| Class Schedules Index | Course Catalogs Index | Class Search Page |
| Arabic | |
| ARAB 116 | Intensive Introductory Arabic (0) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute. | |
| ARAB 126 | Intensive Introductory Arabic (0) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute. | |
| ARAB 216 | Intensive Intermediate Arabic (0) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic intermediate level expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute. | |
| ARAB 226 | Intensive Intermediate Arabic (0) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic intermediate level expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute. | |
| ARAB 256 | Introduction to Levantine Arabic-I (0) |
| This course intends to introduce the students to colloquial Levantine Arabic by enabling them to communicate in Levantine Arabic, the colloquial spoken in Syria, Lebanon, the Holy Land, and Western Jordan Prerequisite: First Year Arabic | |
| ARAB 266 | Introduction to Levantine Arabic-II (0) |
| This course intends to introduce the students to colloquial Levantine Arabic by enabling them to communicate in Levantine Arabic, the colloquial spoken in Syria, Lebanon, the Holy Land, and Western Jordan Prerequisite: First year Arabic and ARAB 0256/2256 | |
| ARAB 1010 | Elementary Arabic (4) |
| Introduction to the sound and writing systems of Arabic, including basic sentence structure and morphological patterns. A combination of the direct, audio-lingual, proficiency-based, and translation methods is used. The format consists of classroom discussions of a certain grammatical point followed by intensive practice. | |
| ARAB 1016 | Intensive Introductory Arabic (4) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute. Course was offered Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Summer 2015, Summer 2014, Summer 2013, Summer 2012, Summer 2011, Summer 2010 | |
| ARAB 1020 | Elementary Arabic (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Introduction to the sound and writing systems of Arabic, including basic sentence structure and morphological patterns. A combination of the direct, audio-lingual, proficiency-based, and translation methods is used. The format consists of classroom discussions of a certain grammatical point followed by intensive practice. Prerequisite: ARAB 1010 or equivalent. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| ARAB 1026 | Intensive Introductory Arabic (4) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute. Prerequisites: ARAB 1016 or equivalent. Course was offered Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Summer 2015, Summer 2014, Summer 2013, Summer 2012, Summer 2011, Summer 2010 | |
| ARAB 1060 | Accelerated Elementary Arabic (4) |
| This course is intended for students with native or near-native speaking ability in Arabic, but with little or no reading and writing ability in Standard Arabic (MSA). The course focuses on reading and writing Arabic and aim to help students to: (a) achieve control of the Arabic sounds, (b) be able to write and speak in MSA, (c) and express themselves clearly in written form on a variety of topics using learned grammar patterns and vocabulary. Course was offered Fall 2024 | |
| ARAB 1559 | New Course in Arabic (1 - 6) |
| New Course in Arabic | |
| ARAB 2010 | Intermediate Arabic (4) |
| Continues training in modern standard Arabic, with emphasis on speaking, comprehension, writing, and reading. The method of teaching primarily follows the proficiency-based approach to language learning. Prerequisite: for ARAB 2010: ARAB 1020 or equivalent, or instructor permission; for ARAB 2020: ARAB 2010 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 2016 | Intensive Intermediate Arabic (4) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic intermediate level expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Prerequistes: ARAB 1016 & 1026 or equivalent. Course was offered Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2021, Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Summer 2017, Summer 2016, Summer 2015, Summer 2014, Summer 2013, Summer 2012, Summer 2011, Summer 2010 | |
| ARAB 2017 | Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I (4) |
| The primary goal of the course is to teach the student to communicate clearly and to give a good base for continued learning. Foreign languages are not acquired only in class; foreign languages are acquired through the students own efforts during and outside of class. For this reason, great emphasis is placed on learning through listeningnot only to other speakers, but to ones own voice repeating the language structures and vocabulary. | |
| ARAB 2020 | Intermediate Arabic (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Continues training in modern standard Arabic, with emphasis on speaking, comprehension, writing, and reading. The method of teaching primarily follows the proficiency-based approach to language learning. Prerequisite: for ARAB 2010: ARAB 1020 or equivalent, or instructor permission; for ARAB 2020: ARAB 2010 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| ARAB 2026 | Intensive Intermediate Arabic (4) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in intermediate level oral expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Prerequisites: ARAB 1016 , 1026 & 2016 or equivalent. Course was offered Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2021, Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Summer 2017, Summer 2016, Summer 2015, Summer 2014, Summer 2013, Summer 2012, Summer 2011, Summer 2010 | |
| ARAB 2060 | Accelerated Intermediate Arabic II (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course is for students with native or near-native speaking ability in Arabic, but with reading and writing ability equivalent to ARAB 1020. The course focuses on reading and writing Arabic. The goals of this course are to help students: (a) achieve a basic level of reading competency with rich vocabulary; (b) express themselves clearly in written Arabic on a variety of topics using learned grammar patterns and vocabulary. |
| ARAB 2250 | Conversational Arabic (3) |
| Introduces students to spoken Arabic, with oral production highly emphasized. Prerequisite: ARAB 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 2256 | Introduction to Colloquial Arabic I (0.5) |
| This course intends to introduce students to a variety of colloquial Arabic by enabling them to communicate with native speakers in the region where this variety is spoken. The focus will be on vocabulary and expressions used in daily life.
Prerequisite: ARAB 1010 and ARAB 1020, or instructor's permission. Course was offered Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2021, Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Summer 2017, Summer 2016, Summer 2015, Summer 2014 | |
| ARAB 2266 | Introduction to Colloquial Arabic II (0.5) |
| This course is a continuation of ARAB 2256. The course intends to introduce students to a variety of colloquial Arabic by enabling them to communicate with native speakers in the region where this variety is spoken. The focus will be on the vocabulary and expressions used in daily life.
Prerequisite: ARAB 1010, ARAB 1020, and ARAB 2256. or instructor's permission Course was offered Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2021, Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Summer 2017, Summer 2016, Summer 2015, Summer 2014 | |
| ARAB 3010 | Advanced Arabic I (3) |
| The goal of this course is to increase the student's knowledge of the Arabic language and culture via a communicative-based approach, meaning that though the students will be expected to learn grammatical structures emphasis will be placed on the functional usage of the language and on communication in context. Prerequisites: ARAB 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 3019 | Language House Conversation (1) |
| For students residing in the Arabic group in Shea House. Prerequisite: instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| ARAB 3020 | Advanced Arabic II (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | The goal of this course is to increase the student's knowledge of the Arabic language and culture via a communicative-based approach, meaning that though the students will be expected to learn grammatical structures emphasis will be placed on the functional usage of the language and on communication in context. Prerequisites: ARAB 3010 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| ARAB 3230 | Arabic Conversation and Composition (3) |
| Using a communicatively oriented, proficiency-based approach the course will focus on the communicative prodution skills (speaking and writing) in the language through a combination of interactive classroom activities, take-home assignments and group work. Emphasis will be on the development of these two skills. Students will also be introduced to aspects of the Arab culture to build cultural awareness and communicative competence. Course was offered Spring 2020, Fall 2018 | |
| ARAB 3240 | Advanced Arabic Conversation and Composition (3) |
| Develops oral and written proficiency to an advanced level of fluency, with emphasis on speaking and writing. Prerequisite: ARAB 3230 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2019, Spring 2011 | |
| ARAB 3259 | Advanced Arabic for Business (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | The course aims to provide advanced training in developing linguistic and communicative skills in business Arabic. The business topics cover data & communication, finance, insurance, law & contract, research & production, marketing, transport, travel, meetings, and conferences. Instructor permission. |
| ARAB 3330 | Arabic of the Quran and Hadith I (3) |
| Studies the language of the Quran and its exegesis, and the Hadith. Prerequisite: ARAB 2020 or higher, or permission of instructor. | |
| ARAB 3559 | New Course in Arabic (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Arabic. | |
| ARAB 3672 | Review of Arabic Grammar (3) |
| In this course students will develop a mastery of core items relevant to Modern Standard Arabic grammar, a mastery which will enable them to produce discreet, sophisticated sentences, as well as to compose paragraphs and essays, all while utilizing the grammar points covered in this class. Those interested in taking this course are required to have completed ARAB 2020 or equivalent, or to receive approval of instructor. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 | |
| ARAB 3810 | Modern Arabic Fiction (3) |
| Students are introduced to twentieth-century Arabic fiction, and to the varied genres of prose including letters, memoirs, short stories, travelogues, and novels. Topics include autobiography, war and nation construction, fantasy, and political and sexual identity crises. Students become acquainted with different schools of modern Arabic literary criticism, and learn to analyze texts using critical analysis and specific theoretical terminology. Prerequisite: ARAB 3020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| ARAB 4010 | Advanced Arabic III (3) |
| The main goal at this stage is to reach a superior level of Modern Standard Arabic with due attention paid to all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing in addition to culture. Acquisition of more advanced grammatical structures will take place primarily through directed in-class drilling, coupled with an emphasis on the functional use of language through communication in context. Prerequisite: ARAB 3020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 4020 | Advanced Arabic IV (3) |
| The main goal at this stage is to reach a superior level of Modern Standard Arabic with due attention paid to all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing in addition to culture. Acquisition of more advanced grammatical structures will take place primarily through directed in-class drilling, coupled with an emphasis on the functional use of language through communication in context. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| ARAB 4120 | Introduction to Arabic Drama (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course introduces students to modern Arabic drama from the early pioneers' period in the 20th century to the contemporary era. We will study different forms of this genre including: musicals, traditional, experimental, feminist, and social drama. Further, students become acquainted with different schools of modern Arabic literary criticism and learn to analyze dramatic texts using critical analysis and specific theoretical terminology. Prerequisites: ARAB 5830 or 5840, or instructor's permission. Course was offered Fall 2022, Spring 2020, Fall 2017, Spring 2015, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 |
| ARAB 4230 | Love, War, and Diaspora in Hoda Barakat's Writings (3) |
| In this course, we will examine the themes of love, war, and diaspora in the literature of the Lebanese writer, Hoda Barakat. Some of the topics that will interest us are: the role of the author as a witness to the Lebanese civil war, the challenges of rewriting history, recreating the homeland's image in diasporic locales, collective and individual memories and its role in trauma recall and testimony. Course was offered Fall 2015 | |
| ARAB 4245 | Readings in Classical Arabic Prose (3) |
| Students will gain insight and learn to appreciate some of the most influential "Arab" literary figures and some of the most celebrated classical Arabic prose masterpieces. Students will also broaden their critical and comparative perspectives with regard to some of the most important literary and cultural issues related to the overall poetics and politics of the Arabic-Islamic heritage. Prereq: ARAB 3020 or Instructor Permission. | |
| ARAB 4450 | The Other in Premodern Arabic Sources (3) |
| This course explores the unduly studied corpus of Arabic writings that describes the encounters with and perception of the Other. Much effort will be devoted to investigate medieval and early modern Arab-Muslim views of the Other in a cross-generic selection of non-religious Arabic prose such as travelogues, diplomatic memoirs, captivity reports, marvels, folktales, literary debates/boasting, and poetry. Prerequisite: ARAB 3020 Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2017 | |
| ARAB 4559 | New Course in Arabic (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Arabic. | |
| ARAB 4993 | Independent Study in Arabic (1 - 3) |
| Independent Study in Arabic Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| ARAB 5230 | Love, War, and Diaspora in Hoda Barakat's Writings (3) |
| In this course, we will examine the themes of love, war, and diaspora in the literature of the Lebanese writer, Hoda Barakat. Some of the topics that will interest us are: the role of the author as a witness to the Lebanese civil war, the challenges of rewriting history, recreating the homeland's image in diasporic locales, collective and individual memories and its role in trauma recall and testimony. Course was offered Fall 2015 | |
| ARAB 5240 | Advanced Arabic Conversation and Composition (3) |
| Develops oral and written proficiency to an advanced level of fluency, with emphasis on speaking and writing. Prerequisite: ARAB 3230 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2011 | |
| ARAB 5245 | Readings in Classical Arabic Prose (3) |
| Students will gain insight and learn to appreciate some of the most influential 'Arab' literary figures and some of the most celebrated classical Arabic prose masterpieces. Students will also broaden their critical and comparative perspectives with regard to some of the most important literary and cultural issues related to the overall poetics and politics of the Arabic-Islamic heritage. | |
| ARAB 5310 | Introduction to the Arab World and Its Languages (3) |
| A general survey of the linguistic, geographical, historical, social, religious, cultural, and artistic aspects of the modern Arab world. Attention given to the Arabic language, family, gender relations, the Arab experience in the U.S., Arab American relations, the role of the past and of social change, and Arab art and music. | |
| ARAB 5330 | Arabic of the Quran and Hadith I (3) |
| Studies the language of the Quran and its exegesis, and the Hadith. Prerequisite: ARAB 2020 or higher, or permission of instructor. | |
| ARAB 5410 | Advanced Arabic III (3) |
| The main goal at this stage is to reach a superior level of Modern Standard Arabic with due attention paid to all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing in addition to culture. Acquisition of more advanced grammatical structures will take place primarily through directed in-class drilling, coupled with an emphasis on the functional use of language through communication in context. Prerequisites: ARAB 3020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 5420 | Advanced Arabic IV (3) |
| This course focuses on reading texts in Modern Standard Arabic of different genres. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2013, Spring 2011 | |
| ARAB 5559 | New Course in Arabic (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Arabic. | |
| ARAB 5810 | Modern Arabic Fiction (3) |
| Students are introduced to twentieth-century Arabic fiction, and to the varied genres of prose including letters, memoirs, short stories, travelogues, and novels. Topics include autobiography, war and nation construction, fantasy, and political and sexual identity crises. Students become acquainted with different schools of modern Arabic literary criticism, and learn to analyze texts using critical analysis and specific theoretical terminology. Prerequisite: ARAB 3020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| ARAB 5830 | Topics in Arabic Prose I (3) |
| Emphasis on reading modern Arabic prose, and writing descriptive and narrative short essays. Prerequisite: ARAB 3020/5020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 5840 | Topics in Arabic Prose II (3) |
| Exposure to selected reading material in modern Arabic prose, and writing of short essays, summaries, and descriptive pieces in Arabic. Prerequisite: ARAB 5830 or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 5850 | Media Arabic (3) |
| Examination of electronic (television and radio) and print (newspapers, magazines, periodic publications) Arabic. Prerequisite: ARAB 5530 and 5540, or ARAB 3010/5010 and 3020/5020, or instructor permission. | |
| ARAB 5870 | Media Arabic II (3) |
| A survey of print and electronic media, news and news reports, analysis, commentaries from or about the Arab world, intended to increase students' familiarity with the language used in news as reported in Arabic-media venues. Prerequisite: ARAB 5850, completion of ARAB 5530 and 5540 or permission of instructor. Course was offered Spring 2013, Spring 2011 | |
| ARAB 6559 | New course in Arabic (3) |
| This course is to allow 6000-level new courses to be taught for one semester | |
| ARAB 6672 | Review of Arabic Grammar (3) |
| The course treats in depth aspects of Arabic Grammar. It enables leaners to produce orally and in writing samples of Modern Standard Arabic. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 | |
| ARAB 7120 | Introduction to Arabic Drama (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course introduces students to modern Arabic drama from the early pioneers' period in the 20th century to the contemporary era. We will study different forms of this genre including: musicals, traditional, experimental, feminist, and social drama. Further, students become acquainted with different schools of modern Arabic literary criticism and learn to analyze dramatic texts using critical analysis and specific theoretical terminology.
Prerequisites: ARAB 5830 or 5840, or instructor's permission. Course was offered Fall 2022, Spring 2020, Fall 2017, Spring 2015, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2011 |
| ARAB 8559 | New Course in Arabic (3) |
| New Course in Arabic
Prerequisite: ARAB 3020 or equivalent, or instructor permission Course was offered Spring 2014 | |
| ARAB 8993 | Independent Study in Arabic (1 - 3) |
| Independent Study in Arabic. Course was offered Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| Arabic in Translation | |
| ARTR 3245 | Arabic Literary Delights (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | In this course, we will venture into the fascinating words and worlds of premodern Arab-Islamic leisure and pleasure. We will focus specifically on the literary representation of and socio-cultural/theosophical debate on humor, pleasantry, wit, frivolity, eating, feasting, banquets crashing, dietetics, erotology, aphrodisiacs, sexual education and hygiene. |
| ARTR 3290 | Modern Arabic Literature in Translation (3) |
| Introduction to the development and themes of modern Arabic literature (poetry, short stories, novels and plays). Taught in English. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 | |
| ARTR 3350 | Introduction to Arab Women's Literature (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | A comprehensive overview of contemporary Arab women's literature, this course examines all Arab women's literary genres starting from personal letters, memoirs, speeches, poetry, fiction, drama, to journalistic articles and interviews. Selected texts cover various geographic locales and theoretical perspectives. Special emphasis will be given to the issues of Arab female authorship, subjectivity theory, and to the question of Arab Feminism. Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2015, Fall 2013 |
| ARTR 3450 | Global Masterpieces from the Classical Islamicate World (3) |
| The course explores the literary masterworks of some of the most celebrated prose authors of the Classical Islamicate World. Students will develop an appreciation for the development of the intellectual history of what may be called, not without reservation, the medieval and early modern Middle East (including North Africa, al-Andalus and Sicily). Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| ARTR 3490 | Arab Cinemas (3) |
| The course will concentrate on cinemas of Egypt, the Maghrib (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) as well as Syrian and Palestinian films. It will examine major moments in the history of these cinemas and the political developments that have inevitably had a major influence on filmmaking in the region. | |
| ARTR 3559 | New Course in Arabic in Translation (1 - 4) |
| This course is meant to work with students on major works of Arabic literature in English translation | |
| ARTR 5245 | Arabic Literary Delights (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | In this course we will focus specifically on the literary representation of and socio-cultural/theosophical debate on humor, pleasantry, wit, frivolity, eating, feasting, banquets crashing, dietetics, erotology, aphrodisiacs, sexual education and hygiene. We will organize the course around selected readings from a variety of premodern Arabic jocular, culinary and erotological literature available in English translations. |
| ARTR 5290 | Modern Arabic Literature in Translation (3) |
| Introduction to the development and themes of modern Arabic literature (poetry, short stories, novels, and plays). Taught in English. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 | |
| ARTR 5350 | Introduction to Arab Women's Literature (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | A comprehensive overview of contemporary Arab women's literature, this course examines all Arab women's literary genres starting from personal letters, memoirs, speeches, poetry, fiction, drama, to journalistic articles and interviews. Selected texts cover various geographic locales and theoretical perspectives. Special emphasis will be given to the issues of Arab female authorship, subjectivity theory, and to the question of Arab Feminism. Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2015, Fall 2013 |
| ARTR 5450 | Global Masterpieces from the Classical Islamicate World: A Comparative Appr (3) |
| This course explores the literary masterworks of some of the most celebrated authors of the classical Islamicate world (500-1500). Drawing on both classical Arabic-Islamic and modern Western theories, we will further form comparative insights into the poetics and politics of the humanist topics encountered across our literary journeys into the rich corpus of Arabic-Islamic adab (belles-lettres). Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| ARTR 5490 | Arab Cinemas (3) |
| The course will concentrate on cinemas of Egypt, the Maghrib (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) as well as Syrian and Palestinian films. It will examine major moments in the history of these cinemas and the political developments that have inevitably had a major influence on filmmaking in the region. | |
| ARTR 5559 | New Course in Arabic in Translation (1 - 4) |
| This course is meant to work with students on major works of Arabic literature in English translation. Course was offered Fall 2018 | |
| Hebrew | |
| HEBR 116 | Intensive Introductory Hebrew (0) |
| This is the non-credit option for HEBR 1016. | |
| HEBR 126 | Intensive Introductory Hebrew (0) |
| This is the non-credit option for HEBR 1026. | |
| HEBR 216 | intensive intermediate Hebrew (0) |
| This is the non-credit option for HEBR 2016. | |
| HEBR 226 | Intensive Intermediate Hebrew (0) |
| This is the non-credit option for HEBR2026. | |
| HEBR 1010 | Introduction to Modern Hebrew I (4) |
| An introduction to the pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and writing system of modern Israeli Hebrew. By the end of this sequence students have mastered the core grammatical principles of Hebrew, along with a basic vocabulary of 1000 words, and they are able to read and understand simple texts and carry out simple conversation. Includes material on Israeli culture, history, and politics. | |
| HEBR 1016 | Intensive Introductory Hebrew (3) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute. | |
| HEBR 1020 | Introduction to Modern Hebrew II (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Prerequisite: HEBR 1010. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| HEBR 1026 | Intensive Introductory Hebrew (3) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute.
Prerequisite: HEBR 1016 or equivalent | |
| HEBR 1410 | Elementary Biblical Hebrew I (3) |
| First half of a year-long introduction to biblical Hebrew, using an innovative language-learning approach. Through communicative activities in an immersive environment, students acquire oral and aural capacities naturally, in Hebrew. These capacities enable students to internalize the language and thus achieve the overall course goal: read simple biblical Hebrew prose with immediate comprehension. No prerequisites. | |
| HEBR 1420 | Elementary Biblical Hebrew II (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Second half of a year-long introduction to biblical Hebrew, using an innovative language-learning approach. Through communicative activities in an immersive environment, students acquire oral and aural capacities naturally, internalize the language, and efficiently develop the ability to read biblical Hebrew prose with immediate comprehension. Students read the prose portions of the Book of Jonah and master basic Hebrew grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. Prerequisite: HEBR/RELJ 1410 or the equivalent. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| HEBR 2010 | Intermediate Modern Hebrew (4) |
| Continuation of the study of the fundamentals of grammar, with special attention to verb conjugation, noun declension, and syntactic structure, and their occurrence in texts which deal with modern Israeli culture and values. These texts, which include excerpts from newspapers and fiction, introduce 600 new words and expose the learner to political and other issues of modern Israel. Prerequisite: HEBR 1020 with grade of C or above, or instructor permission. | |
| HEBR 2016 | Intensive Intermediate Hebrew (3) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in intermediate level oral expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute.
Prerequisite: HEBR 1016 & 1026 or equivalent | |
| HEBR 2020 | Intermediate Modern Hebrew (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Prerequisite: HEBR 1020 with grade of C or above, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| HEBR 2026 | Intensive Intermediate Hebrew (3) |
| This intensive course begins with instruction in intermediate level oral expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute.
Prerequisite: HEBR 1016, 1026 & 2016 or equivalent | |
| HEBR 2410 | Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I (3) |
| Readings in the prose narratives of the Hebrew Bible. Emphasizes grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. Attention to issues of translation and interpretation. Prerequisite: HEBR/RELJ 1420 or the equivalent | |
| HEBR 2420 | Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Readings in the poetry of the Hebrew Bible. Emphasizes grammar, vocabulary, and poetics. Attention to issues of translation and interpretation. Prerequisite: HEBR/RELJ 2410 or the equivalent Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| HEBR 3010 | Advanced Modern Hebrew I (3) |
| This course focuses on the conjugation of weak, or hollow verbs, and the passive of all conjugations. It also continues the study of subordinate clauses with special attention to adverbial clauses and their use. Texts for the course, which form the basis for class discussion in Hebrew and exercises in Hebrew composition, are drawn from various genres. Prerequisite: HEBR 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| HEBR 3020 | Advanced Modern Hebrew II (3) |
| Prerequisite: HEBR 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| HEBR 4993 | Independent Study in Hebrew (1 - 3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Independent study for advanced students of Hebrew. Prerequisite: Instructor permission. Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Janiuary 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2009 |
| HEBR 8993 | Independent Study in Hebrew (1 - 3) |
| Students whose proficiency in Modern Hebrew has already reached the advanced level, or alternatively students who for their research focus on Hebrew Literature in translation, will pursue an independent study that will focus on the reading and interpretation of texts, as well as the analysis of media.
Prerequisite: HEBR 3010 Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014 | |
| Hebrew in Translation | |
| HETR 3559 | New Course in Hebrew Translation (1 - 4) |
| The course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Hebrew Translation. Course was offered Fall 2009 | |
| History-Middle Eastern History | |
| HIME 1001T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Artistic, Interpretive, and HIMEosophical Inquiry. | |
| HIME 1002T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Cultures and HIMEieties of the World. | |
| HIME 1003T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to HIMEorical Perspectives. | |
| HIME 1004T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to HIMEial and Economic Systems. | |
| HIME 1005T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Chemical, HIMEematical, and HIMEical Inquiry | |
| HIME 1006T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Living Systems. | |
| HIME 1007T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Science and HIMEiety | |
| HIME 1501 | Introductory Seminar in Middle East History (3) |
| Introduces the study of history intended for first- or second-year students. Seminars involve reading, discussing, and writing about different historical topics and periods, and emphasize the enhancement of critical and communication skills. Not more than two Introductory Seminars may be counted toward the major in history. | |
| HIME 1559 | New Course in Middle Eastern History (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern History | |
| HIME 2001 | The Making of the Islamic World (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Explores the history of the Middle East and North Africa from late antiquity to the rise to superpower status of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Topics include the formation of Islam and the first Arab-Islamic conquests; the fragmentation of the empire of the caliphate; the historical development of Islamic social, legal, and political institutions; science and philosophy; and the impact of invaders (Turks, Crusaders, and Mongols). |
| HIME 2002 | The Making of the Modern Middle East (3) |
| What historical processes that have shaped the Middle East of today? This course focuses on the history of a region stretching from Morocco in the West and Afghanistan in the East over the period of roughly 1500 to the present. In doing so, we examine political, social, and cultural history through the lens of "media" in translation, such as manuscripts, memoirs, maps, travel narratives, novels, films, music, internet media, and more. Course was offered Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Summer 2020, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Summer 2018, Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| HIME 2003 | Markets and the Making of the Muslim World (3) |
| This course is designed to introduce students to the economic history of the Islamic World over the duration of roughly 1300 years of history. We explore ideologies, institutions, and practices of commerce in Muslim society, paying close attention to the actors, artifacts, and encounters, that gave it shape over the course of a millennium, ending with the onset of Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. | |
| HIME 2010 | Modern History of Palestine/Israel (3) |
| "This course surveys the history of modern Palestine/Israel. Part I focuses on the Ottoman Empire, early Zionist settlement, British rule, and the Holocaust. Part II focuses on the 1948 War, known as the Israeli ""War of Independence"" and the Palestinian ""Nakba"" (Catastrophe). Part III addresses the Palestinian refugee crisis, ongoing wars between Israel and Arab states, Israeli and Palestinian societies today, and Israeli-Arab peace initiatives." Course was offered Fall 2023 | |
| HIME 2012 | Israel/Palestine 1948 (3) |
| This course explores the dramatic Arab-Israeli war of 1948 in Palestine from the UN partition resolution of November 29, 1947 to the cease-fire agreements in early 1949. It covers the political, military progression of the war, within international and decolonization contexts, while paying special attention to the two major outcomes of the war and how they came about: Jewish independence and Palestinian dispossession. Course was offered Fall 2021, Fall 2017, Fall 2015, Summer 2015, January 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Spring 2011 | |
| HIME 2559 | New Course in Middle Eastern History (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern History. | |
| HIME 3191 | Christianity and Islam (3) |
| Studies Christianity in the Middle East in the centuries after the rise of Islam. | |
| HIME 3192 | From Nomads to Sultans: the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1700 (3) |
| A survey of the history of the Ottoman Empire from its obscure origins around 1300 to 1700, this course explores the political, military, social, and cultural history of this massive, multi-confessional, multi-ethnic, inter-continental empire which, at its height, encompassed Central and Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and North Africa. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 | |
| HIME 3195 | Arabian Seas: Islam, Trade and Empire in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean (3) |
| Rather than a traditional "area studies" approach to Middle Eastern history, we will explore the region's history from its maritime frontiers: the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. We explore how nobles, merchants, slaves, sailors, and statesmen all forged the contours of a shared world, linking the economic and political histories of Arabia, Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Course was offered Spring 2018 | |
| HIME 3221 | Zionism and the Creation of the State of Israel (3) |
| This course seeks to comprehend Israel's origins and development from the rise of Zionism to creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Major topics of discussion include the Jewish national movement; the development of Jewish settlement in Ottoman and British Palestine (the Yishuv); the origins of the Arab-Jewish conflict; the emergence of a local Hebrew culture; the struggle for statehood; and the war of 1948. | |
| HIME 3501 | Introductory History Workshop (3) |
| Required for history majors, to be completed before enrollment in the Major Seminar. Introduces a variety of approaches to the study of history, methods for finding and analyzing primary and secondary sources, and the construction of historical arguments. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics each term. | |
| HIME 3559 | New Course in Middle Eastern History (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern History. | |
| HIME 3571 | Arab History at the Movies (3) |
| This interdisciplinary course uses cinema as a vehicle to introduce students without a knowledge of Arabic to the perspectives of Arab peoples on their own history. Includes popular movies on the rise of Islam, Crusades, World War I, colonialism, modern city life, women's liberation,war, terrorism. Students read relevant history and learn critical theory on collective memory, propaganda, modernity, revolution, and gender. | |
| HIME 4501 | Seminar in Middle East and North Africa History (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | The major seminar is a small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topic of the seminar. The work of the seminar results primarily in the preparation of a substantial (ca. 25 pages in standard format) research paper. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies. |
| HIME 4511 | Colloquium in Middle East History (4) |
| The major colloquium is a small class (not more than 15 students) intended primarily but not exclusively for history majors who have completed two or more courses relevant to the topics of the colloquium. Colloquia are most frequently offered in areas of history where access to source materials or linguistic demands make seminars especially difficult. Students in colloquia prepare about 25 pages of written work distributed among various assignments. Some restrictions and prerequisites apply to enrollment. See a history advisor or the director of undergraduate studies. Course was offered Spring 2020, Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| HIME 4559 | New Course in Middle Eastern History (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern History. | |
| HIME 4993 | Independent Study in Middle Eastern History (1 - 3) |
| In exceptional circumstances and with the permission of a faculty member any student may undertake a rigorous program of independent study designed to explore a subject not currently being taught or to expand upon regular offerings. Independent Study projects may not be used to replace regularly scheduled classes. Open to majors or non-majors. Course was offered Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| HIME 5052 | World War I in the Middle East (3) |
| World War I set the stage for many conflicts in the 20th-century Middle East. This course examines the last attempt to build a pluralistic, constitutional realm under the Ottoman empire; how that world crumbled in the Balkan wars and Great War; the Young Turks' relations with Germany; Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt; the Armenian genocide; women and peasants' suffering; the Balfour Declaration and start of the Palestine conflict. | |
| HIME 5053 | Slavery in the Middle East and Ottoman Empire (3) |
| This course explores the practice of slavery in its various forms in the Middle East and North Africa from pre-Islamic times through the abolition of the slave trade in the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire. Topics include: sources of slaves and the slave trade; manumission; the social and legal position of slaves in Islamic societies; the slave-soldier phenomenon; captivity and ransom; gender and race; and the movement towards abolition. Prerequisite: Graduate students and advanced undergraduates with previous study of the Middle East. Course was offered Spring 2017 | |
| HIME 5559 | New Course in Middle Eastern History (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern History. Course was offered Spring 2015 | |
| HIME 7011 | History and Historiography of the Middle East, ca. 570-1500 (3) |
| Introduces the history and historiography of the medieval Middle East and North Africa (areas from Morocco to Iran) from the period immediately preceding the rise of Islam until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. Primarily a readings-and-discussion colloquium devoted to political, social, economic, and cultural evolution of the regions and peoples situated in arid and semi-arid zones stretching from Gibraltar to the Oxus River. After surveying the general contours of the field, and isolating the principal scholarly approaches to it, the course proceeds chronologically, starting with the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in the 6th century and concluding with assessment of the Turkic-Mongolian impact upon the historical configuration of the regions. Prerequisite: HIME 2001. | |
| HIME 7021 | History and Historiography of the Middle East, ca. 1500-Present (3) |
| Introduces the history and historiography of the early modern and modern Middle East and North Africa from the period of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires until the emergence of a system of nation-states in the 20th century. Primarily a readings-and-discussion colloquium devoted to the political, social, economic, and cultural history of the region. Prerequisite: HIME 2001, 2002, or HIME 7011. | |
| HIME 7031 | Colonialism and Nation-Building in the Arab World (3) |
| Debate on the effects of European colonial rule has been revived in the decade since the United States occupied Iraq. We W engage the debate by studying the effect of foreign rule on one region, the Arab world: French and British colonization of Algeria and Egypt in the long 19th-century; the League of Nations' mandates in Syria and Iraq after World War I; and finally Americans' effort to rebuild the Iraqi state since 2003.
Prerequisite: One prior course on colonialism or on Arab history Course was offered Spring 2013 | |
| HIME 7559 | New Course in Middle Eastern History (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern History. Course was offered Spring 2012 | |
| HIME 9021 | Oil and Capital in the Middle East (3) |
| This tutorial explores the remaking of politics, economy, and ecology in the Middle East from the late 19th century onward. While international relations and corporations play a role in the scholarship of the 20th century Middle East, we seek to understand local dimensions of oil and capital as well, focusing less on the geopolitical context and more on the socioeconomic impacts of changing economic and energy regimes. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2021 | |
| HIME 9023 | Tutorial in the History of the Medieval Middle East and North Africa (3) |
| This tutorial surveys the historiography of the medieval Middle East and North Africa (broadly construed), from pre-Islamic Arabia through the Ottoman conquest of the Mamluk Sultanate, which reunified the eastern half of the Mediterranean for the first time in a millennium. Readings introduce the major dynasties between Iberia and Central Asia, from the Umayyads to the Ottomans, and the seminal texts that have shaped the field. | |
| HIME 9024 | Tutorial in Ottoman Society (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This tutorial explores diverse themes in the social and cultural environmental history of the Ottoman Empire, placing special emphasis on the transformation of Ottoman society from the 18th century onward. |
| HIME 9027 | Tutorial in Ottoman History to c 1820 (3) |
| This tutorial surveys the history and historiography of the Ottoman Empire from its obscure origins through the 18th century. Initial readings introduce major historiographical debates and political, military, and institutional history of the Empire, before moving into the historiography of the 16-18th centuries and current trends in multiple sub-fields. Specific works read and discussed will be shaped in part by interests of students enrolled. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023 | |
| HIME 9993 | Independent Study (1 - 4) |
| Students taking this course will explore areas and issues of special interest that are not otherwise covered in the graduate curriculum. This course is offered at the discretion of the supervising professor. Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Cultures | |
| MESA 1000 | From Genghis Khan to Stalin: Invasions and Empires of Central Asia (3) |
| Survey of Central Asian civilizations from the first to the twenty-first centuries, with particular emphasis on nomadism, invasions, conquests, and major religious-cultural developments. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| MESA 1001T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Artistic, Interpretive, and Philosophical Inquiry. | |
| MESA 1002T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Cultures and Societies of the World. | |
| MESA 1003T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to MESAorical Perspectives. | |
| MESA 1004T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Social and Economic Systems. | |
| MESA 1005T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Chemical, MESAematical, and Physical Inquiry | |
| MESA 1006T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Living Systems. | |
| MESA 1007T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Science and Society | |
| MESA 1559 | New Course in Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern and South Asian studies. Course was offered Fall 2018 | |
| MESA 2010 | Literatures of South Asia and the Middle East (3) |
| An introductory course in non-Western literatures that emphasizes genres with no clear Western equivalents. The reading list varies, but the texts, read in translation, usually come from Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit, Tamil and Urdu. | |
| MESA 2110 | Intro to Middle East / South Asia Film History (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | "Transnational Circuits of Cinema: An Introduction to Middle East - South Asia Film History" - Since its very inception as a traveling fairground attraction, cinema has been a globally-circulating medium. This course begins in the moment of early cinema and proceeds through the contemporary moment, with a focus on Middle East - South Asia genealogies of filmmaking. |
| MESA 2125 | Gateway to the Middle East & South Asia (3) |
| From the ancient history of games like chess and backgammon, to sports like badminton and falconry, to the "Great Game" of imperial conquests, this course offers a theme-based gateway to the long-connected regions of the Middle East and South Asia. Over the semester, we'll explore this region of the world through short stories, films, tv shows, games themselves, and cameo visits by other faculty--all on the topic of "playing games"! | |
| MESA 2300 | Crossing Borders: Middle East and South Asia (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Survey of the Indian Ocean history from 8000 BCE to present. Includes rise of major religions in the area, dynamics of trade, including the influence of European expansion and the resistance to it. |
| MESA 2350 | Women and Media in the Middle East and South Asia (3) |
| In this course we will study depictions and images of women in news media in selected countries (Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan) as well as in the American media. We will especially compare images of women in mainstream news media with those available in online media channels or social news networks. We will also examine the changing status of women journalists worldwide, with a special focus on their role in the Arab Spring. Course was offered Spring 2013 | |
| MESA 2360 | Women and Social Media in the Middle East and South Asia (3) |
| Women in the Middle East and South Asia have embraced social media as a tool for expressing their identities and promoting causes important to them. This course examines women's use of social media in five selected countries -Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and Pakistan - and investigates how it simultaneously enables and limits women's empowerment. | |
| MESA 2559 | New Course in Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | New course in Middle Eastern and South Asian studies. Course was offered Fall 2022, Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011 |
| MESA 2700 | Recent Revolutions in the Islamic World (3) |
| This introductory course surveys recent revolutionary movements sweeping across the Islamic World, from North Africa, the Middle East into Asia, including the "Arab Spring." Key course questions include: Why rebel? Why now? What for? How? Are they spreading, failing, or being 'hijacked?' What roles have external actors played? What would Jefferson think? Course was offered Spring 2017, January 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Summer 2015, Fall 2014, Summer 2014, Fall 2013 | |
| MESA 3010 | Men and Women of South Asia and the Middle East (3) |
| Focuses on literature of South Asia and the Middle East (Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit) which depicts the world as seen through the eyes of men and women; includes poetry and prose from ancient to modern times. | |
| MESA 3110 | Sustainable Environments Middle East and South Asia (3) |
| From arid cities to irrigated fields, hot deserts to high mountains, the Middle East and South Asia encompasses a range of environments for thinking through the relationships between nature and society, people and animals, human and nonhuman worlds. | |
| MESA 3111 | Film Festivals and Global Media Cultures: ME/SA Spotlight (3) |
| "Film Festivals and Global Media Cultures: Middle East- South Asia Spotlight"- With an emphasis on transnational film festival histories and collective media cultures in the Middle East and South Asia, this course offers a semester-long study of film festivals, as an intersection of historical and media industry approaches to cinema. Tie-ins will include comparative analyses of local film cultures and film festivals. | |
| MESA 3120 | Classics of Islamic Literature: Islamic Mystical Writing (3) |
| This course surveys the classics of Islamic mystical writing, spanning from the Middle East to South Asia and the Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Indian vernacular languages. With an eye to both form and content, we will examine the literary productions - both poetry and prose - of some of the most influential Sufi figures in Islamic history, including Rabi`a, Ibn al-Farid, Rumi, Hafiz, Khusrow, Bulleh Shah, and others. Readings in English translation. Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2017 | |
| MESA 3345 | Islam, Science, and the Environment (3) |
| Part one surveys the history of science in the Islamic world, focusing on scientific developments that emerged from the encounter with Greek, Sanskrit, and European cultures. Muslim conceptions of the relationship between science and religion will also be examined. Part two explores contemporary Islamic scientific thought, focusing on Muslim responses to the environmental crisis, utilizing water pollution and India's Yamuna River as a case study. Course was offered Spring 2022 | |
| MESA 3380 | A Thousand and One Nights at the Cinema (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course is devoted to the longstanding screen histories of A Thousand and One Nights. We will investigate the way in which the text has variously congealed into a cinematic genre in its own right; a catapult for explorations of the fantastic, iterated as the wonders of technology/medium and sensuality; a contested site of negotiating Orientalist desires and stereotypes; and a platform for reflection upon the question of storytelling itself. |
| MESA 3381 | Spies in Action: Cine-Media Worlds of Espionage (3) |
| This course explores the cinematic and media worlds of fictional spies. We'll consider histories of espionage and zoom in on the Cold-War-era heyday of modern espionage and fictional spies. By following the narrative, formal, and historical geographies of spy genres in and beyond the Middle East and South Asia, we'll connect depictions of espionage and gadgetry to perspectives on seeing and being in the modern world. | |
| MESA 3470 | Language and Culture in the Middle East (3) |
| This course provides an introduction to the peoples, cultures, and histories of the Middle East through an examination of language-use. We focus on Israel/Palestine--and the contact between Hebrew and Arabic--as a microcosm for the region as a whole. Readings present ethnographic, linguistic, and literary perspectives on language, identity, and the general processes of SELF/OTHER constructions in contexts of political and military confrontation. Prerequisites: previous coursework in Anthropology, Linguistics, or Middle East Studies. | |
| MESA 3559 | New Course in Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies (3) |
| New Course in Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies | |
| MESA 3650 | Introduction to Linguistic Typology (3) |
| Human languages appear on the surface to be very different from one another. Closer examination reveals that languages differ in systematic ways and that more than half of them can be divided into a relatively small number of basic types. In this course we will identify and study some of these basic patterns and explore possible reasons for their existence. The course will introduce students to basic grammatical structure and function. | |
| MESA 4559 | New Course in Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies (3) |
| New Course (or Topic) in Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies. Course was offered Fall 2016, Spring 2016 | |
| MESA 4991 | Four-Year Major Seminar (3) |
| Required capstone course that studies the Middle East and South Asia from a diversity of perspectives--languages, literatures, anthropology, history, politics, and religion. Prerequisite: fourth-year standing, major in Middle Eastern Studies or in South Asian Studies | |
| MESA 4993 | Independent Study (1 - 3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Independent study in a special field under the direction of a faculty member in MESALC. Prerequisite: Instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2009 |
| MESA 4998 | Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies Senior Thesis (0) |
| Thesis research under the direction of a MESALC faculty member serving as thesis advisor and a second faculty member serving as second reader. The second faculty member may be from outside MESALC.
Prerequisite: DMP major and instructor permission. | |
| MESA 4999 | Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies Senior Thesis II (6) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Thesis composition under the direction of a MESALC faculty member serving as thesis advisor and a second faculty member serving as second reader. The second faculty member may be from outside MESALC.
Prerequisite: DMP major and instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 |
| MESA 5110 | Transnational Circuits of Cinema, Middle East-South Asia Film History (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course begins in the era of early cinema and proceeds through the contemporary moment, with a focus on Middle East -- South Asia genealogies of filmmaking. Its emphasis remains on the quintessentially transnational histories (parallels, intersections, circuits) of these cinemas - e.g., the centrality of popular Egyptian cinema within the Arab world; the prolific circulation of Hindi cinema across and beyond South Asia. |
| MESA 5120 | Classics of Islamic Literature: Islamic Mystical Writing (3) |
| This course surveys the classics of Islamic mystical writing, spanning from the Middle East to South Asia and the Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Indian vernacular languages. With an eye to both form and content, we will examine the literary productions -- both poetry and prose -- of some of the most influential Sufi figures in Islamic history, including Rabi'a, Ibn al-Farid, Rumi, Hafiz, Khusrow, Bulleh Shah, and others. Readings in English translation. Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2017 | |
| MESA 5559 | New Course in Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies (3) |
| New Course in Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies | |
| MESA 6559 | New Course in Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies (3) |
| New course in Middle Eastern and South Asian studies. | |
| MESA 8993 | Independent Study II (1 - 3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Independent Study II Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Summer 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Summer 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Summer 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| MESA 8995 | MA Research Seminar (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Required course for all candidates for the Master of Arts in Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies. During this course the final paper, required for the MA, is written. Includes instruction in research methodology, data analysis and a history of academic research on these areas. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Summer 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Summer 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Summer 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Summer 2010, Fall 2009 |
| MESA 8998 | Non-Topical Research, Preparation for MA Research (1 - 12) |
| For master's research, taken before a thesis director has been selected. | |
| MESA 8999 | Non-Topical Research, MA (1 - 12) |
| For master's thesis, taken under the supervision of a thesis director. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010 | |
| Middle Eastern Studies | |
| MEST 1100 | Introduction to the Middle East (3) |
| Introduces Middle Eastern economy and environment, society, gender issues, history and politics, secularism-law-religion, languages and literatures, music and the visual arts. Emphasizes the Ottoman, colonial, and post-colonial periods. | |
| MEST 2270 | Culture and Society of the Contemporary Arab Middle East (3) |
| Introduces the cultural traits and patterns of contemporary Arab society based on scholarly research, recent field work, and personal experiences and observations in the Arab world. Taught in English; no knowledge of Arabic is required. | |
| MEST 2280 | A Guide to Medieval Baghdad (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | The course will introduce students to the political history of Abbasid Baghdad from 762 to about 1300 CE. The Abbasids -- monarchs of the Arab/Islamic Empire -- reigned for 500 years, mostly from Baghdad, though many historians hold that their decision-making authority largely collapsed by the mid-10th century. The course will also introduce students to the study of early Arabic/Islamic historiography through the close study of primary texts. |
| MEST 2450 | Languages of Nationhood: Sociolinguistics in Israel (3) |
| This course looks at the social life of languages in Israel. Beginning historically with the philosophical debates about language, identity, and nationhood swirling around the 19th century European Jewish communities, we examine how the revival of Hebrew contributed to the establishment of the Israeli state in the 20th century, and how processes of language change have influenced political and aesthetic life in Israel today. Course was offered Spring 2021 | |
| MEST 2470 | Reflections of Exile: Jewish Languages and their Communities (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Covers Jewish languages Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic, Ladino, and Hebrew from historical, linguistic, and literary perspectives. Explores the relations between communities and languages, the nature of diaspora, and the death and revival of languages. No prior knowledge of these languages is required. This course is cross-listed with ANTH 2470. |
| MEST 2559 | New Course in Middle Eastern Studies (3) |
| New Course in Middle Eastern Studies | |
| MEST 2600 | Major Dimensions of Classical-Medieval Arab-Islamic Civilization (3) |
| Introducing the cultural dimensions of Classical and Medieval Arab-Islamic Civilization (600-1400 CE). We will study how Arabs approach their worldly life and pleasures through literature; organize their social domain by ethical-law; construct their spirituality and worldview through religion; react to nature by science; and attempt to resolve the internal and external inconsistencies of their culture through theology, philosophy and mysticism. | |
| MEST 2610 | Major Dimensions of the Modern Arab World (3) |
| This class aims to develop an understanding of the global significance of the 330 million Arabs as the fourth largest community in the world and Arabic as the fifth largest spoken language in a historical and thematic manner from the Ottomans (1400 CE) to the present. Course was offered Spring 2014 | |
| MEST 2620 | Aspects of Creativity in Arab-Islamic Heritage:Translated Classical Reading (3) |
| This course aims to expose students to samples of original translated texts from the creative heritage of the Arab-Islamic civilization Course was offered Spring 2015 | |
| MEST 3110 | Women and Middle-Eastern Literatures (3) |
| Explores some of the basic issues of women's identity in Middle Eastern literature. In a variety of readings (poetry, short-story, novel, and autobiography) by men and women, it explores both the image and presence of women in a rich and too-often neglected literature. | |
| MEST 3131 | Macho Men and Submissive Women (?): Gender in Contemporary Hebrew Fiction (3) |
| Examining representations of gender, this course will analyze novels written by major Jewish-Israeli authors, both women and men, in order to understand the contemporary struggle of Jewish-Israeli society with issues of gender. | |
| MEST 3225 | Cultural Authenticity in a Modern Middle Eastern Society (3) |
| The course offers students a first-hand regional experience in the Middle East through an exploration of multiple sites in Jordan. Throughout the program, students will be gaining knowledge about the multi-ethnic and pluralistic components that comprise the Jordanian society. In turn, participation in the course will develop students' cultural competence, and thus contribute to their ability to become thoughtful global citizens. | |
| MEST 3240 | Israel/Palestine Through Literature and Film (3) |
| This course will approach the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of literature and film. We will study memoirs, short stories, documentaries, and feature films in order to think about several broader historical themes, including: the relationship between religion and nationalism, the role of colonialism in the Middle East, the links between history and memory, and the meaning of homeland. Course was offered Fall 2024 | |
| MEST 3282 | The Ottoman Empire: State, Society, Culture (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | In this course, we will examine the history of the Ottoman Empire through social, political and cultural changes and transformations. We will do this through concepts and phenomena such as state and empire formation, capitalism, class struggle, imperialism, colonialism, orientalism, nationalism, nation-building, patriarchy, and ethnic engineering. We will discuss each period and theme within a global framework. Course was offered Spring 2024 |
| MEST 3470 | Language and Culture in the Middle East (3) |
| Introduction to peoples, languages, cultures and histories of the Middle East. Focuses on Israel/Palestine as a microcosm of important social processes-such as colonialism, nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and modernization-that affect the region as a whole. This course is cross-listed with ANTH 3470. Prerequisite: Prior coursework in anthropology, middle east studies, or linguistics, or permission of the instructor. | |
| MEST 3490 | Dangerous in Danger: Refuge and Otherness in Times of Crisis (3) |
| In this course, we will examine how the current refugee crisis may be seen as a radical event of a scope that reaches beyond Europe and the Middle East. We will be looking at previously-shaped images of nation, religion, migration, and integration, as well as asylum, refuge, and citizenship. Ultimately, we will be using our newly gained knowledge as a tool to understand cultural inclusion and societal exclusion both "far away" and "at home." Course was offered Spring 2022, Spring 2021 | |
| MEST 3492 | The Afro-Arabs and Africans of the Middle East and North Africa (3) |
| This course offers an in-depth historical, philological, and socio-cultural exploration into the representation of the Afro-Arab and the African as depicted across a wide range of Arabic and Islamicate chronicles, saints' lives, and (mainly) folk epics, among sundry other genres. In the course of the semester, special attention will be given to significant moments in the history of Afro-Arab and Arab-African encounters. | |
| MEST 3559 | New Course in Middle Eastern Studies (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | New course in Middle Eastern Studies. Course was offered Fall 2023, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 |
| MEST 4991 | Middle East Studies Seminar (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Middle East Studies Seminar Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| MEST 5110 | Women and Middle-Eastern Literatures (1 - 3) |
| Explores some of the basic issues of women's identity in Middle Eastern literature. In a variety of readings (poetry, short-story, novel, and autobiography) by men and women, it explores both the image and presence of women in a rich and too-often neglected literature. | |
| MEST 5270 | Culture & Society of Contemp. Arab Mid. East (3) |
| This course will address some of the religious, socio-political, and historical factors that have contributed to the shaping of the Arab Middle East and Arab identity(s) in the modern age. From the rise of Islam in the 7th century A.D., to the Ottoman Empire, to the colonial remapping of the Middle East during the period of the two World Wars,to the Gulf and Iraq wars, this course will help students gain an understanding of modern Arab culture. | |
| MEST 5492 | The Afro-Arabs and Africans of the Middle East and North Africa (3) |
| This course offers an in-depth historical, philological, and socio-cultural exploration into the representation of the Afro-Arab and the African as depicted across a wide range of Arabic and Islamicate chronicles, saints' lives, and folktales, among sundry other genres. In the course of the semester, special attention will be given to significant moments in the history of Afro-Arab and Arab-African encounters. | |
| MEST 5559 | New Course in Middle Eastern Studies (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Middle Eastern studies Course was offered Spring 2019, Fall 2014 | |
| MEST 5620 | The Middle East in Ethnographic Perspective (3) |
| Survey of the anthropological literature on the Middle East & N. Africa. Begins historically with traditional writing on the 'middle east' and proceeds to critiques of this tradition and attempts at new ways of constructing knowledge of this world region. Readings juxtapose theoretical and descriptive work toward critically appraising modern writers' success in overcoming the critiques leveled against their predecessors. Course was offered Spring 2013 | |
| MEST 6600 | Major Dimensions of Classical-Medieval Arab-Islamic Civilization (3) |
| Introducing the cultural dimensions of Classical and Medieval Arab-Islamic Civilization (600 - 1400 CE). We will study how Arabs approach their worldly life and pleasures through literature; organize their social domain by ethical-law; construct their spirituality and worldview through religion; react to nature by science; and attempt to resolve the internal and external inconsistencies of their culture through theology, philosophy and mysticism. | |
| MEST 6610 | Major Dimensions of the Modern Arab World (3) |
| This class aims to develop an understanding of the global significance of the 330 million Arabs as the fourth largest community in the world and Arabic as the fifth largest spoken language in a historical and thematic manner from the Ottomans (1400 CE) to the present. Course was offered Spring 2014 | |
| MEST 6620 | Aspects of Creativity in Arab-Islamic Heritage:Translated Classical Reading (3) |
| This course aims to expose students to samples of original translated texts from the creative heritage of the Arab-Islamic civilization Course was offered Spring 2015 | |
| Pashto | |
| PASH 1010 | Elementary Pashto I (4) |
| Develops listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Pashto. PASH 1010 and PASH 1020 enable students to successfully perform linguistic tasks that allow them to communicate in everyday situations (e.g., greeting, narrating, describing, ordering, comparing and contrasting, and apologizing). Five class hours per week. Followed by PASH 1020. | |
| PASH 1020 | Elementary Pashto II (4) |
| Develops listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Pashto. PASH 1010 and PASH 1020 enable students to successfully perform linguistic tasks that allow them to communicate in everyday situations (e.g., greeting, narrating, describing, ordering, comparing and contrasting, and apologizing). Five class hours per week. Followed by PASH 2010. Prerequisites: C or better in PASH 1010, or permission of the instructor. | |
| PASH 2010 | Intermediate Pashto I (4) |
| Further develops the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Pashto. PASH 2010 enables students to successfully perform linguistic tasks that allow them to communicate in everyday situations (e.g., narrating present, past and future activities, and expressing hopes, desires, and requests). Students also read journalistic and literary selections designed for Pashto speakers. Four class hours. Followed by PASH 2020. Prerequisites: C or better in PASH 1020, or permission of the instructor. | |
| PASH 2020 | Intermediate Pashto II (4) |
| Further develops the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Pashto. PASH 2020 enables students to successfully perform linguistic tasks that allow them to communicate in everyday situations (e.g., narrating present, past and future activities, and expressing hopes, desires, and requests). Students also read journalistic and literary selections designed for Pashto speakers. Four class hours. Prerequisites: C or better in PASH 2010, or permission of the instructor. | |
| Persian | |
| PERS 1010 | Elementary Persian (4) |
| Introductory language sequence focusing on reading, writing, comprehending, and speaking modern Persian through audio-lingual methods. Persian grammar is introduced through sentence patterns in the form of dialogues and monologues. | |
| PERS 1020 | Elementary Persian (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Introductory language sequence focusing on reading, writing, comprehending, and speaking modern Persian through audio-lingual methods. Persian grammar is introduced through sentence patterns in the form of dialogues and monologues. Prerequisite: PERS 1010 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Summer 2013, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Summer 2010, Spring 2010 |
| PERS 1060 | Accelerated Persian (4) |
| This course is designed for Persian heritage students who many know spoken language to some extent, but they have not been exposed to formal or written language. It covers two semesters of Elementary Persian; emphasizing reading and writing skills, and the grammar of the language. Course was offered Spring 2016 | |
| PERS 2010 | Intermediate Persian (4) |
| Each course focuses on the development of reading, writing, and speaking skills. Special attention is paid to reading comprehension using selections from classical and modern Persian prose and poetry, preparing students for advanced studies in Indo-Persian language and literature. Prerequisite: PERS 1020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| PERS 2020 | Intermediate Persian (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Each course focuses on the development of reading, writing, and speaking skills. Special attention is paid to reading comprehension using selections from classical and modern Persian prose and poetry, preparing students for advanced studies in Indo-Persian language and literature. Prerequisite: PERS 1020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| PERS 3010 | Advanced Persian I (3) |
| This course is designed to introduce the students to the world of Persian prose literature. We will read a variety of prose genre. We will look at the semantics, morphology, and syntax and analyze the topic vis-à-vis these aspects. Prerequisite: PERS 2020 or equivalent | |
| PERS 3019 | Language House Conversation (1) |
| For students residing in the Persian group in Shea House. Prerequisite: instructor permission. | |
| PERS 3020 | Advanced Persian (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | The goal of this course is to increase student's efficiency in reading modern texts; ranging from literary prose fiction to news media excerpts, to poetry. although the students will be expected to learn grammatical structures emphasis will be placed on the functional usage of the language and on communication in context. Prerequisites: Persian 3010 or instructor's permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2013, Spring 2011 |
| PERS 3029 | Language House Conversation (1) |
| For students residing in the Persian group in Shea House. Prerequisite: instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| PERS 3230 | Introduction to Classical Persian Literature (3) |
| A comprehensive, historical introduction to Persian poetry and prose from the 10th to the 18th centuries. Emphasizing the history and development of Persian poetry and prose, this advanced-level language course introduces various formal elements of Persian literary tradition. It analyzes literary texts and explores the linguistic structure, fine grammatical points, and syntactic intricacies of classical Persian. Prerequisite: PERS 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| PERS 3559 | New Course in Persian (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Persian. Course was offered Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2011, Fall 2009 | |
| PERS 4993 | Independent Study in Persian (1 - 3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Independent study for advanced students of Persian. Prerequisite: Instructor permission. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2019, Spring 2019, Summer 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Summer 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Summer 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2009 |
| PERS 5020 | Readings in Modern Persian Prose Fiction (3) |
| Examines the works of this century's major writers, focusing on the development of modern Persian fiction as it reflects a changing society. Improves Persian reading ability and familiarity with Iran, its people, and its culture. Prerequisite: PERS 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2013, Spring 2011 | |
| PERS 5230 | Introduction to Classical Persian Literature (3) |
| A comprehensive, historical introduction to Persian poetry and prose from the 10th to the 18th centuries. Emphasizing the history and development of Persian poetry and prose, this advanced-level language course introduces various formal elements of Persian literary tradition. It analyzes literary texts and explores the linguistic structure, fine grammatical points, and syntactic intricacies of classical Persian. Prerequisite: PERS 2020 or equiv. | |
| PERS 5559 | New Course in Persian (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Persian. | |
| PERS 7559 | New Course in Persian (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Persian.
Prerequisite: PERS 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission Course was offered Fall 2013 | |
| PERS 8993 | Independent Study in Persian (1 - 3) |
| Independent study for advanced students of Persian. Prerequisite: Instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| Persian in Translation | |
| PETR 2559 | New Course in Persian Translation (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic int he subject area of Persian Translation. Course was offered Spring 2020 | |
| PETR 3125 | #MahsaAmini: Revolution and Media (3) |
| This course examines the role of media in the formation, development, and outcomes of revolutions. Cases of the Iran Revolution of 2022, the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the Constitutional Revolution of early 20th century will be discussed in depth and the part media played in the dissemination of ideas, news, propaganda, etc. in these socio-political movements will be explored. Course was offered Fall 2023 | |
| PETR 3131 | Love, Lust, and the Divine in Persian Literature (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course aims to introduce students to Persian literature¿s contribution to global humanism through poetry and poetics. We'll explore how Persian romance novels in verse (masnavi) engage with themes like love, desire, beauty, and the Divine, and how these themes intersect with gender, religion, society, ethics, womanhood, and leadership. The main focus will be the narrative content, the poets' arguments, and the issues they raise |
| PETR 3220 | Twentieth-Century Persian Literature in Translation (3) |
| Introduces modern Persian literature in the context of Iranian society and civilization. Lectures and discussions follow the development of modern Persian poetry and prose, and trace the influence of Western and other literature, as well as Iranian literary and cultural heritage, on the works of contemporary Iranian writers. Facilitates understanding of contemporary Iran, especially its people, both individually and collectively, with their particular problems and aspirations in the twentieth-century world. Taught in English. | |
| PETR 3320 | Life Narratives & Iranian Women Writers (3) |
| This seminar examines life narratives and other forms of literary output by Iranian women writers. We will examine the ways these writers have desegregated a predominantly all-male literary tradition, as well as their arrival at the forefront of a bloodless social movement. Some of the genres to be investigated include novels, short stories, poetry, autobiographies, memoirs, and films. | |
| PETR 3322 | The Life and Poetry of Forugh Farrokhzad (3) |
| This course focuses on the life and art of Forugh Farrokhzad in a spectrum of genres that includes poetry, travel narratives, literary criticism, essays, and films by and about her. Although from the beginning of her literary career, Farrokhzad was a daring, often irreverent explorer of taboo topics, she was also deeply rooted in the Iranian culture. We study the body of her work to better understand Iran in the 1950-60s | |
| PETR 3340 | Poetics of Existentialist Persian Literature (3) |
| The existentialist literature of the Persian-speaking world has been a source of inspiration of poetics for the entire Middle East region. The objective of this course is the study of cognitive nuances embedded in the thematic and linguistic structure of Persian existentialist literature. Course was offered Spring 2013 | |
| PETR 3342 | Life Narrative & Iranian Women Writers (3) |
| While women's autobiography has attracted growing scholarly attention as an evolving literary form, sustained scholarly study of the genre has largely focused on women's autobiography in Europe and North America, with only a small group of isolated scholars addressing women's autobiography in Islamic societies in general and Iran in particular. This course studies the genealogy and evolution of the genre. | |
| PETR 3345 | Revolution and Social Reform: Iran's Political Cinema (3) |
| In this course, we study the experimental cinema of post-revolutionary Iran. We will examine issues related to gender, culture and religion, and study film as a gateway into understanding the cultural, historical and political issues in contemporary Iran. Course was offered Spring 2022 | |
| PETR 3360 | Sex and the City: Stories of Love and Desire in Iran and Afghanistan (3) |
| Using a mix of cinema and literature, this course seeks to highlight how personal narratives of love and desire are often more than just individual stories. These stories don't exist in a vacuum; they are underwritten by the influence of politics on personal freedoms, the evolution and impact of gender roles, the tension between tradition and societal change, and the weight of cultural norms and expectations on individual choices. Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| PETR 3559 | New Course in Persian Translation (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic int he subject area of Persian Translation Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| PETR 5125 | #MahsaAmini: Revolution and Media (3) |
| This course examines the role of media in the formation, development, and outcomes of revolutions. Cases of the Iran Revolution of 2022, the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the Constitutional Revolution of early 20th century will be discussed in depth and the part media played in the dissemination of ideas, news, propaganda, etc. in these socio-political movements will be explored. Course was offered Fall 2023 | |
| PETR 5210 | Persian Literature in Translation (3) |
| Reading from the works of major figures in classical Persian literature, especially Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Khayyam, Attar, Mowlavi, Sa'adi, and Hafez, as well as the most important minor writers of each period. Emphasizes the role of the Ma'shuq (the beloved), Mamduh (the praised one), and Ma'bud (the worshiped one) in classical verse, as well as the use of allegory and similar devices in both prose and verse. Taught in English. Course was offered Fall 2011 | |
| PETR 5220 | Twentieth-Century Persian Literature in Translation (3) |
| Introduces modern Persian literature in the context of Iranian society and civilization. Lectures and discussions follow the development of modern Persian poetry and prose, and trace the influence of Western and other literature, as well as Iranian literary and cultural heritage, on the works of contemporary Iranian writers. Facilitates understanding of contemporary Iran, especially its people, both individually and collectively, with their particular problems and aspirations in the twentieth-century world. Taught in English. | |
| PETR 5320 | Life Narratives & Iranian Women Writers (3) |
| This seminar examines life narratives and other forms of literary output by Iranian women writers. We will examine the ways these writers have desegregated a predominantly all-male literary tradition, as well as their arrival at the forefront of a bloodless social movement. Some of the genres to be investigated include novels, short stories, poetry, autobiographies, memoirs, and films. | |
| PETR 5322 | The Life and Poetry of Forugh Farrokhzad (3) |
| This course focuses on the life and art of Forugh Farrokhzad in a spectrum of genres that includes poetry, travel narratives, literary criticism, essays, and films by and about her. Although from the beginning of her literary career, Farrokhzad was a daring, often irreverent explorer of taboo topics, she was also deeply rooted in the Iranian culture. We study the body of her work to better understand Iran in the 1950-60s Course was offered Spring 2015 | |
| PETR 5345 | Revolution & Social Reform: Iran's Political Cinema (3) |
| In this course, we study the experimental cinema of post-revolutionary Iran. We will examine issues related to gender, culture and religion, and study film as a gateway into understanding the cultural, historical and political issues in contemporary Iran. Course was offered Spring 2022, Fall 2020 | |
| PETR 5360 | Sex and the City: Stories of Love and Desire in Iran and Afghanistan (3) |
| Using a mix of cinema and literature, this course seeks to highlight how personal narratives of love and desire are often more than just individual stories. These stories don't exist in a vacuum; they are underwritten by the influence of politics on personal freedoms, the evolution and impact of gender roles, the tension between tradition and societal change, and the weight of cultural norms and expectations on individual choices. Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| PETR 5559 | New Course in Persian Translation (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of Persian Translation Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| PETR 7559 | New Course in Persian Literature in Translation (3) |
| New course in Persian Literature in translation. | |
| Religion-Islam | |
| RELI 150 | Special Topics in Islam (0) |
| Special Topics in Islam. | |
| RELI 1559 | New Course in Islam (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam | |
| RELI 2024 | Jewish-Muslim Relations (3) |
| Jewish and Muslim communities share a complex history of interaction, spanning from seventh-century Arabia to the present day, and including instances of collaboration as well as moments of violence. Our course examines this dynamic relationship through documentary and literary sources. We focus on points of contact between Muslims and Jews in contexts ranging from battlefields to universities, from religious discourse to international politics. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2020, Spring 2020, Summer 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 | |
| RELI 2070 | Classical Islam (3) |
| Studies the Irano-Semitic background, Arabia, Muhammad and the Qur'an, the Hadith, law and theology, duties and devotional practices, sectarian developments, and Sufism. | |
| RELI 2080 | Global Islam (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Global Islam traces the development of political Islamic thought from Napoleons invasion of Egypt in 1798 to the Arab Spring in 2010 and its aftermath in the Middle East. Course was offered Summer 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, Spring 2019, Summer 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| RELI 2085 | Modern Islam: From the Age of Empires to the Present (3) |
| Surveys Islamic history from the "age of the great empires" (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal) to the colonial period and up to the present day, including Islam in America. Islamic life and thought will be examined from multiple angles -- including popular piety and spirituality, philosophy and theology, law, gender, art, architecture, and literature -- with particular attention paid to the rise of modern Islamic "fundamentalist" movements. | |
| RELI 2559 | New Course in Islam (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam | |
| RELI 3110 | Muhammad and the Qur'an (3) |
| Systematic reading of the Qur'an in English, with an examination of the prophet's life and work. | |
| RELI 3120 | Sufism: Islamic Mysticism (3) |
| This course will be a historical and topical survey of the development of Sufism from the classical Islamic period through the modern age, paying special attention to the interaction of ideas and the social and political contexts surrounding them. | |
| RELI 3200 | Muslim Misfits: Islam and the Question of Difference (3) |
| Islam began strange and will return to strange as it began. So blessings to the strange ones! So goes a famous saying of the Prophet Muhammad, celebrating the virtue of truth over conformity. This course examines Islamic movements that have sought to push back against religious and political norms of their times. Along the way, we read debates about orthodoxy: what are the limits of the Muslim community and how are such limits contested? Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| RELI 3355 | Prophecy in Islam and Judaism (3) |
| Prophecy provides the theme for our comparative inquiry into two sacred scriptures (the Qur'an and the Hebrew Bible) alongside the rich traditions of Muslim and Jewish interpretive literature. We will consider narratives about specific prophets, medieval debates between and within Muslim and Jewish communities about the status and function of prophecy within their traditions, and modern theoretical approaches to prophecy | |
| RELI 3415 | Medieval Books and Scholars (3) |
| Colloquium on medieval books and scholars | |
| RELI 3559 | New Course in Islam (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam. Course was offered Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2012, Fall 2010 | |
| RELI 3670 | Islamic Politics (3) |
| From Islamic states to Muslim secularism, from progressivism to salafism, from Islamic feminism to social conversativism, this course examines a broad range of political thought and practice that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Exploring thinkers and real-world cases, historical and contemporary, students will get beneath the headlines, coming to a robust understanding of the place of Islam in modern politics across the globe. Course was offered Spring 2023 | |
| RELI 3900 | Introduction to Islam in Africa through the Arts (3) |
| This course will survey the history of Islam and Muslim societies in Africa through their arts. Covering three periods (Precolonial, Colonial, and Post-colonial), and four geographic regions (North, East, West, and Southern Africa), the course will explore the various forms and functions of Islamic arts on the continent. Through these artistic works and traditions we will explore the politics, cultures, and worldviews of African Muslim societies. | |
| RELI 4559 | New Course in Islam (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam | |
| RELI 4560 | Advanced Topics in Islam (3) |
| This topical course provides upper level undergraduate students in Religious Studies an opportunity for advanced coursework in Islam | |
| RELI 5094 | What is Love?: Reflections from the Islamic Tradition (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This seminar will examine some of the most profound and influential writings about love from the Islamic intellectual and poetic traditions. Perhaps more than any other civilization, the literary and philosophical traditions of Islamic civilization have been "love-centric." In this course we will closely read and discuss various philosophies and theories of love from the mundane to the mystical. |
| RELI 5221 | Hindu-Muslim Encounters (3) |
| This course examines Hindu-Muslim interactions in South Asia, bridging the long-standing gap between Hindu and Islamic studies while introducing critical issues currently facing the historiography of Hindu-Muslim relations. Special topics within the ambit of Hindu-Muslim encounters will be explored in depth, with a particular emphasis on intellectual interactions between traditions of Hindu and Islamic philosophy. Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| RELI 5345 | People of the Book Under Islam (3) |
| Interfaith relations under Islam. | |
| RELI 5380 | Islamic Biomedical Ethics (3) |
| Seminar will explore the foundations of religious ethics, ethical principles and rules developed by Muslim scholars to provide guidelines in medical practice and research in various cultural and political contexts. | |
| RELI 5400 | Muslim Comparative Theologies: Sunni-Shi'i Creeds (3) |
| The seminar will undertake to study the comparative Sunni and Shi'ite theologies to underscore a historical development of Muslim creeds in the context of social and political conditions. The course will cover the development of Muslim theology in general and the Sunni and Shi'ite creeds in particular. Prerequisites: RELI 2070 or 2080 Course was offered Fall 2012 | |
| RELI 5415 | Introduction to Arabic and Islamic Studies (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This graduate seminar provides a comprehensive survey of the subjects and areas addressed in the field of Arabic and Islamic Studies. |
| RELI 5420 | War and Peace in Islam: A Comparative Ethics Approach (3) |
| Studies Islamic notions of holy war and peace as they relate to statecraft and political authority in Muslim history. | |
| RELI 5425 | Islamic Philosophy & Theology (3) |
| This course surveys the major developments within Islamic philosophy and theology from the classical to the early modern periods. Topics covered include the early theological schools (Ash'aris, Maturidis, Mu'tazilis), the transmission of Greek philosophy into Arabic, Peripatetic philosophy, Illuminationism, Shi'ite philosophy, and philosophical Sufism, concluding with the challenges faced by Islamic philosophy through the colonial and modern eras. This course has no prerequisites, but some previous experience in either Islamic studies or philosophy will be helpful. | |
| RELI 5520 | Advanced Arabic Seminar (3) |
| Advanced readings in Arabic texts. Topics will vary from semester to semester, addressing a range of materials and textual genres (philosophical, theological, exegetical, legal, ethical, mystical, literary, historiographical, etc.). Course readings will be in Arabic. | |
| RELI 5540 | Seminar in Islamic Studies (3) |
| Topics in Islamic Studies Course was offered Fall 2022, Fall 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2011, Fall 2009 | |
| RELI 5559 | New Course in Islam (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam. Course was offered Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2019, Fall 2017, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2009 |
| RELI 5637 | Anthropology of Islam (3) |
| The discipline of anthropology has made significant contributions to the study of Islam. Yet far too rarely has it been asked, how might we take Islamic traditions' own ways of knowing not merely as objects of inquiry, but as intellectual partners? This course will engage readings in ethnography & critical theory that examine diverse expressions of Islam as it intervenes into debates over what it means to be human in the world. Course was offered Fall 2023 | |
| RELI 7100 | Islamic Religious Law (3) |
| Studies the sources and implications of the Islamic Religious Law (the Sharia). Prerequisite: RELI 2070 or RELC 5300. | |
| RELI 7559 | New Course in Islam (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam. | |
| RELI 8559 | New Course in Islam (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam. Course was offered Fall 2021 | |
| RELI 8703 | Advanced Readings in Arabic (3) |
| Advanced readings in Arabic philosophical, theological, mystical, and literary texts. Course readings will be in Arabic. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2018 | |
| RELI 8707 | Advanced Readings in Persian (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Advanced readings in Persian philosophical, theological, mystical, and literary texts. Course readings will be in Persian. Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2017 |
| RELI 8709 | Islamic Studies Tutorial (3) |
| Tutorial in Islamic Studies on philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, ethics, and political Islam. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017 | |
| RELI 8711 | Tutorial in Arabic Madih Nabawi (3) |
| This individualized graduate tutorial provides an introduction to the important tradition of Arabic poetry in praise of the prophet Muhammad, surveying both secondary literature & Arabic poetry in the original. Students will learn about the history, uses, formal features, & contemporary legacy of this literary tradition. At the end of the tutorial, an annotated bibliography or translation or review essay (>20 pages) will be submitted for grading. Course was offered Fall 2023 | |
| RELI 8752 | Tutorial: The Perfumed Life: Islamic Sources of the Self (3) |
| This course will examine the ways the ideal life has been imagined in Islamic thought, from antiquity to modernity. Putting these narratives in conversation with writings on the nature of self-hood and subjectivity in Euro-American academic traditions, we will examine what unique resources Muslim traditions have to explore the capabilities and limits of the self, and in what ways they participate in dilemmas shared across traditional boundaries. Course was offered Fall 2022 | |
| Religion-Judaism | |
| RELJ 1210 | Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Studies the history, literature, and religion of ancient Israel in the light of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Emphasizes methods of contemporary biblical criticism. Cross listed as RELC 1210. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2009 |
| RELJ 1410 | Elementary Biblical Hebrew I (3) |
| First half of a year-long introduction to biblical Hebrew, using an innovative language-learning approach. Through communicative activities in an immersive environment, students acquire oral and aural capacities naturally, in Hebrew. These capacities enable students to internalize the language and thus achieve the overall course goal: read simple biblical Hebrew prose with immediate comprehension. No Prerequisites. | |
| RELJ 1420 | Elementary Biblical Hebrew II (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Second half of a year-long introduction to biblical Hebrew, using an innovative language-learning approach. Through communicative activities in an immersive environment, students acquire oral and aural capacities naturally, internalize the language, and efficiently develop the ability to read biblical Hebrew prose with immediate comprehension. Students read the prose portions of the Book of Jonah and master basic Hebrew grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. Prerequisite: HEBR/RELJ 1410 or the equivalent. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| RELJ 1559 | New Course in Judaism (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Judaism | |
| RELJ 1590 | Topics in Jewish Studies (3) |
| This course provides the student with an opportunity to explore a new topic in Jewish Studies | |
| RELJ 2024 | Jewish-Muslim Relations (3) |
| Jewish and Muslim communities share a complex history of interaction, spanning from seventh-century Arabia to the present day, and including instances of collaboration as well as moments of violence. Our course examines this dynamic relationship through documentary and literary sources. We focus on points of contact between Muslims and Jews in contexts ranging from battlefields to universities, from religious discourse to international politics. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2020, Spring 2020, Summer 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 | |
| RELJ 2030 | Judaism, Roots and Rebellion (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | What does it mean to construct one's identity in dialogue with ancient texts and traditions? Can the gap between ancient and contemporary be bridged? Or must texts and traditions born of a remote time and place remain hopelessly irrelevant to contemporary life? This course explores these questions by examining the myriad ways that contemporary Jews balance the complexities of modern life with the demands of an ancient heritage. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 |
| RELJ 2031 | Introduction to Jewish Life in America (3) |
| This class is an introduction to Jewish Life in America in its religious and cultural manifestations. Students will become familiar with Jewish texts, holidays, rituals, lifecycle events, philosophical issues, communities and cultural practices as they are encountered NOW. Course was offered Fall 2022 | |
| RELJ 2040 | American Judaism (3) |
| Description and explanation of the diverse forms of Jewish religious life in America. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022 | |
| RELJ 2056 | Classical Sources in the Jewish Tradition (3) |
| Classical Sources in the Jewish Tradition/Judaism in Antiquity | |
| RELJ 2061 | Judaism, Modernity, and Secularization (3) |
| This course attempts to develop the history and intellectual underpinnings of the Jewish experience of modernity and secularization. It will explore the variety of Jewish responses and adjustments to the modern world and their implications for present day Judaism in its many forms. | |
| RELJ 2230 | Jewish Spiritual Journeys (3) |
| Jewish Spiritual Journeys | |
| RELJ 2240 | Jewish Ritual (3) |
| Jewish Ritual | |
| RELJ 2300 | Introduction to Israeli Literature in Translation (3) |
| This course explores Israeli culture and society through the lens of its literature. Beginning with the revival of modern Hebrew and following the formative events of the Israeli experience, we will study a range of fictional works (and poetry) that represent the diverse voices of Israeli self-expression. Readings include S.Y. Agnon, Aharon Appelfeld, Yoel Hoffmann, Etgar Keret, A.B. Yehoshua, Yehudit Hendel, and others. Course was offered Fall 2010 | |
| RELJ 2410 | Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I (3) |
| Readings in the prose narratives of the Hebrew Bible. Emphasizes grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. Attention to issues of translation and interpretation. Prerequisite: HEBR/RELJ 1420 or the equivalent. | |
| RELJ 2420 | Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Readings in the poetry of the Hebrew Bible. Emphasizes grammar, vocabulary, and poetics. Attention to issues of translation and interpretation. Prerequisite: HEBR/RELJ 2410 or the equivalent Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| RELJ 2521 | Special Topics in Judaism (3) |
| Special Topics In Judaism. | |
| RELJ 2559 | New Course in Judaism (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject of Judaisim. Course was offered Spring 2016, Summer 2015, Summer 2014, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, January 2011, Fall 2009 | |
| RELJ 2590 | Topics in Jewish Studies (3) |
| This course provides the student with an opportunity to explore a new topic in Jewish Studies Course was offered Spring 2023, Fall 2013 | |
| RELJ 3052 | Responses to the Holocaust (3) |
| Responses to the Holocaust | |
| RELJ 3070 | Beliefs and Ethics after the Holocaust (3) |
| Examines how theologians and ethicists have responded to the human catastrophe of the Nazi Holocaust, 1933-45. Readings include twentieth-century reflections on the Holocaust, and previous Jewish and Christian responses to catastrophe from Biblical times through the nineteenth- and twentieth-century pogroms in eastern Europe. Prerequisite: Any religious studies, history, or philosophy course, or instructor permission. | |
| RELJ 3080 | Israeli Fiction in Translation (3) |
| Israeli Fiction in Translation | |
| RELJ 3085 | The Passover Haggadah: A Service Learning Course (3) |
| The Passover Haggadah cultivates sensitivity for the plight of the stranger, and we will study how it came about and how it has been used as a template for rituals of social activism on behalf of oppressed peoples, and in particular, of refugees. In volunteer placements in the community, UVA students will work with individuals who have have found refuge in Cville. Together, they will collaborate on designing haggadahs and community seders. | |
| RELJ 3090 | Plagues, Pestilence, Pox, and Prophecy (3) |
| This course treats the phenomenon of prophecy in ancient Israel in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Biblical texts often deal with plagues and pestilence. Does our current location in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak help us understand these texts in new ways? How do these stories reveal ancient Israel's most cherished values? Do biblical accounts of plagues and pestilence offer us insight into our own predicament in the age of corona? | |
| RELJ 3095 | The Bible in Fiction and Film (3) |
| In this course, we will study the biblical text itself, appreciating it in its own terms but also paying special attention to the ambiguities that activate our own imaginations. Then, we will analyze how fiction, film, and poetry respond to and re-imagine the biblical text-how they might make us think of the biblical text differently (or perhaps shed light on issues that were already there?). | |
| RELJ 3100 | Medieval Jewish Thought (3) |
| This course introduces the medieval Jewish intellectual tradition (9th-13th centuries) in its cultural and historical context. We will explore key themes such as the nature of God, prophecy, exile, the status of Scripture, the history of religions, and the quest for spiritual perfection. Readings will be drawn from philosophical, theological, exegetical, pietistic and mystical texts, including works from Saadia Gaon, Judah Halevi, and Maimonides. | |
| RELJ 3170 | Modern Jewish Thought (3) |
| This course offers an introduction into the major themes of Modern Jewish Thought. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013 | |
| RELJ 3220 | Judaism and Zionism (3) |
| Studies the complex relationship between Judaism the sacred tradition of the Jews and Zionism the modern ideology of Jewish national revival. | |
| RELJ 3292 | The Book of Job & Its Interpretation (3) |
| A seminar on the biblical book of Job (with attention to its literary artistry and compositional history) and its subsequent interpretation. Course was offered Spring 2015 | |
| RELJ 3300 | The Jewish Mystical Tradition (3) |
| Historical study of the Jewish mystical tradition, emphasizing the persistent themes of the tradition as represented in selected mystical texts. Course was offered Spring 2014 | |
| RELJ 3310 | Jewish Law (3) |
| Studies the structure and content of Jewish law in terms of its normative function, its historical background, its theological and philosophical principles, and its role in contemporary society both Jewish and general. | |
| RELJ 3320 | Judaism: Medicine and Healing (3) |
| Judaism: Medicine and Healing | |
| RELJ 3330 | Women and Judaism: Tradition and Change (3) |
| Women and Judaism: Tradition and Change | |
| RELJ 3340 | Jewish Medical Ethics (3) |
| Jewish Medical Ethics | |
| RELJ 3350 | Judaism and Ethics (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | An exploration of ethical thinking using the resources of the Jewish tradition. |
| RELJ 3355 | Prophecy in Islam and Judaism (3) |
| Prophecy provides the theme for our comparative inquiry into two sacred scriptures (the Qur'an and the Hebrew Bible) alongside the rich traditions of Muslim and Jewish interpretive literature. We will consider narratives about specific prophets, medieval debates between and within Muslim and Jewish communities about the status and function of prophecy within their traditions, and modern theoretical approaches to prophecy. | |
| RELJ 3360 | Judaism and Christianity (3) |
| Studies the relationship between Judaism and Christianity from the origins of Christianity as a Jewish sect through the conflicts of the Middle Ages and modernity; and current views of the interrelationship. | |
| RELJ 3370 | Modern Movements in Judaism (3) |
| Studies the modern religious movements in Judaism including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, as well as Zionism, both secular and religious, with an emphasis on their theological and philosophical assertions and historical backgrounds. | |
| RELJ 3372 | German Jewish Culture and History (3) |
| This course provides a wide-ranging exploration of the culture, history & thought of German Jewry from 1750 to 1939. It focuses on the Jewish response to modernity in Central Europe and the lasting transformations in Jewish life in Europe and later North America. Readings of such figures as: Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine, Rahel Varnhagen, Franz Kafka, Gershom Scholem, Martin Buber, Karl Marx, Rosa Luxembourg, Walter Benjamin, and Freud. Course was offered Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 | |
| RELJ 3390 | Jewish Feminism (3) |
| Jewish Feminism Course was offered Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020, Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014 | |
| RELJ 3430 | Women in Judaism (3) |
| Women in Judaism Course was offered Fall 2012 | |
| RELJ 3475 | Judaism and Science (3) |
| A study of the place of science in Judaism, focusing of the example of creation. Topics include: The Genesis story in plain sense, historical scholarship, rabbinic commentary and Jewish philosophy; The Big Bang through the history of Jewish reasoning; Newton and Modern Jewish Humanism; Quantum Physics and the Logic of Scripture; Science in modern and contemporary Jewish thought and belief; Judaism and the environment. | |
| RELJ 3490 | Jewish Weddings (3) |
| As we study the ritual of the Jewish wedding ceremony from antiquity to the present day, we will see how notions about marriage, gender relations, and the normative family are displayed and challenged. In particular, we will be investigating the establishment of innovations in the contemporary Jewish weddings (traditional, liberal, same-sex and interfaith) in America and Israel. | |
| RELJ 3559 | New Course in Judaism (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject of Judaism. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010, January 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| RELJ 3590 | Topics in Jewish Studies (3) |
| This course provides the student with an opportunity to explore a new topic in Jewish Studies Course was offered January 2019, Fall 2013 | |
| RELJ 3615 | Joseph, Esther, Daniel: Biblical Novels (3) |
| The finest narratives in ancient Judaism - stories about Joseph, Esther, Daniel - describe an exiled hero, who delivers his or her people against all odds; related literature includes Ruth, Tobit, Judith, Joseph & Asenath. This course examines the literary, historical, theological significance of these works and common themes: exile, restoration, extraordinary women, coincidence, human agency, the remote deity, the vindication of the underdog. Course was offered Spring 2013 | |
| RELJ 3652 | Sensibilities, Values and Virtue in Jewish Ethics (3) |
| Jewish virtue ethics in classical rabbinics and in contemporary writings and ethnographic practice and theory. An introduction to the ethical force of Hebrew Scripture, prayer, and religious practice as received by selected rabbinic thinkers and philosophers from classic times through the medieval period to today. | |
| RELJ 3665 | Gender and Sexuality in the Bible (3) |
| This course will interrogate the complex and diverse picture of gender and sexuality presented in the Bible. Students will read stories focusing on key biblical figures generating their own analysis on the dynamics of gender at play, while also considering ancient and modern interpretations and methodological approaches. Throughout, students will be exposed to the cultural and historical milieu that produced these texts. Course was offered Spring 2020, Spring 2019 | |
| RELJ 3705 | The Jewish Experience in Europe: Vienna and Budapest (3) |
| This course will explore Jewish history, culture and everyday life in Europe from a multidisciplinary perspective. It will consist of introductory lectures, site visits, guest speakers, and student presentations. The course is designed to be 12-day term with primary locations in Graz, Vienna, and Budapest. | |
| RELJ 3708 | Enduring Questions in Modern Judaism (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course is built around the "big" questions Jews in the modern period have faced--such as "Who is a Jew?," "Are there divine commandments?," "Must a Jew believe anything?," "Can there be God after Auschwitz?" Each unit will approach a different question from a variety of perspectives and sources--secular and religious--offering tools to understand complexities, acknowledge context, and ask new questions. Course was offered Spring 2021 |
| RELJ 3830 | Talmud (3) |
| Talmud Course was offered Fall 2014, Spring 2012 | |
| RELJ 3885 | Introduction to Judaism Through The Arts (3) |
| This course is organized around great works in the history of art whose thematic content and historical context intersect with the Jewish experience. Each session focuses on one representative artwork from antiquity to the present to reveal something about Jewish history. Textual sources (biblical, poetic, literary, scholarly) help interpret the artwork. | |
| RELJ 3910 | Women and the Bible (3) |
| Surveys passages in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that focus specifically on women or use feminine imagery. Considers various readings of these passages, including traditional Jewish and Christian, historical-critical, and feminist interpretations. Cross-listed as RELC 3910. Prerequisite: Any religious studies course or instructor permission. | |
| RELJ 4559 | New Course in Judaism (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Judaism. | |
| RELJ 4570 | Advanced Topics in Judaism (3) |
| This topical course provides upper level undergraduate students in Religious Studies an opportunity for advanced coursework in Judaism | |
| RELJ 4590 | Topics in Jewish Studies (3) |
| This course provides the student with an opportunity to explore a new topic in Jewish Studies | |
| RELJ 4591 | Topics Modern Jewish History (3) |
| This topical course will explore topics in modern Jewish history, from 1948 to the present day. Course was offered Fall 2009 | |
| RELJ 4950 | Senior Seminar in Jewish Studies (3) |
| This course introduces and examines the origins and development of Jewish Studies with emphasis on its interdisciplinary character. Requirements include active class participation and a significant research paper based on a topic of the student's choice.
This course is required of all fourth-year Jewish Studies majors. It is also open to all interested students with permission of the instructor. | |
| RELJ 5030 | Judaism, Roots, and Rebellion (3) |
| This course examines the ways that contemporary Jews balance the complexities of modern life with the demands of an ancient heritage. The course toggles back and forth between the historical conditions that produced seminal texts and traditions, and the use to which they are put in the making of contemporary Jewish identities, with special attention to attention to strategies of resistance, adaptation and affirmation. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022 | |
| RELJ 5048 | Philo of Alexandria and Hellenistic Judaism (3) |
| An indepth inquiry into the writings and thought of Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 BCE-50 CE) Course was offered Fall 2012 | |
| RELJ 5050 | Judaism in Antiquity (3) |
| Description and analysis of representative systems of Judaic religion which flourished in Palestine, Egypt, and Mesopotamia from 505 BCE to 600 CE. Course was offered Spring 2010 | |
| RELJ 5065 | Jewish History, Meta-History, Counter History (3) |
| The course discusses models of history, meta-history, counter history, and anti-history in modern Jewish thought. Readings from Heinrich Graetz, Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Walter Benjamin, A.J. Heschel, Leo Strauss, and others. Course was offered Fall 2013 | |
| RELJ 5100 | Theology and Ethics of the Rabbis (3) |
| This course explores theological and ethical themes in classical rabbinic literature (c. 200-600 CE). Focus is on gaining fluency in textual and conceptual analysis. Questions examined include: How is the relationship between God, humans generally and the people Israel specifically, imagined? What is evil and how is it best managed? What is the nature of one's obligation to fellow human beings? How does one cultivate an ideal self? | |
| RELJ 5105 | Religion and Culture of the Rabbis (3) |
| An examination of religion and culture of the rabbinic movement (c. 70-600 CE) in the social and cultural contexts of Greco-Roman antiquity. Among the issues to be examined: rituals and institutions of the rabbis, social organizations within the rabbinic movement, engagement with other sectors of Jewish and gentile society. | |
| RELJ 5145 | Medieval Jewish Thought (3) |
| Students explore the gems of the medieval Jewish intellectual tradition (9th-13th centuries), considering models of theology, exegesis, pietism, belles lettres, ethics, and mysticism. Focus on the development of foundational religious ideas and innovative literary forms, in historical and cultural context, with attention to parallels in the Islamic and Christian traditions. Course was offered Spring 2021 | |
| RELJ 5165 | Scripture and Philosophy in Judaism and Beyond (3) |
| What happened when classical Jewish traditions of study and learning encountered the Hellenic traditions of philosophy? This course examines instances of encounter between philosophy and Jewish text learning throughout Jewish history, from the days of Philo to today, focusing on contexts of history, text-reading and hermeneutics. The second half of the course will explore implications for studies in Christianity and Islam. Course was offered Fall 2015 | |
| RELJ 5210 | Mishnah Seminar (3) |
| This course trains students to read Mishnah in the original language. Primary emphasis will be on giving students tools to decode the text and set the text in its appropriate historical and cultural contexts. Special attention will be paid to literary and legal aspects of the text. The Mishnah will also compared with parallels from contemporary compositions (the Tosephta and midrash halakhah). Secondary readings will expose students to the range Course was offered Fall 2014 | |
| RELJ 5250 | Jewish Bible Commentaries (3) |
| This course explores the Jewish Bible commentary in its formative period, between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Emphasis is given to the exegetical techniques and cultural significance of the genre, its engagement with the rabbinic tradition, and its parallels with Muslim and Christian hermeneutics. By comparing commentaries on a given biblical passage, we will consider the craft of Jewish commentary writing in varied historical circumstances. | |
| RELJ 5291 | The Book of Genesis and Its Interpretation (3) |
| A seminar on the book of Genesis (with attention to its literary artistry, compositional history, and theological issues) and its subsequent interpretation. Course was offered Fall 2015, Spring 2012 | |
| RELJ 5292 | The Book of Job & Its Interpretation (3) |
| A seminar on the biblical book of Job (with attention to its literary artistry and compositional history) and its subsequent interpretation.
Prerequisite: One course on biblical scholarship is required; knowledge of Hebrew and/or Greek is preferred, but, if not, then admission by instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2015 | |
| RELJ 5350 | Judaism and Ethics (3) |
| An exploration of ethical thinking using the resources of the Jewish tradition. Course was offered Fall 2021 | |
| RELJ 5365 | Hermann Cohen and Modern Religious Thought (3) |
| The Jewish philosopher Hermann Cohen was one of the most influential thinkers of 20th-century religious thought. The seminar traces Cohen's neo-Kantian legacy in Europe and the United States. Apart from Cohen's work, we will cover select topics in Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Ernst Cassirer, Ernst Bloch, Leo Strauss, Mordecai Kaplan, and Steven Schwarzschild. Course was offered Spring 2020, Spring 2019 | |
| RELJ 5385 | The Song of Songs (3) |
| A seminar on the biblical Song of Songs (with attention to its literary artistry and compositional history) and its subsequent interpretation. Course was offered Spring 2020, Spring 2017 | |
| RELJ 5559 | New Course in Judaism (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Judaism Course was offered Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 |
| RELJ 5950 | Midrashic Imagination (3) |
| Midrashic Imagination Course was offered Spring 2013, Fall 2009 | |
| RELJ 7559 | New Course in Judaism (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Judaism. Course was offered Spring 2010 | |
| RELJ 8559 | New Course in Judaism (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Judaism. Course was offered Fall 2012 | |
| RELJ 8705 | Tutorial in Translating Biblical Poetry (3) |
| An advanced tutorial in translating biblical poetry, with several interrelated goals: developing skills in advanced biblical grammar; furthering capacities for biblical interpretation; exploring the dynamics of biblical poetry; understanding how ancient poetry and biblical books formed, developed, and were redacted; evaluating secondary literature as a prelude to developing sound arguments and coherent elegant translations. | |
| RELJ 8710 | Tutorial in Mishnah Translation (3) |
| Assorted passages from the Mishnah are read out loud, subjected to grammatical and content-based analysis, rendered into elegant English, and considered as exemplars of rabbinic literature. | |
| RELJ 8714 | Scriptural Reasoning in Judaism (3) |
| How recent Jewish philosophy and theology has turned back to the study of sacred texts. How that turn has engendered another turn: to intensive dialogue with like-minded Christian and Muslim philosophers and theologians. The course will require considerable reading in scriptural texts and in both classical and contemporary commentaries - philosophic and theological. | |
| RELJ 8717 | Tutorial in The Book of Job and Its Interpretation (3) |
| An advanced tutorial on the book of Job and its related texts--ancient, medieval, and modern--which allow us to establish the literary and theological traditions out of which Job was composed and the literary and theological legacies that it has engendered, including thinking about divine justice, human piety, the limits of human knowledge, and the nature of the divine-human encounter. Course was offered Spring 2021, Spring 2018 | |
| RELJ 8726 | Tutorial: Themes in Modern Jewish History (3) |
| This course explores the major themes and debates in modern Jewish history and historiography from the Enlightenment to the present. Course was offered Spring 2019 | |
| RELJ 8730 | Tutorial in Midrash Translation (3) |
| This tutorial helps graduate students develop and strengthen skills in the reading and translation of ancient rabbinic Hebrew. It prepares them to do advanced research with ancient rabbinic texts, with a focus on midrashic texts in particular. It gives students the interpretive skills to make sense of the texts and provides an overview of the scholarly issues pertinent to their study. | |
| RELJ 8736 | Tutorial: Jewish Liturgy (3) |
| Students will read through a year of Jewish liturgy. Primary sources will include Jewish prayer books of different denominations and secondary sources will include the works of Larry Hoffman, Ruth Langer, Alan Mintz, Judith Plaskow, and Marcia Falk. The course will highlight the variations of Jewish liturgy across denominations and will end with contemporary feminist liturgy. Course was offered Fall 2019 | |
| RELJ 8739 | Tutorial:Buber, Heschel, & Levinas: Dialogical Approaches in Jewish Thought (3) |
| This tutorial brings together three major Jewish thinkers of the 20th century with a special focus of dialogical philosophy and theology. Course was offered Spring 2021, Spring 2020 | |
| RELJ 8748 | Tutorial: Formation of the Hebrew Bible (3) |
| This graduate tutorial explores the history and formation of the Hebrew Bible. Course was offered Fall 2020 | |
| RELJ 8749 | Tutorial in Holocaust Studies (3) |
| This tutorial focuses on key texts in the field of Holocaust Studies. Reading lists will be adjusted to the particular interests of the student, but may include scholarship on the ethics of representations, individual and collective memory, evil and suffering, moral agency and culpability, comparative studies of genocide and mass atrocities, theodicy and anti-theodicy, and Holocaust testimony. | |
| RELJ 8750 | Tutorial: Jewish Feminism (Abrahamic Context) (3) |
| This tutorial puts Jewish feminism in conversation with Muslim and Christian feminisms, in the particular contexts of sacred texts, prayer, ritual practice, law, sexuality, leadership, and community. Course was offered Spring 2021 | |
| RELJ 8751 | Tutorial in Second Temple Judaism (3) |
| This interdisciplinary research collaboration explores the variegated expressions of Judaism between the construction of the second Jerusalem temple in the 6th century BCE, through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, down to the temple's destruction by the Romans in the 1st century CE. Given the chronological and geographical vastness and complexity of the subject, this course will of necessity consider a selection of problems, issues, and topics. | |
| RELJ 8752 | Tutorial: Theopolitics Modern Judaism II: Mendelssohn & the Enlightenment (3) |
| Tutorial 2 in sequence of 3. Mendelssohn's book Jerusalem, or on Religious Power (1783), the center of our discussion and a response to Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke, is both a theory of government & a novel interpretation of Judaism, but also a program of enlightenment and modernization that has to be seen in the context of Jewish emancipation in the 18th century. The course introduces texts by Kant, Lessing, Herder, Friedlander, & Schleiermacher. | |
| RELJ 8753 | Theopolitics Modern Judaism I: Spinoza (3) |
| This graduate course is a sequence of three independent tutorials on theopolitical thought in Modern Judaism: I. Spinoza, II. Mendelssohn and the Enlightenment, III. Martin Buber, Hermann Cohen, and Franz Rosenzweig. Each tutorial lasts one semester and can be taken outside the sequence. The focus of the course lies on the alliance and confrontation of religion and politics in Modern Jewish thought and its immediate intellectual historical context. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2021 | |
| RELJ 8757 | Tutorial: Theopolitics: Modern Judaism III: Buber, Cohen, Baeck, Rosenzweig (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This tutorial, the third in a sequence on theopolitical thought in Modern Judaism, will focus on 20th-century Jewish philosophers, especially Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, Leo Baeck, and Franz Rosenzweig. Their distinct views on the state, the nation, and the theocratic community, as well as how modern Christian thought grappled with similar questions, will be analyzed in the context of a crisis of politics during the interwar period. Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2022 |
| RELJ 8760 | Tutorial in Readings in Medieval Hebrew (1 - 3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This reading course introduces students to the medieval Hebrew literary tradition and the distinctive linguistic features of Hebrew in this period. The texts under consideration will vary by semester. Scholarly articles will supplement and contextualize the Hebrew readings. Students will discuss the religious and historical significance of the passages that they prepare in advance of our sessions. Course was offered Spring 2024 |
| RELJ 8880 | Biblical and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (3) |
| Introduces the Aramaic language, intended especially for New Testament graduate students. Emphasizes mastery of the grammar and syntax of Official or Imperial Aramaic and especially Middle Aramaic (second century b.c.e. to second century c.e.). | |
| Urdu | |
| URDU 1310 | Intensive Urdu Script & Grammar Review for Heritage Students (4) |
| In this class we will conduct an intensive review of the Nastaliq script and the basic grammar of the Urdu language.This is not a class for students with no prior knowledge of Urdu. Rather it is designed to take advantage of the familiarity you already have with Urdu by virtue of growing up in a family where Urdu is frequently spoken. The pace will be quick, with an eye to enabling you to proceed directly to a 2000- or 3000-level Urdu class. | |
| URDU 1559 | New Course in Urdu (3) |
| This course is to allow 1000-level new courses in Urdu to be taught for one semester. | |
| URDU 2010 | Intermediate Urdu (4) |
| Introduces various types of written and spoken Urdu; vocabulary building, idioms, and problems of syntax; and conversation. Prerequisite: for URDU 2010: HIND 1020 or equivalent. | |
| URDU 2020 | Intermediate Urdu (4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Prerequisite: for URDU 2020: URDU 2010 or equivalent. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 |
| URDU 3010 | Advanced Urdu I (3) |
| This course is designed to expand and to consolidate the structures the student has learned through URDU 2020 by reading original Urdu texts, ranging from literary prose fiction to news media excerpts to poetry (both classical and modern). We will discuss these texts in Urdu in class, and the students will be responsible for a series of short essays throughout the semester in Urdu pertaining both to the texts and to other topics. Pre-requisites: URDU 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. | |
| URDU 3020 | Advanced Urdu II (3) |
| This course is designed to expand and to consolidate the structures the student has learned through URDU 2020 by reading original Urdu texts, ranging from literary prose fiction to news media excerpts to poetry (both classical and modern). We will discuss these texts in Urdu in class, and the students will be responsible for a series of short essays throughout the semester in Urdu pertaining both to the texts and to other topics. Pre-requisites: URDU 2020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| URDU 3030 | Prostitutes, Murder, and Insanity: The Fiction of Sa'adat Hassan Manto (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | In this class we will conduct close readings (in Urdu!) of several of Manto's short fiction writings, and will discuss them in detail. There will be weekly assignments, a final take-home exam, and a final video project. Prerequisite: URDU 2020 or instructor permission. |
| URDU 3300 | Readings in Urdu Poetry: An Ongoing Mahfil (3) |
| This course will introduce advanced Urdu and Hindi students to some of the finest poetry in Urdu. Those who cannot read the Urdu script will have the option of reading the texts in Devanagari (the Hindi script). Some of the poets we will read are Mir, Ghalib, Dagh and Faiz. Course work will include brief analytical papers, as well as in-class presentations.
Prerequisites: URDU 3010 or 3020; or HIND 3010 or 3020; or instructor permission. | |
| URDU 3559 | New Course in Urdu (3) |
| This course is to allow 3000-level new courses in Urdu to be taught for one semester. | |
| URDU 4993 | Independent Study in Urdu (1 - 3) |
| Independent Study in Urdu Course was offered Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| URDU 6559 | New Course in Urdu (3) |
| This course is to allow 6000-level new courses in Urdu to be taught for one semester. Course was offered Fall 2011 | |
| URDU 7300 | Readings in Urdu Poetry: An Ongoing Mahfil (3) |
| This course will introduce advanced Urdu and Hindi students to some of the finest poetry in Urdu. Those who cannot read the Urdu script will have the option of reading the texts in Devanagari (the Hindi script). Some of the poets we will read are Mir, Ghalib, Dagh and Faiz. Course work will include brief analytical papers, as well as in-class presentations.
Prerequisites: URDU 3010 or 3020; or HIND 3010 or 3020; or instructor permission. | |
| URDU 8993 | Independent Study in Urdu (1 - 3) |
| Independent study in Urdu language and/or literature.
Prerequisite: URDU 5010 or 5020 or equivalent, or instructor permission. Course was offered Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Spring 2018, Summer 2017, Spring 2017, Summer 2016, Summer 2015, Summer 2014, Summer 2013, Summer 2012, Summer 2011 | |