Arabic Media and Culture August 8, 2016 - September 1, 2016 The in-depth curricula of this 3 part course in Arabic Media and Culture enables serious students whose proficiency in Arabic is on the high intermediate level to experience an integrated and expanded approach to the Arabic language and the Arab world. Total Credits: 5 I. Arabic Audio and Written Media II. Spoken (Colloquial) Arabic III. Culture of the Middle East Additionally, students will go on weekly field trips in which they will become familiar with Arab societies within Israel. This is a unique opportunity to experience local traditions and culture in the villages and heterogeneous cities of the Galilee. I. Arabic Audio and Written Media Dr. Sarit Pisson This is an integrated-skills course that introduces the language of Arabic audio and written media at the high intermediate level. Through reading and listening assignments, as well as targeted study of vocabulary and structures, students will develop proficiency in reading, listening to, and commenting on the Arab media. Course topics may include meetings, protests, terrorism, economics, conflicts, criticism of religion and practice, and daily issues that come up in the القدس العربي, as: newspapers. Texts are taken from online newspapers in the Middle East, such others. and األهرام, البعث, الرأي, الشرق األوسط, بي.بي.سي II. Spoken (Colloquial) Arabic Ms. Hiba Fahoum Course Requirements: -- Attendance of 80% of the classes -- Active participation in class conversations -- Preparing for the dialogs, texts, homework -- Quizzes + presentation
Final grade: Quizzes, homework, participation and attendance 50% Final presentation 50% The Aim of this Course is to teach the local colloquial ("spoken") Arabic and to acquire more advanced skills in vocabulary and grammar. Emphasis is on current topics from a variety of primary resources to enable students to communicate with native-arabic speakers in actual everyday situations. Topic/s Introduction and Review: Notes * Arabic dialects in general and Palestinian dialects in specific * Between FusHa (MSA Modern Standard Arabic) and 'Ammiyya (Colloquial or "Spoken" Arabic): Basic similarities and differences: - How does the pronunciation of some letters, prefixes, suffixes and words change from FusHan to 'Ammiyya? - Some FusHa words and their equivalents in 'Ammiyya - Demonstratives Handout + lists of comparison (pages taken from different books) - Relative pronoun/s - Verbs general view of prefixes and suffixes in 'Ammiyya - Question words Greetings and expressions commonly used (+ replies) in different occasions and situations Noun suffixes in 'Ammiyya possessive pronouns Handouts of greetings and expressions (+ replies) in Arabic and their transcription for facilitating accurate pronunciation + exercise Handout a page taken from a book The word " 'ind- " : "to have" or "at "?
Days of the week and time expressions in 'Ammiyya (today, tomorrow, yesterday ) Numbers differences from FusHa pronunciation, the suffix "-ar", the rules for using numbers and nouns in singular and plural Verb Conjugations: Past, present simple, present progressive, future, infinitive ("mansub"), imperative (command), negation Exercises - full conjugation of verbs in lists - turning sentences from FusHa to 'Ammiyya Listening practice + general review Texts in 'Ammiyya Stories for reading and listening comprehension Speaking practice: Texts in 'Ammiyya dialogs (a visit for a family, at the airport, looking for a restaurant ) Writing and speaking practice using vocabulary and grammatical rules of 'Ammiyya to build up your own conversations Arabian food, heritage/ folklore, traditions a general view Arabic music poets, singers and songs: classical/ folklore and modern music Handout Handout Handout + pages of lists, examples and exercises for verbs of different types (e.g. first pattern verbs and their conjugation depending on the "present vowel"; verbs with "Alif" as the second vowel of the root and how this Alif changes in conjugation ) Handouts lists and sentences A scene from a TV series ("Once upon a time") + handout: exercise - "who said what?" Handout + pages from different books: texts and questions Pages from books Working in pairs/ groups Ppt presentation Ppt presentation + links III. Culture of the Middle East Dr. Rana Zaher This course offers an interdisciplinary overview of the central aspects of Arab culture in the Middle East. Based on academic research, textual and media resources, and literature from both the Arab world and elsewhere, we will survey a number of fields relevant to an understanding of contemporary Arab civilization: historical background, language varieties, literary traditions, and social constructs. The course will present ample educational opportunities and experiences that promote analytic skills and insights into another culture and its complexities. Course Content
This course presents 5 generic topics and 2 classes (approximate to semester's length) will be designated for each. The topics and their branches are detailed below: 1. History: Arabs before Islam, Arabs after Islam, the history of Arab nationalism, and the place of Christian Arabs in the Middle East. 2. Language: The development of Arabic: classical Arabic, colloquial Arabic, dialects, Arabic language, identity and politics. 3. Religion: The three main religions: Islam, Christianity and Druze, religion and culture, religion and politics. 4. Gender: The secular Arab feminist movement, Islamic Feminism. 5. Intellectual debates: Orientalism and its critique. Course Requirements: Reading Assignments Class Participation Final exam Since it is an introductory course, there are no pre-requisites, though minimal knowledge in Arab culture is recommended but not necessary. Attendance is obligatory for at least 80% of the classes. Students are expected to come to class with their own material and ready for discussion. Bibliography: Antonius, G.,(1939). The Arab Awakening: The story of the Arab National Movement, (Chapter 1, p. 13-34), Simon Publications. Badawi, M., M., (1992).Modern Arabic Literature, (pp.1-22), Cambridge University Press Badran, M., (2005). Between secular and Islamic feminism/s. Reflections on the Middle East and
beyond, Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, Vol.1. No. 1,( pp.6-28) Bassiouny, R., (2009). Diglossia and dialect groups in the Arab world, Arabic Sociolinguistics: Topics in Diglossia, Gender, Identity and Politics, (chapter 1, pp.9-26), Georgetown UP. Bassiouny, R., (2009). Women in the Arab world: framing and background information, Arabic Sociolinguistics: Topics in Diglossia, Gender, Identity and Politics, (Chapter 4, pp.133-137) Washington DC, Georgetown University Press, Bernard, L., (2012). Orientalism and the cult of right thinking, Notes on a century: reflections of a Middle East historian, (pp. 26), Penguin Publishing Cachia, P.,( 2002). Arabic Literature; an overview, (pp. 1-23), RoutledgeCurzon Mahfoudhi, A., Everatt, J. & Elbeheri, G., (2010). Introduction to the special issue on literacy in Arabic, Read Writ 24 (pp.1011 1018) McCallum,F.,(2012). Christian political participation in the Arab world, Islam and Christian Muslim Relations, 23:1,( pp.3-18) Moghadam, M.,V. (2002). Islamic Feminism and its discontents: towards a resolution of the debate, Signs, Vol. 27, No. 4., (pp. 1135-1171), The University of Chicago press Said, E., 1979, Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient, (chapter 1, pp. 1-27), Penguin. Waardenburg, J.,(2004). Christians, Muslims, Jews, and their religions, Islam and Christian- Muslim Relations, 15:1, (pp.13-33) This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the lecturer