Courses

108 Food Cultures of the Middle East.
This course examines the role of food in shaping identities and ethnic affiliations in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean with a special emphasis on how family traditions in food preparation and consumption shape and reflect communal and personal identities as well as cultural transmission. We will examine the preservation and evolution of food traditions, highlighting their role in expressing cultural heritage and distinctions. Through practical labs and visits to local restaurants owned by immigrants from the area, students will have the opportunity to directly engage with the culinary practices being studied, providing a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between food, tradition, and identity within family and community settings. This experiential approach will offer unique insights into the transformation of local cuisines and the role of food in community revitalization. (Experiential Learning.) Course taught in English. No knowledge of Arabic required. Course meets three times a week for 50 mins for lectures, and an additional meeting of 75 mins for experiential learning. To ensure safety, the following protocols will be followed: Proper Handling of Sharp Objects, Fire Safety and Burn Prevention, Food Safety, Cleanliness and Hygiene, Allergy Awareness, Dress Code, Proper Use of Appliances, and Emergency Procedures. (Same as MEIWS-108.) Maximum enrollment, Other. Mireille Koukjian.

110 Modern Arabic Fiction and Film: An Introduction.
The course is a survey of modern Arabic narrative fiction and film by well-known authors and filmmakers from countries in Middle East, including, but not limited to, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Libya, Morocco and spanning the late 19th through early 21st centuries. Students learn about the Arabic-speaking people through their cultural, social, economic, and political struggles in the modern period, and explore questions relating to how they define themselves in a highly globalized world. Taught in English. No knowledge of Arabic required. (Same as MEIWS-110.) Maximum enrollment, Standard Course (40). Rama Alhabian.

113 The Crime Novel from the Global South.
What changes when a crime story is set not in London or New York, but in Beirut, Cairo, Pietermaritzburg, or the Niger Delta? How do the postcolonial detectives conduct their work, combining local and native skill with western-borrowed police methods? How do they apply measures of truth-seeking under the yoke of authoritarian regimes, where access to knowledge is delimited by state power? We address these questions through a selection of postcolonial crime novels from/about the Global South: by Lebanese Elias Khoury, Egyptian Magdy El-Shafei, the Kenyan-American Mukoma wa Ngugi, the British James McClure, the Algerian-Italian Amara Lakhous, and Helon Habila from Nigeria. (Writing-intensive.) Taught in English. (Same as AFRST-113; LIT-113; MEIWS-113.) Maximum enrollment, Other. Rama Alhabian.

115 First Term Arabic.
Introduction in speaking, writing, reading and aural comprehension. Textbook readings and exercises with a strong emphasis on interactive verbal production. Highly interactive with supplemental Language Center projects and activities. (Same as MEIWS-115.) Maximum enrollment, Proseminar (16). Koukjian.

116 Second Term Arabic.
Continued study with emphasis on verbal proficiency, reading and listening comprehension. Highly interactive with supplemental Language Center projects and activities. Prerequisite, ARABC-115 or placement. (Same as MEIWS-116.) Maximum enrollment, Other. Koukjian.

201 Arabic for Heritage Speakers.
This course is designed for students who can speak and understand a dialect of Arabic, but have a rudimentary knowledge of written Arabic, also known as Modern Standard Arabic. The focus of the course is to develop reading and writing skills through excerpt readings from Arabic literature, and media. Classroom activities will be conducted entirely in Arabic, and students will use their own dialects only for speaking purposes. Prerequisite, Knowledge of the alphabet and vowel system, of basic vocabulary, and ability to read, write, speak, and listen at a novice level. (Same as MEIWS-201.) Maximum enrollment, Standard Course (40). Mireille Koukjian.

215 Third Term Arabic.
Intermediate level study with emphasis on verbal proficiency, reading and listening comprehension. Highly interactive with supplemental Language Center projects and activities. Short readings from authentic sources. Prerequisite, ARABC-115 and ARABC-116 or placement. (Same as MEIWS-215.) Maximum enrollment, Proseminar (16). Koukjian.

216 Fourth Term Arabic.
Advanced level study with emphasis on verbal proficiency, reading and listening comprehension. Highly interactive with supplemental Language Center projects and activities. Short readings from authentic sources. (Writing-intensive.) Prerequisite, ARABC-115, ARABC-116, and ARABC-215 or placement. (Same as MEIWS-216.) Maximum enrollment, Writing-Intensive (18). Koukjian.

231 Societies of the Middle East.
A survey of the cultural patterns and social institutions of the modern Middle East. Examines religious and ethnic diversity, civil society, family structure and gender politics, water and food security, and the impacts of globalization on the Middle East. No knowledge of Arabic required. (Same as MEIWS-231.) Maximum enrollment, Standard Course (40). Koukjian.

268 Petrfictions: Modernity and the Oil Encounter.
Petrofictions studies the impact of fossil-fuel energy on global modernity, deemed necessary for addressing global warming and associated environmental challenges. Analyzes how fossil fuel energy gave rise to modern societies; examines the import of the “oil encounter” in creative works, including responses by filmmakers, writers, and thinkers from various linguistic and cultural perspectives. We explore literary works by Munif, Kanafani, Gosh, Saadawi, Benyamin, Mitchell, Calvino, Saramago, King, Saro-Wiwa, and Habila, as well as the films There will be Blood and Mad Max: Fury Road.  (Writing-intensive.) (Social, Structural, and Institutional Hierarchies.) (Proseminar.) Prerequisite, At least one course in Literature or permission of instructor. Taught in English  (Same as LIT-268, MEIWS-268.) Maximum enrollment, Proseminar (16). Alhabian, R.

281 Islands: Poetics of the Insular in World Literature.
From idealized innocence to fear of the unknown, and through double meanings of isolation and connection, this course focuses on islands in world literatures. Through writings that span the medieval, early modern and modern periods, the course uncovers complex meanings associated with islands and insularities. Focusing on the interplay between geography and imagination in literature, it raises questions about knowledge and uncertainty, spirituality and encounter, identity and difference, and empire and the nation, as well as conflicts between land and water, selfhood and otherness. Works include (but are not limited to) Huxley's Island, Sinbad's Voyages, Gurnah's Gravel Heart, Ibn Tufayl's Hayy ibn Yaqzan.  (Proseminar.) Prerequisite, Preference to students who had taken at least one WI course in the humanities--not a requirement though. Texts and media are taught in English (translations/subtitles for films). Students of advanced skills in Arabic read and talk about the original texts in an add-on section. (Same as LIT-281 MEIWS-281.) Maximum enrollment, Proseminar (16).

298 Advanced Language and Culture.
1/4-credit class that must be taken in conjunction with a course in English. Additional weekly session to analyze and discuss the material in the original language. May be repeated for credit. Maximum enrollment, Standard Course (40). Department.

315 Advanced Arabic.
Advanced Arabic is a course designed for students who have completed four semesters of Arabic. The course will help students move from Intermediate Middle level to Advanced. Students will focus on acquiring more vocabulary and more knowledge of the fundamental grammatical and morphological structures of the language. They will also learn about the literary traditions of the Arab World through readings of abridged literary works. The instructor will select the literary work and prepare all the material used for the class. Prerequisite, ARABC-115, ARABC-116, ARABC-215, and ARABC-216 or consent of instructor. This course is sponsored by the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium, from an award by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. (Same as MEIWS-315.) Maximum enrollment, Other. Mireille Koukjian.

316 Advanced Arabic II.
Advanced Arabic II is a course destined to students who have completed ARABC-315 or above. The course is conducted exclusively in Arabic twice a week, the third day is being used for grammar instruction and questions. The class meets MWF and will continue with the 8 theme-based units covering topics such as Arab minorities; education; religion; love and marriage; the Arab woman; economics; politics; military matters; and the environment. The course will help students attain an advanced level in interpersonal, presentational, and interpretive communications skills. Prerequisite, ARABC-315 or equivalent. (Same as MEIWS-316.) Maximum enrollment, Standard Course (40). Mireille Koukjian.