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

Minor Requirements – 36 Total Credits

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

Arabic Language Courses – Required Minimum 24 credits

  • ARBC 205: Intermediate Arabic
  • ARBC 206: Arabic in Cultural Context
  • ARBC 211: Colloquial Levantine Arabic (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARBC 310: Advanced Media Arabic (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARBC 371: Readings in Premodern Arabic Science (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARBC 387: The One Thousand and One Nights

Arabic Literature and Culture Course – Required Minimum 6 credits

  • ARBC 185: The Creation of Classical Arabic Literature
  • ARBC 222: Music in the Middle East (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARBC 223: Arab Music Workshop (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARBC 371: Readings in Premodern Arabic Science (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARBC 387: The One Thousand and One Nights
  • MEST 185: The Creation of Classical Arabic Literature

Additional Departmental Notes

No more than 12 credits from off-campus Arabic language study may be applied toward the minor.

Arabic Courses

  • ARBC 100.01 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.

    • Winter 2026
    • 6
    • No Exploration

    • Student has completed any of the following course(s): ARBC 101 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 102 on the Carleton Arabic Placement exam.
    • CL: 100 level MEST Pertinent
    • Zaki Haidar 🏫 👤

  • 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.

    • Spring 2026
    • 6
    • No Exploration

    • Student has completed any of the following course(s): ARBC 102 with a grade C- or better or received a score of 103 on the Carleton Arabic Placement exam.
    • CL: 100 level MEST Pertinent
    • Zaki Haidar 🏫 👤

  • ARBC 135 Imagining Arab Worlds

    In this course we will study representations of the environments and landscapes of the modern Arab world, with particular focus upon five distinct but connected types of places– city, country, mountain, desert, and sea– and their entanglement with various myths of nationhood and peoplehood. Through study of Arab fiction and film and in conversation with history, spatial theory, and ecocriticism,  we will think about how environment has 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.

    ARBC 135 is cross listed with MEST 135.

  • ARBC 148 The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

    This course provides students with the knowledge and analytical tools needed to engage productively and respectfully with current events surrounding Israel and Palestine. It situates the war in Gaza, along with other recent events, within the broader history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will study key moments in the history of the conflict and examine the conflicting narratives formed by different actors within the Israeli and Palestinian communities, as well as by other related communities. Students are not expected to adopt a particular viewpoint; rather, the course emphasizes historical context, critical analysis, and careful engagement with competing perspectives. Discussions will be based on primary sources and interdisciplinary academic scholarship.

    ARBC 148 is cross listed with MEST 148.

  • 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.

    ARBC 185 is cross listed with MEST 185.

  • 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.

    • Fall 2025
    • 6
    • No Exploration

    • Student has completed any of the following course(s): ARBC 103 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 204 on the Carleton Arabic Placement exam.
    • CL: 200 level MEST Pertinent
    • Yaron Klein 🏫 👤

  • 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 2025-26

  • 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. 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 222 is cross listed with MEST 222.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • 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.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • 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.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • 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 2025-26

  • 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.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • 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.

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.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • 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.

    Not offered in 2025-26

    • 6
    • No Exploration

    • Student has completed any of the following course(s): HEBR 101 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 102 on the Carleton Hebrew Placement exam.
    • CL: 100 level JDST Pertinent MEST Pertinent

  • 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.

  • 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.