AMIDEAST Education Abroad Course Catalog

Transcription

1 AMIDEAST Education Abroad Course Catalog Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia

2 Contents About AMIDEAST... 3 AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World... 3 Distinctive Features of AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World... 3 Core Principles of AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World... 3 Mission... 4 Vision Statement... 5 Academics... 8 Academic Consortium... 8 Institution of Record... 8 Arabic Language and Culture... 9 Egypt Semester Courses: Area Studies Semester Courses: Egyptology Semester Courses: Arabic Language Summer Courses Jordan Semester Courses: Area Studies Semester Courses: Arabic Language Summer Courses Morocco Semester Courses: Area Studies Semester Courses: Regional Studies in French Semester Courses: Arabic Language Semester/Academic Year at Al-Akhawayn University

3 Summer Courses Oman Semester Courses: Area Studies Semester Courses: Arabic Language Summer Courses Tunisia Summer Courses: Learn & Serve

4 About AMIDEAST Established in 1951, America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST) is a private American nonprofit organization engaged in international education, training, and development assistance work. Based in Washington, DC, it has over 20 field and project offices in 13 countries in the Middle East and North Africa and more than 600 dedicated professional staff working with international, regional and local partners on the ground. AMIDEAST provides programs and services to improve educational opportunities and quality, strengthen local institutions, and develop language and professional skills for success in the local economy. Deeply committed to strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa, AMIDEAST offers study abroad programs for Americans interested in learning more about this important region AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World provide students with opportunities to study in Arab countries for a semester, an academic year, or during the summer. AMIDEAST also works with colleges and universities to create short-term customized education abroad opportunities in the region. For more than two decades, AMIDEAST field offices have assisted U.S. colleges and universities and other study abroad organizations with their programs in the region. In 2007, AMIDEAST launched its Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World, beginning with a semester program in Rabat, Morocco. In 2009, AMIDEAST added a Summer Intensive Arabic Program in Rabat, a summer Learn & Serve Program in Tunisia, and semester/academic year programs in Cairo, Amman and Kuwait. In 2010 a program at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco began and a Summer Intensive Arabic Program in Amman was added as well. In 2011 a joint summer program was launched in London and Amman on Peace and Conflict Resolution with the London-based Foundation for International Education. New programs in 2012 included a semester/academic year Regional Studies in French program in Rabat, summer programs in Cairo on the History of Engineering, Contemporary Egyptian Politics, Intensive Arabic, and a Learn & Serve Program; as well as a summer course in Jordan on Traditional Islamic Arts. In addition, a semester program in Civil Engineering (in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo University) will debut in Cairo in 2013 as well. With more than 60 years of experience on the ground in the Middle East and North Africa, AMIDEAST is recognized throughout the region, enjoys close connections with the local societies, and benefits from a deep understanding of the cultural, health, safety and security issues affecting study in the Arab world. Guided by an Arabic Language Advisory Board and an Academic Consortium that represents a cross-section of U.S. higher education, AMIDEAST's programs are designed to provide excellence in Arabic language study and area studies. Programs also include ample opportunities to interact with local university students and to reflect on the intercultural encounters in structured settings. Distinctive Features of AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World AMIDEAST's Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World share a set of distinctive features: Arabic language instruction in both Modern Standard and Colloquial Arabic Program-related excursions Facilitated dialogue discussions with students from local universities Activities to develop students' intercultural and global competence An AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program Manager familiar with the local environment to coordinate housing, orientation, excursions, issues discussions, and other program-related activities Core Principles of AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World AMIDEAST s Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World are built on a set of core principles. These principles include Instilling in students an understanding of and respect for local cultural norms Giving back to the local community through engagement with community organizations and institutions in a variety of contexts 3

5 Acting ethically in all dealings with students, faculty, staff, local and U.S.-based academic partners, and the community in which programs take place. Furthermore, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs are student centered designed to serve small cohorts of students in order to assure quality student support, valuable discussion, and opportunities to interact with peers in the host society structured to maximize students o achievement of greater Arabic language proficiency o knowledge of the host country and region, and o intercultural learning through ethical and informed engagement with the host culture. Mission Building on AMIDEAST s mission of strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the people of the Middle East and North Africa, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World help develop mutual understanding through programs for young people to study the Middle East and North Africa, improve their Arabic language skills, and interact with the peoples and cultures of the region, especially local families, organizations, and students. At the same time, AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs strive to develop students intercultural and global competence and provide students with safe, secure, and healthy living and learning environments. The programs are academically rigorous, intellectually free, personally challenging, and focused on intercultural learning. 4

6 Vision Statement Background: Over the past 75 years, American education abroad programming has followed three programmatic paradigms. The first was the Positivist Paradigm in which it was assumed that if students were afforded opportunities to see the great works of art and architecture and visit the homes of the great authors of Europe they would absorb the culture and be transformed. Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, the positivist approach began to be replaced by the Relativist Paradigm. This paradigm holds that by immersing students in another culture they would emerge transformed. This viewpoint purported that immersion alone would lead to student development and that little or no support to students was necessary. Gradually beginning in the 1990s another approach began to develop, rooted in the emerging field of intercultural communication. This Constructivist Paradigm is based on the premise that students intercultural development must be facilitated by strategic intercultural interventions. 1 This new paradigm is supported by extensive recent survey research (most particularly Michael Vande Berg, Jeffrey Connor- Linton, and R. Michael Paige, The Georgetown Consortium Project: Interventions for Student Learning Abroad in Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Fall 2009, pp. 1-75). AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World has maintained a commitment to the intercultural learning of its students as a core principle since its inception in This commitment is rooted in the choice made to follow the Constructivist Paradigm, a choice that was reaffirmed during the January 2013 AMIDEAST Education Abroad Summit held in Cairo, Egypt. Training our education abroad staff in intercultural learning is a necessary ingredient in developing AMIDEAST s capacity to facilitate constructivist programming. This training includes both a theoretical background in intercultural communication and practical approaches to undertaking intercultural interventions. The Education Abroad staff members attending the Cairo Summit identified such training as a high priority. In November 2013, a selected group of eleven AMIDEAST Education Abroad program staff and faculty from Washington D.C., Jordan, Morocco, and Oman participated in workshops under the auspices of the Intercultural Development Research Institute in Milan, Italy to receive that training. The next phase is for these staff members to put what they learned into practice and to provide training to other staff members at each location in order to broaden the overall impact. The Vision To fulfill AMIDEAST s commitment to the Constructivist Paradigm, students are introduced to the idea that one of the program goals is to help them view the world through the lens of host country nationals. Starting during the pre-departure process, students are provided (through the Student Handbook and in pre-departure orientation webinars) with a brief introduction to the concepts of culture and intercultural learning. In addition, students are given a brief introduction to the Five Frameworks (Language Use, Non-Verbal Behavior, Communication Style, Cognitive Style, and Cultural Values) which they can employ as they are encountering their host culture. Both the foundational definitions and the Five Frameworks are discussed in far greater detail during on-site orientation. These and other tools (such as the DIE Model Describe, Interpret, and Evaluate) are used extensively throughout 1 See Michael Vande Berg, R. Michael Paige, and Kris Hemming Lou (eds.), Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students Are Learning, What They're Not, and What We Can Do About It (Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing, 2012), particularly Chapter One, for a full discussion of the three education abroad paradigms and Chapter Four by Milton Bennett on how intercultural learning fits in to the paradigm. 2 Intercultural Learning, in this context, refers to the acquisition of general (transferable) intercultural competence competence that can be applied to dealing with cross-cultural contact in general, not just skills useful only for dealing with a particular other culture (in this case Arab/Egyptian/Jordanian/Moroccan/Omani/ Tunisian). Intercultural competence is the ability to embody intercultural sensitivity, which is the capability to discriminate cultural differences in communication across cultures. For a full discussion of this topic see Chapter 1 in Milton Bennett, Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication, Second Edition (Boston and London: Intercultural Press, 2013). 5

7 the programs to frame student experiences of cultural difference and intercultural encounters as critical learningto-learn practice in cultural perspective-taking. AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs strive for excellence in three interrelated areas: 1. Arabic Language Instruction 2. Area Studies Instruction 3. Intercultural Learning Staff members work collaboratively at each program site to deliver excellence in each of these areas. This ensures that semester and summer programs are coherent and intentional in creating a program that is an integrated whole. In practical terms, each program element is designed with the overriding Constructivist Paradigm in mind, integrating the DIE Model of perceptual awareness wherever possible. 1. Arabic Language Instruction Arabic language instruction in AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs is based on the communicative approach to language teaching and focuses on increasing students proficiency in the four skills speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Proficiency gains are measured through pre- and postprogram Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPI) that are scored on the scale developed by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Arabic coordinators and instructors know about the content of the area studies courses and the intercultural learning components. Therefore, they are able to provide students with appropriate vocabulary and phrases to allow them to express themselves in Arabic about their academic coursework and explain their intercultural encounters in Arabic to the degree possible given their language proficiency. Arabic coordinators are involved in the design of program-organized excursions and Arabic instructors participate in those excursions to integrate the excursions into the language learning process. 2. Area Studies Instruction Area studies instruction in AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs is student centered. The courses offered in each host country focus on issues particularly relevant at that site, such as Arab Israeli Relations (offered in Amman), The Gulf Cooperation Council in International Affairs (offered in Muscat), and Islam in Morocco Today (offered in Rabat). Professors are encouraged to connect their teaching with the local environment by bringing speakers into the classroom and by arranging site visits for students with organizations locally that are working in the field being studied. This ensures the AMIDEAST programs offer students academic experiences that take full advantage their presence in the region. To reinforce the Arabic language and intercultural learning aspects of the programs, the Academic Coordinator and the professors stay informed about what is happening in those areas. They keep the Arabic Coordinator and instructors abreast of what students are studying in their courses so that appropriate vocabulary lists and concepts can be communicated to integrate the content and language learning processes. Academic Coordinators are involved in the design of program-organized excursions and faculty members participate in those excursions and integrate them into the overall program. In addition, the Academic Coordinator and area studies faculty are aware of the DIE Model and the Five Frameworks and strive to incorporate their use into discussions and other course activities. 3. Intercultural Learning Intercultural Learning is infused throughout AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs. As distinct from learning about culture and the cultural artifacts of the host country (which are addressed in orientation, in academic coursework, during program excursions, and through special extra- and co- 6

8 curricular programming), intercultural learning involves helping students to shift among cultural contexts thus enabling them to generate a broader range of appropriate behavior in those contexts. Culture, in this sense, denotes what sociologists refer to as subjective culture as opposed to objective culture the worldview of a group of people as opposed to the institutional aspects of culture (political and economic systems, as well as the products of culture such as art, music, cuisine, literature, and so on). Milton Bennett refers to this as the difference between little-c culture and Big-C culture. 3 In the context of an AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program this element is, as noted above, initially introduced during pre-departure orientation, explained in some detail during on-site orientation, and infused throughout the program. To facilitate intercultural learning the program staff is conversant in intercultural theory and able to design program elements to create teachable moments where students employ the DIE Model to use the Five Frameworks in analyzing their intercultural encounters. Facilitating discussion of encounters that occur spontaneously in interactions with host families, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, etc. is central to the intercultural learning process. These are referred to as intercultural interventions and occur in classes, during program excursions, in one-on-one meetings with program staff, and whenever program staff hears or senses a teachable moment. In constructivist education abroad programming, these interventions are central to the intercultural learning process. In addition to these interventions, program staff makes arrangements for two specific types of encounters with host country peers. Those are the language partner program and the cultural dialogues. Those programs require both careful preparation and debriefing. Ideally the host country peers participating in the language partner program also participate in the cultural dialogues, facilitating the creation of deeper relationships between them and their AMIDEAST counterparts. It also creates the basis for the growth of intercultural sensitivity in both groups over the course of a semester or academic year. In locations where students live with host families, the host family program includes orientation for the families and on-going communication with them designed to enhance their own intercultural learning and their contribution to the intercultural learning of the students. These programs are based on the Constructivist Paradigm assumption that intercultural learning occurs in the third culture space between people who are each trying to adapt to the other. Each AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program ends with a period of time set aside for structured reflection on the experience as a whole. By returning to the DIE Model and looking at experiences through the lens of the Five Frameworks, students are able to reflect on what they have learned during the course of the program both academically and in terms of their personal development.for semester programs Reflection Week includes general reflection and re-entry preparation activities as well as reflection activities in each course; for shorter programs the reflection period is usually one day. The purpose of the reflection period is to couple the student s cross-cultural experience with critical thinking, thus supporting transferable learning that can more readily be applied to the students future educational, professional, and personal lives. 3 See Bennett, op. cit. 7

9 Academics Academic Consortium AMIDEAST s Education Abroad Programs benefit from the advice and quality assurance of an Academic Consortium, a group of 20 higher education institutions that comprise a cross-section of U.S. higher education. Each member institution is represented by an education abroad professional and two faculty members one of whom teaches Arabic and one of whom teaches in Middle East and North African Studies. Consortium members participate in the selection of sites and partners for AMIDEAST s Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World screen and approve individual courses to be offered in AMIDEAST s Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World conduct evaluation site visits Members of the Academic Consortium are: 1. American University 2. Associated Colleges of the Midwest 3. Clemson University 4. Colorado College 5. Creighton University 6. Dickinson College 7. Georgetown University 8. Great Lakes Colleges Association 9. Grinnell College 10. Howard (Maryland) Community College 12. Middle Tennessee State University 13. Norfolk State University 14. Northeastern University 15. Ocean County (NJ) College 16. Queens College 17. University of Cincinnati 18. University of Kentucky 19. University of Pennsylvania 20. University of Richmond 21. University of Texas at Austin 11. Michigan State University Institution of Record If a home institution requires that credit be transferred from an accredited U.S. American university students will receive a transcript from Northeastern University, the AMIDEAST Institution of Record (IoR), upon successful completion of the program. There is a $350 fee for using the AMIDEAST IoR. Should a student's home institution advisor indicate that they need to use the IoR the student (or in some cases their institution) will be billed for this fee. This fee is refundable until the student is a confirmed participant. Once they are confirmed, this fee is non-refundable and the student is responsible for payment. 8

10 Arabic Language and Culture Arabic is a diglossic language. That is, there are two varieties of Arabic, one for reading and writing and another for speaking. The textbook series used in Arabic courses in all AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World, Al Kitaab fii Taallum al Arabiyya, introduces both from the beginning to help students engage easily in their host country and learn the language as its native speakers learn it. However, in the AMIDEAST programs separate courses address two the different varieties of Arabic Modern Standard Arabic and the local dialect. While the multi-media materials that accompany the Al Kitaab series are available only in the Egyptian and Syrian dialects, AMIDEAST, with partial support from the International Research and Studies Program of the U.S. Department of Education, has produced multi-media materials to accompany the series in Jordanian and Moroccan dialects. In addition, also with partial support from the U.S. Department of Education, AMIDEAST has produced multi-media materials to supplement classroom instruction and assist students in the development of cultural competence in Egyptian, Jordanian and Moroccan dialect and culture. All of those materials are used in the colloquial Arabic courses taught in the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in those countries. AMIDEAST is strongly committed to providing students of Arabic with the highest quality programs that are challenging, rigorous, and consistent. AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World has designed its own Arabic Language and Culture Curriculum, based on the most up-to-date approaches to language teaching. This approach to Arabic language instruction is: Functional Communicative Proficiency-based Culturally rich To implement its Arabic Language and Culture Curriculum, AMIDEAST has created a system that focuses on: Selection of the best possible teachers Development of clear guidelines for each course at each level in the curriculum Creation of new materials (where necessary) to effectively integrate the cultural component into the Colloquial Arabic courses at each program site Observation and feedback to the teachers on an ongoing basis throughout the semester by AMIDEAST s Arabic Studies Consultant Continuous needs assessment and in-service training for the teachers to assist them in delivering AMIDEAST s Arabic Language and Culture Curriculum 9

11 Each AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program includes the following Arabic courses in its curriculum: Arabic 101 Modern Standard Arabic I Arabic 102 Modern Standard Arabic II Arabic 201 Modern Standard Arabic III Arabic 202 Modern Standard Arabic IV Arabic 301 Modern Standard Arabic V Arabic 302 Modern Standard Arabic VI Arabic 401 Studies in Arabic Language and Culture Arabic 1X1 Colloquial Arabic I Arabic 2X1 Colloquial Arabic II Arabic 3X1 Colloquial Arabic III Arabic Studies Consultant The Qasid Arabic Institute serves as AMIDEAST s Arabic Studies Consultant. The Qasid Institute has developed a reputation as one of the leading programs in the Middle East for Arabic language learning. Its comprehensive curriculum begins with the proper pronunciation of Arabic letters and continues through to a high degree of proficiency. The word qasid is used to describe a path that is direct and smooth. This is the way the Qasid Institute believes the Arabic language should be taught. The term qasid is also used to describe an individual who strives forward with a direct, specific intention, and clearly defines the kind of student that Qasid attracts to its programs. As the Qasid Institute s reputation has grown, its programs have made it the program of choice in Amman for embassies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and U.S. colleges and universities seeking excellence in Arabic language instruction. In 2008 it hosted the U.S. Department of State s Critical Language Summer Intensive Institute in Jordan; it will do so again in Though its programs are designed mainly for university-level students and busy professionals, Qasid students range in age from 15 to 65. They include embassy and consular officers, Fulbright researchers, full-time mothers, medical doctors, Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship recipients, and Ivy League graduates. More information about Qasid Institute can be found on its website: Arabic Language Advisory Board AMIDEAST Education Abroad Programs in the Arab World benefit from the advice of a distinguished group of Arabic language faculty at U.S. colleges and universities. The Arabic Language Advisory Board members work with Dr. Abuamsha and the Qasid Arabic Institute, AMIDEAST s Arabic Studies Consultant, to define the proficiencybased curriculum for Arabic instruction and the expected outcomes at each level in both Modern Standard Arabic and Spoken Arabic. They also participate in the continuous assessment of the programs. Members of the Arabic Language Advisory Board are listed below. Mahmoud Al-Batal, University of Texas at Austin Roger Allen, University of Pennsylvania (retired) Aida Bamia, University of Florida (retired) Kirk Belnap, Brigham Young University Salah-Dine Hammoud, U.S. Air Force Academy (retired) Mustafa Mughazy, Western Michigan University Nevenka Korica Sullivan, Harvard University Karin Ryding, Georgetown University (retired) Mohammed Sawaie, University of Virginia 10

12 Egypt Egypt programs are currently suspended Semester Courses: Area Studies Students enrolled in the AMIDEAST Education Abroad Program in Cairo carry a credit hour load per semester. All students are required to enroll in Modern Standard Arabic, Colloquial Egyptian Arabic and two or three elective courses (depending on a student's preference) which are offered from a variety of disciplines. Students have the option to take one course from the Egyptology program. All courses are not offered each semester. ART 320: The Development of Islamic Architecture in the City of Cairo (Art 320; 3 credits) This course offers an introduction to the historical development of Cairo, one of the most architecturally-rich cities in the Islamic world. Students will learn to appreciate art by understanding Islamic architecture of Egyptian culture and society. Founded in A.D. 969, Cairo developed into an urban center with its architecture changing with every new consecutive dynasty. Historic documents and surviving monuments help us understand the architectural, artistic, and urban development of the once capital of the Islamic world. The course will trace this development from the Arab conquest in A.D. 640 up to the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha in the mid-nineteenth century. Frequent fieldtrips to various districts in the city will show students how each dynasty had its own architectural style, contributing to the continuous development of Cairo and its architecture. ECON 320: Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa (Economics 320; 3 credits) This course will explore issues relating to social, economic and political development in the MENA region through a multidisciplinary lens. And, as the course also aims to address the practical side of implementing development, it will depend on augmenting the classroom activities with field visits to and guest speakers from a variety of organizations working in the field of development. Students will be given indicative readings on the topics and encouraged to explore them more widely, especially by using examples of practical problems and policy questions, seeking primary data sources and reports. There are no particular prerequisites for this course; however elementary social science studies obtained in disciplines such as economics or politics or an interest in contemporary Middle East issues can be considered as foundational assets for the student. The course may also be of interest to students who are undertaking disciplinary social science degrees and who are interested in Third World politics or economics. ECON 325: The Political Economy of Egypt in the 21 st Century (Economy 325, 3 credits) The course explores the complex social, economic and political fabric of Egypt in the beginning of the 21st Century. It focuses on the main challenges and potential paths for the Egyptian economy in the post-mubarak era. An important element is an examination of the opportunities and challenges confronting economic and political reform initiatives, highlighting the role of the informal economy and the global context of the developmental process. The course begins with an overview of the political economy of the Egyptian state from the beginning of the modernization period in 1805 until the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak and his regime in In doing so, it explores a wide set of themes that include: the nation-state project of Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century, the liberal period in the first half of the 20th century and its impact on the Egyptian economy, the Arab socialist phase under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Infitah, or economic opening under President Anwar Sadat, and the structural alterations of the socioeconomic setting and the neoliberal reformulation of state-society relations that took place during the Mubarak era. There are no particular prerequisites for this course; however previous study of social science in disciplines such as economics or politics or an interest in contemporary Middle East issues is important background for students in this course. 11

13 MENA 390: Community-Based Learning in the MENA Region (MENA Studies 390; 3 credits) This course is designed to enhance students critical and analytical intercultural communication skills with the aim of developing intercultural competence. This is accomplished through course work and practical engagement with host country society in private, official, and semi-official environments. Guided and facilitated by the course instructor, students are expected to spend a minimum of six to seven hours at their community placement work-site each week and submit journal entries reflecting on their experiences. At the end of the semester they design and deliver a final Community-Based Learning project to be shared with a larger audience. Through their experiential education, students develop their intercultural competence which is a valuable asset in the global marketplace. POLS 311: Islam & Politics (Political Science 311; 3 credits) This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of political Islam and politics in the Arab world. It examines the reasons, implications, and consequences of the reassertion of religion in the Arab and Islamic political sphere. It aims to show that socio-political issues related to political Islam take place in the realm of modernity and globalization; hence many lines of comparison can be drawn with other social movements in different religious traditions drawing on religion as a source of legitimacy. The course challenges the students to understand the paradoxes and limitations of modernity with regard to the Islamic world, covering the development of political Islam and the push for democratization in the Middle East. POLS 312: The Arab Spring: Revolution and Reform in the Arab World (Political Science 312; 3 credits) Beginning in December 2010, movements for political reform in the Arab world engulfed the region in a sea of change. This outpouring led to unprecedented outcomes across the region from the January 2011 Jasmine Revolution that forced Tunisia s President Zine Eddine Ben Ali to flee to the Egyptian Revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak after 18 days of demonstrations centered in Cairo s Tahrir Square. Protest movements seeking greater democracy and accountability arose in virtually every corner of the Arab world. The demands for change have led to both peaceful and violent demonstrations of varying intensity in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen. Students will examine the conditions that led to the Arab Spring uprisings through a series of case studies including Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Topics covered include conditions that preceded the uprisings, regime reactions, the role of external players, and prospects for the future. POLS 316: Contemporary Issues in Egypt and the Arab World (Political Science 316; 3 credits) This course is designed to introduce the key concepts, themes, perspectives and methodological approaches that provide students with tools to understand and critically reflect on social, cultural, political and economic complexities and dynamics that characterize the contemporary Arab world. Concepts such as identity, ethnicity, nationalism, gender and gender roles, exchange, the state and society, political organization, social stratification, kinship and family, religion and ritual, fundamentalism, development, democracy, political activism, minorities, and human rights will be reflected upon in the context of different Arab countries. The approach is interdisciplinary, drawing on a variety of contributions of both native and Western scholars from various social sciences and humanities (anthropology, sociology, political science, media studies, sociolinguistics, cultural studies, gender studies, postcolonial critique, literary studies) and discuss the interpretative strength of a number of theoretical positions and epistemic relevance of several methodological orientations in learning about the contemporary Arab world. Students in the course are encouraged to compare the material covered in lectures and readings with their own social and cultural knowledge acquired through living in Egypt and on the two field trips included in the course. POLS 320: International Relations in the Middle East and North Africa (Political Science 320; 3 credits) This course examines the different kinds of hard and soft threats that prevail in the Middle East and North Africa in the post cold war era to enable students to analyze and be able to predict objectively the effects of these hard and soft threats on the regional and international systems. Specifically, the course will focuses on the major issues of hard and soft threats that have a bilateral and multilateral nature in the region. It will examine threats that have direct short-term and long-term devastating consequences that are measurable in number of casualties, demolition of infrastructure, and other long-term effects not only on regional but also international peace and security in post cold war era. 12

14 POLS 350: Comparative Politics in the Middle East (Political Science 350; 3 credits) The Middle East region has been the scene of more crises and stirred more emotion in the West than any other region in the world. Events such as the on-going Arab-Israel conflict, the Iranian revolution of , the 9/11 attacks, and the Iraq war have all reinforced the idea of the Middle East as a region of conflict. What is it that makes the Middle East so prone to violent conflict? In an attempt to answer this question, students in this course will probe the geographical, historical, and religious dynamics of the Middle East. They will then examine different themes including the nature of contemporary politics in the region, the complex regional state relations, the political economy of oil, Islamist and Arab nationalist politics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the region s civil society and relationship with democracy. POLS 368: Contemporary Egyptian Politics (Political Science 368; 3 credits) Contemporary Egyptian Politics (Political Science 368, 3 credits) This course offers students a comprehensive understanding of contemporary Egyptian politics and society. Students engage in a wide range of onsite lectures, starting with the founding of modern Egypt by Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century, continuing through British occupation and the Egyptian monarchy up to the revolution in The course traces the development of the republican government through the presidencies of Gamal Abdul Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak, the 2011 revolution and the post-revolutionary period. Lectures will also focus on Egypt s regional and international role, Egypt's political economy, the system of governance, elections, civil society, gender and human rights, political parties, Islamic movements, social and youth movements and media. The objective of the course is to understand the historical, cultural, economic, social, and political forces in Egypt today as the shape of the post-revolutionary Egyptian political system emerges. Guest lecturers come from civil society organizations, think tanks and political groupings, and students will visit key organizations as well. POLS 370: Egyptian Politics and Society (Political Science 370; 3 credits) This course introduces students to major themes in contemporary Egyptian Politics and Society. In the political sphere, events leading up to the 25 January revolution, the protests that brought down the Mubarak regime, and the challenges that are facing Egypt in the aftermath of the revolution are the major foci, as well as the principal actors currently shaping Egyptian politics, the discourses they use and their methods of mobilizing resources and support. On the social level, youth movements and youth culture, gender, the role of media and new media, civil society, and the role of Copts and other religious and ethnic minorities are highlighted. Finally on the cultural level, important trends in Egyptian art and culture, including new trends in film, literature and performance arts are studied. RELG 350: Islam and Modernity (Religion 350; 3 credits) It is no exaggeration to point out that the claimed conflict between the history and culture of the Islamic world, on the one hand, and the values of modernity, on the other, represents one of the most important - and indeed contentious - issues of our time. One hears voices insisting on the irreconcilability of the two traditions and an eventual "clash of civilizations." This course addresses both the theoretical underpinnings and the practical manifestations of this supposed divide. Students are presented a historical overview of the emergence of modernity in the Muslim world (with special reference to Egypt), its effect on Muslim political and legal institutions, as well as a range of responses to this new reality. In order to make the theoretical concepts as clear as possible, as well as to tackle head-on some of the most fraught issues in the debates between Muslims and westerners, four separate concepts will be treated throughout the semester: democracy, human rights, jihad, and gender. RELG 355: Shariah and Society (Religion 355, 3 credits) What is Shariah? What are its components? What are the different approaches to study it? What does it mean to 'apply' Shariah? Who is responsible for that? And what do different political/social groups mean when they speak about applying Shariah? It is no exaggeration to claim that these questions are amongst the most pressing in the Arab world in the period since the revolutions in This course examines the notion of Shariah, its components, the different Sunni schools of theology and jurisprudence, and Sufism and its relationship with Shariah. The course will scrutinize the debates over the meaning of Shariah and the significance of its application, with special emphasis on the contemporary attempts to embed Shariah in the legal system by Islamist movements. 13

15 SOCY 340: Understanding Contemporary Cairo (Sociology 340; 3 credits) With more than 17 million people in the metropolitan area, the city of Cairo is made up of a complex web of public and private spaces which are defined by a vast array of historical, social, and political dynamics. These dynamics are ever changing as we have seen in the example of Tahrir Square since the January 25 revolution in early The narrative and imagery surrounding Tahrir has morphed and currently this square represents a romanticized image of political agency, public space and social and cultural change. The course will use multiple academic lenses in order to understand the contemporary city of Cairo. Students will examine the main historical junctures in the formation of the city, look at particular public spaces in the city which evoke certain memories, nostalgia, and contribute to the creation of local heritage. Further, the course will examine the recent creation of desert cities and gated communities, spaces of consumption, governance in the city, and informal settlements. Lastly, this course will provide students with the opportunity to study issues of power, resistance, the politics of presence in Cairo, and artistic representation of the city. Through ethnographic exercises students and the instructor will be able to probe critical questions about the urban experience in Cairo. Moreover, this course aims to familiarize students with "Cairo" as a space and object of study in the increasingly growing interdisciplinary literature. Semester Courses: Egyptology Egyptology students enroll in 15 credits and choose three Egyptology specific courses and one Area Studies course of his/her choice. The purpose is to provide students specializing in Egyptology with some study of the current economic, political, social and cultural reality of contemporary Egypt. All courses are not offered each semester. ANTH 350: Pharaonic, Coptic, & Modern Egypt: Culture and Religion from Ancient to Modern Times (Anthropology 350; 3 credits) What makes contemporary Egyptian culture and religious practice distinct from that of other Middle Eastern countries? This course will explore the role that Pharaonic Egypt played in shaping Egyptian folklore and social customs until today and the way in which Muslim and Christian traditions have been interwoven with the ancient culture and changed or reinforced it. The topics explored in this course include popular religion, traditional medicine and magic, material culture, language and oral traditions, cuisine, agriculture, vernacular architecture and the performing arts. Frequent field trips during class time will allow students to explore the topics they are studying firsthand. ARCH 301: Egyptian Archeology (Archeology 301; 3 credits) This course is intended for students with some previous study of ancient Egypt. The focus of the course is on the methods and practice of archeology in Egypt today. While it does not involve extensive active work on digs, students will visit several active projects and learn from practicing archeologists in the field as well as in the classroom. ART 305: Ancient Egyptian Art and Hieroglyphs (Art 305; 3 credits) This course weaves together lectures, discussions and museum and site visits to give students a stylistic as well as an organizational understanding of ancient Egyptian art from the prehistoric through Roman periods and its influence on modern art and issues surrounding its protection today. This will be done while learning the basics of the Egyptian hieroglyphic script and simple grammar. 14

16 HIST 351: Introduction to Ancient Egypt (History 351; 3 credits) This course introduces students to the culture of ancient Egypt from the 5th Millennium BC to mid 3rd Millennium BC. A cradle of civilization, Egypt played a crucial role in world history, profoundly contributing to the rise of the state, monumental constructions, monotheism, technologies, and sciences. The course focuses on the development of the social and political organizations of ancient Egyptian culture. Religious, artistic, linguistic and archaeological aspects will also be introduced all within the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of cultural evolution. The course begins with an introduction to ancient Egyptian culture in space and time, through an overview of its physical and historical settings. It then delves into the emergence of urbanism and reaching the stage of a state-level society, including the crucial concept of the divine kingship and the administration system. In addition, it highlights the relationship between the invention of writing, its monopoly by the intellectual bureaucratic elite, and the rise of complex administration system. In studying the architecture of ancient Egypt, it traces the development of sacred and profane structures as well as the utilization of their walls as surfaces on which the interaction between art and aspects of Egyptian religion are portrayed. HIST 390: Egyptology in Practice (History 390; 3 credits) This course offers students first-hand, experiential learning in the field of Egyptology. It enables students to work alongside practicing Egyptologists in museums and other public institutions active in the field of Egyptology. Placements in the past have been with the Supreme Council on Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum. Guided and facilitated by a practicing Egyptologist, students are expected to spend six to ten hours at their placement work-site each week and submit weekly journal entries reflecting on their experiences. They also are expected to design and deliver a final project to be shared with a larger audience. This course is intended to deepen and broaden the students experience with the field of Egyptology as well as provide a solid analytical framework to enhance their study abroad program in Egypt. Semester Courses: Arabic Language All students enroll in Modern Standard Arabic (5 credits) at a level appropriate to their proficiency. The following levels are offered: Beginning (Arabic 101, 102) Intermediate (Arabic 201, 202) Advanced (Arabic 301, 302) Special tutorial arrangements are made for students whose proficiency is beyond the advanced level (Arabic 401); depending on student interests, various emphases can be offered in Arabic 401. Egyptian Arabic (3 credits) instruction begins during on-site Orientation and continues throughout the semester. Students are placed in classes appropriate to their previous knowledge of Arabic (Arabic 121, 221 or 321). Media Arabic is also available as an elective (3 credits) at both the 200- and 300- levels. ARAB 101: Modern Standard Arabic I (Arabic 101; 5 credits) This course introduces the Arabic alphabet and sound system forms. Students will be given ample opportunity to practice and produce both the alphabet and the sound system; they will start developing their vocabulary via specific structures presented in the textbook. Students will learn simple grammatical structures and gradually listen to authentic and instructional materials that come with the textbook. Most of the exercises and the activities are task-based and studentcentered. The course will cover the material in Alif Baa and Al-Kitaab, Part One, Second Edition, Chapters 1-5. By the completion of the course, students will be able to: Activate the learned vocabulary through interactive activities Understand basic grammatical structures in Arabic Produce a lengthy descriptive and narrative discourse in speaking Express their opinions and show their preferences using structured language Follow and understand short written and spoken texts in the news in the TV Read mid- size texts, using skimming techniques appropriate for their level Learn more aspects of Arabic culture. 15

17 Primary textbooks for Arabic 101: Alif Baa Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds Second Edition, by Kristin Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal and Abbas Al-Tonsi Al-Kitaab fi Ta allum Al Arabiya with DVDs A Textbook for Beginning Arabic: Part One, Second Edition, by Kristin Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal and Abbas Al-Tonsi Locally produced materials, selected by program faculty ARAB 102: Modern Standard Arabic II (Arabic 102; 5 credits) The course is designed to reinforce and continue fulfilling the objectives set for Arabic 101 in terms of meeting the students needs to be able to communicate using Modern Standard Arabic in basic daily life situations. Further this course will help students move to intermediate level, where they can read, listen, and discuss some topics of professional interest. This course focuses on developing the four skills of Arabic: listening, speaking, reading and writing with different levels of focus. In addition to the main textbook, other materials are provided to supplement the textbooks. The course will cover the material in Al-Kitaab, Part One, Second Edition, Chapters By the completion of the course, students will be able to: Activate the learned vocabulary through interactive activities Understand basic grammatical structures in Arabic Produce a lengthy descriptive and narrative discourse in speaking Express their opinions and show their preferences using structured language Follow and understand short written and spoken texts in the news in the TV Read mid- size texts, using skimming techniques appropriate for their level Learn more aspects of Arabic culture. Primary textbooks for Arabic 102: Alif Baa Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds Second Edition, by Kristin Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal and Abbas Al-Tonsi Al-Kitaab fi Ta allum Al Arabiya with DVDs A Textbook for Beginning Arabic: Part One, Second Edition, by Kristin Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal and Abbas Al-Tonsi Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic edited by J.M. Cowan Locally produced materials, selected by program faculty 16

18 ARAB 201: Modern Standard Arabic III (Arabic 201; 5 credits) This course is designed to reinforce all the linguistic skills at both the reception and production levels, with special importance given to the development of reading skills. Students will learn to converse on a variety of topics, narrate, and read authentic material in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). In addition, in this course, students will learn a majority of the basic structures of MSA which will allow them to accomplish more complicated linguistic tasks. Students will also be exposed to many aspects of Arabic culture. The course will cover the material in Al-Kitaab, Part One, Second Edition (in PDF), Chapters By the completion of the course, students will be able to: Use basic conversational tasks successfully in different social situations Understand and correctly use basic grammatical rules in producing written and spoken Arabic Read mid-size texts Extract the main ideas of non-technical texts Extract the main points in video materials and be able to discuss important ideas Develop conversational skills using a variety of language functions (e.g., description, comparison, cause and effect, arguing for/against, etc.) Engage in a variety of daily conversations Give short presentations on topics of interest Converse in Arabic using a variety of language functions appropriate for their level Acquire knowledge about major aspects of Arab and Islamic culture. Primary textbooks for Arabic 201: Al-Kitaab fi Ta allum Al Arabiya with DVDs Part One, Second Edition, by Kristin Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal and Abbas Al-Tonsi Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic edited by J.M. Cowan Locally produced materials, selected by program faculty ARAB 202: Modern Standard Arabic IV (Arabic 202; 5 credits) This course is designed to help students perform linguistic tasks in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) successfully, gain selfconfidence, and expand their risk-taking in real-life communicative situations. The course incorporates developing vocabulary, verb conjugation (including some complex verbs), new patterns, plurals and other مصدرMasdar forms. The course also focuses on developing the ability to construct sentences and simple Arabic texts. Students will also learn more about Arab culture by studying Arab authors, geography, habits, and social customs. This course covers the material in Al- Kitaab, Part Two, Second Edition, Chapters 1-5. By the completion of the course, students will be able to: Guess the meaning of new words from contexts Use skimming and scanning techniques Write short paragraphs correctly Read authentic material from Arabic advertisements, short narratives, descriptions of people and places, simple contemporary poetry, and topics on Arab culture Write both informal and formal letters Write medium length compositions on familiar topics, including descriptions and short narratives Master and distinguish Arabic sentence structures Understand and construct simple paragraphs and simple texts Enrich his/her vocabulary Understand some Arabic spoken situations Read and understand short paragraphs and short texts Write correct sentences and correct paragraphs and short texts Begin to acquire more developed ideas about Arab and Islamic culture Begin to master the Arabic verb system. 17