fide genre in the 1970s and 80s, how literature informed anti-colonial struggles in Palestine and Algeria from the 1950s to the present, and read some works of genre-bending horror and science fiction that have appeared in the wake of Iraq’s recent destruction. Taught in English, no knowledge of Arabic is required.

    Not offered in 2024-25

  • ARBC 185 The Creation of Classical Arabic Literature

    In this course we will explore the emergence of Arabic literature in one of the most exciting and important periods in the history of Islam and the Arab world; a time in which pre-Islamic Arabian lore was combined with translated Persian wisdom literature and Greek scientific and philosophical writings to form the canon of learning of the new emerged Arab-Islamic empire. We will explore some of the different literary genres that emerged in the New Arab courts and urban centers: from wine and love poetry, historical and humorous anecdotes, to the Thousand and One Nights, and discuss the socio-historical forces and institutions that shaped them. All readings are in English. No Arabic knowledge required.

    Not offered in 2024-25

  • ARBC 204 Intermediate Arabic

    In this course sequence students will continue to develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, while building a solid foundation of Arabic grammar (morphology and syntax). Students will develop their ability to express ideas in Modern Standard Arabic by writing essays and preparing oral presentations. Classes will incorporate readings and audio-visual material from contemporary Arabic media, as well as popular music.

  • ARBC 205 Intermediate Arabic

    In this course sequence students will continue to develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, while building a solid foundation of Arabic grammar (morphology and syntax). Students will develop their ability to express ideas in Modern Standard Arabic by writing essays and preparing oral presentations. Classes will incorporate readings and audio-visual material from contemporary Arabic media, as well as popular music.

  • ARBC 206 Arabic in Cultural Context

    In this course students will continue to develop their Arabic language skills, including expanding their command of Arabic grammar, improving their listening comprehension, reading and writing skills. In addition to more language-focused training, the course will introduce students to moreáadvanced readings, including literary texts (prose and poetry, classical and modern) and op-ed articles from current media. Class discussions will be in Arabic.

  • ARBC 211 Colloquial Levantine Arabic

    In this course we will focus on acquiring conversational and listening comprehension skills, and building vocabulary in the Levantine/Shami dialect of spoken Arabic, spoken throughout bilad al-Sham or “Greater Syria.” Building upon the foundation of Modern Standard Arabic, we will focus upon points of grammatical and semantic convergence and divergence, and work to develop strategies for fluidly navigating our way between and within these two linguistic registers. We will study the language systematically, but we will also incorporate a range of written and audiovisual materials–music, films, television and web series–as well as other popular culture from the region.

    Not offered in 2024-25

    • 6
    • No Exploration

    • Student has completed the following course(s): ARBC 204 – Intermediate Arabic or ARBC 205 – Intermediate Arabic or ARBC 206 – Arabic in Cultural Context with a grade of C- or better or equivalent .
    • MEST Pertinent MEST Pertinent CL: 200 level

  • ARBC 222 Music in the Middle East

    The Middle East is home to a great number of musical styles, genres, and traditions. Regional, ideological, and cultural diversity, national identity, and cross-cultural encounters–all express themselves in music. We will explore some of the many musical traditions in the Arab world, from early twentieth century to the present. Class discussions based on readings in English and guided listening. No prior music knowledge required, but interested students with or without musical background can participate in an optional, hands-on Arab music performance workshop, on Western or a few (provided) Middle Eastern instruments throughout the term.

  • ARBC 223 Arab Music Workshop

    Through music making, this workshop introduces students to Arab music and some of its distinctive features, such as microtonality, modality (maqam), improvisation (taqsim) and rhythmic patterns (iqa’at). Students may elect to participate playing on an instrument they already play, or elect to study the oud (the Arab lute). Ouds and percussion instruments will be provided.

  • ARBC 245 Modern Arab Environments

    In this course we will study representations of the environment in modern Arab culture, across the media of film and literature. In our approach to Egyptian culture we will study depictions of the exemplary space of the cityscape and the village, and their entanglement with myths of nation. In the film and fiction of North Africa and the Persian Gulf we will explore representations of the desert, and a literary and visual approach that defies the typical casting of arid spaces as barren. We will explore how works from Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon envision the relationship of their societies to the mountain and sea. Through our close study of Arab fictions we will think about how environments have shaped those societies, and how members of those societies have made claims of their own about and upon their surroundings. In translation, no Arabic required. All course readings will be in English. 

    Not offered in 2024-25

  • ARBC 310 Advanced Media Arabic

    Readings of excerpts from the Arabic press and listening to news editions, commentaries and other radio and TV programs from across the Arab world. Emphasis is on vocabulary expansion, text comprehension strategies, and further development of reading and listening comprehension. Class includes oral discussions and regular written assignments in Arabic.

  • ARBC 315 Readings in Premodern Arabic Anthologies

    The concept of adab as the liberal arts education of the premodern Arab world presents itself most vividly in the adab anthology. Authors writing in this genre collected and classified the knowledge of their time, drawing on material from a large variety of disciplines: literature (poetic, proverbial, historical-anecdotal), Religion (Quran, prophetic tradition, jurisprudence, theology), linguistics, as well as philosophy and the sciences. This encyclopedic genre represented the ideal of a broad-based erudition, and the perception that education should be entertaining as it is edifying. In this class we will read excerpts from the works of some of the major premodern anthology writers: Ibn Abd Rabbihi, Abu l-Faraj al-Isfahani, al-Ibshihi and al-Nuwayri.

    Not offered in 2024-25

  • ARBC 371 Readings in Premodern Arabic Science

    It is difficult to overstate Arab scientists’ contribution to science. A translation movement from Greek, Persian and Sanskrit into Arabic initiated in the eighth century, led to centuries of innovative scientific investigation, during which Arab scientists reshaped science in a variety of disciplines: from mathematics to astronomy, physics, optics and medicine. Many of their works entered Latin and the European curriculum during the Renaissance. In this reading course we will explore some of the achievements and thought processes in premodern Arabic scientific literature by reading selections from several seminal works. We will examine these in the cultural contexts in which they emerged and to which they contributed, and reflect on modern Western perceptions of this intellectual project. Readings and class discussions will be in both Arabic and English.

  • ARBC 387 The One Thousand and One Nights

    This course is an exploration of the world of the Thousand and One Nights, the most renowned Arabic literary work of all time. The marvelous tales spun by Shahrazad have captured and excited the imagination of readers and listeners–both Arab and non-Arab–for centuries. In class, we will read in Arabic, selections from the Nights, and engage some of the scholarly debates surrounding this timeless work. We will discuss the question of its origin in folklore and popular culture and the mystery of its “authorship,” as well as the winding tale of its reception, adaptation and translation. Readings and class discussions will be in both Arabic and English.

    Not offered in 2024-25

Hebrew Courses

  • HEBR 101 Elementary Modern Hebrew

    Think beyond the Bible! Modern Hebrew is a vital language in several fields from religion and history to international relations and the sciences. This course is for students with no previous knowledge of Modern Hebrew or whose test scores indicate that this is an appropriate level of placement. We continually integrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Hebrew, incorporating materials from the Israeli internet and films into level appropriate class activities and assignments.

  • HEBR 102 Elementary Modern Hebrew

    This course is for students who have completed Hebrew 101 or whose test scores indicate that this is an appropriate level of placement. We continue expanding our vocabulary and grammar knowledge, integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Hebrew. We also continue working with Israeli films and internet, particularly for a Karaoke in Hebrew group project which involves learning and performing an Israeli pop song and researching the artists’ background and messages for a class presentation.

  • HEBR 103 Elementary Modern Hebrew

    This course is for students who have completed Hebrew 102 or whose test scores indicate that this is an appropriate level of placement. We continue expanding our vocabulary and grammar knowledge, integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Hebrew. We also continue working with Israeli films and internet, particularly to publish in-class magazines in Hebrew on topics related to Israel, the Middle East, and Judaic Studies.

    Not offered in 2024-25

  • HEBR 204 Intermediate Modern Hebrew

    In this course students will strengthen their command of modern conversational, literary and newspaper Hebrew. As in the elementary sequence, we will continually integrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Hebrew. Popular Israeli music, broadcasts, internet sources, and films will complement the course’s goals. Class projects include a term long research paper on a topic related to Israel, the Middle East, or Judaic Studies. Students will create a poster in Hebrew to illustrate their research. They will discuss this with other Hebrew speakers on campus at a class poster session toward the end of the course.

    Not offered in 2024-25

Middle Eastern Language Courses