Mohammad Mohammad

This the first of a two-course sequence. The objective of both classes is to train advanced students with interest in Middle Eastern and Arab current affairs in print and electronic media in the Arab world. Although the nuances of reporting and speaking publicly will be explored in detail, the course is an Arabic-as-a-foreign-language one. The ultimate objective of the course is for students to be able to conduct a press conference entirely in Arabic. The students will gain deep expertise in and about the Arabic media. We will be looking into the interplay between language, political culture and cultural identity. The course will focus on the two language skills: public speaking and 'public' listening. Students will read, listen to and view authentic and current materials from different Arab media sources, notably Al-Jazeera, BBC, Youtube, etc., and some select commentaries by some interesting columnists in the Arabic Press.

Texts

To be provided by instructor. 

Grading

To be provided by instructor.

This course approaches the traditional Arabic grammar in a new untraditional manner. Literary texts will constitute the point of departure and not the other way around as is the common practice. Texts will be studied and based on these texts grammar will be presented. Given the crucial role that voweling 'alHarakaat' plays in both Arabic poetry and grammar plays, all our texts will come from poetry representing the various periods of Arabic poetry.

Texts

Hamaasat Abi Tammam, Diwan Almutannabi, jaame- al-duruus al-arabiyya

Grading

Attendance and Participation: 30%

Weekly Writing Assignments: 30%

Test 1: 10%

Test 2: 10:

Oral Presentation 1: 10%

Oral Presentation 2: 10%

Palestine and the Palestinians: A Journey Though Time is a course devoted to understanding Palestinian history, politics and culture. In an attempt to understand and analyze the Palestinian experience, the course draws on materials taken from scholarship, memoirs, poetry, fiction, folk stories, music, photography and films (feature & documentary). Since the course is taught in Arabic, English materials will be used only when they are not available in Arabic. The course addresses the very important issue of the universality of the Palestinian experience.

Texts

Selection from The Torah, The Bible and The Qur'an.Excerpts from Arabic history books regarding Islamic conquests, the Crusades.UN resolutions on the question of PalestineSelections from Palestinian poetsThe Question of Palestine, by Edward W. Said. New York, Vintage Books; 1992. Before Their Diaspora, by Walid Khalidi; IPS, 2004. Men in the Sun and other Palestinian Stories, by Ghassan Kanafani; Rienner, 1999

Grading: 

Participation 30%; Reaction papers 30%; Presentation 20%; Paper 20%

This course aims to help students develop research skills and projects in the Arabic grammatical tradition.  Instructor will help students choose an area of interest, find and select appropriate readings for the class in both primary and secondary literature, and guide the framing of a research project.  Students will present their areas of interest and lead discussions of the readings, and will also present their final research projects.  

Texts 

Course materials include articles and book sections from Sibawayh, Ibn Ginni, al-Hamdani, Carter, Bohas available on Blackboard. 

Grading 

25%  Preparation and Participation in class discussion, 20% preparation of class session and leading discussion, 20%  presentation of research project, 35% written paper

This course is the first semester of intensive Arabic language instruction. Not open to native speakers of Arabic. Heritage speakers of Arabic and students who have studied Arabic before must contact the language placement coordinator for a placement test before beginning this course.

Texts

Brustad, Al-Batal, Al-Tonsi: Alif Baa:  Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds 3rd edition

Brustad, Al-Batal, Al-Tonsi: Al-Kitaab fi Ta'allum al-Arabiyya: Part One with DVDs 3rd edition

alkitaabtextbook.com student access key 

Available at Austin TXbooks (Beat the Bookstore) at 2116 Guadalupe St.

Grading

To be provided by instructor. 

Course Description

The main thrust of the course will be to analyze the language of the Qur'an in terms of its syntactic and morphological structures as well as its phonological and phonetic features. Following a review of the basic structures of Arabic and of a study of the history and collection of the Qur'anic text as well as of its various readings (Qira'at), the course will analyze some of the shorter (Makki) Surahs (e.g. the Hamim) and some of the longer (Madani) Surahs (e.g. Surat Maryam) and a Surah of the narrative genre (e.g. Surat Yusuf). In addition to this verse by verse analysis, the course will examine syntactic structures such as the conditional sentences, the deverbal (mushtaqqat al-ficl) constructions (e.g. the participles, the qualificative (al-sifa al-mushabbahah)), the Hal, the various accusatives (such as the accusative of purpose), concord, etc., in Qur'anic usage. Readings will include recent studies on the analysis and affiliation of the Qur’anic text. Students will also learn to use Arabic sources. 

Texts

Use will be made of books on  Icrab al-Qur'an and of Mughni al-Labib.

Grading & Requirements

Homework: 40%

Tests: 30%

Term paper: 30%

This course is the first semester of intensive Arabic language instruction. Not open to native speakers of Arabic.

Texts

Brustad, Al-Batal, Al-Tonsi: Alif Baa:  Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds

Brustad, Al-Batal, Al-Tonsi: Al-Kitaab fi Ta'allum al-Arabiyya: Part One with DVDs

Available at Austin TXbooks (Beat the Bookstore) at 2116 Guadalupe St.

Grading

To be provided by instructor. 

Through music, literature, and historical and political writings, this interdisciplinary course offers an overview of contemporary Arabic culture. Starting with a historical overview of the Middle East, the rise of Islam, and the “Golden Age” of Arabic culture, we will address the effects of European colonialism on Middle Eastern politics, religion, and identity from the nineteenth century onward. Then, we will explore the geopolitics of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Lebanese civil war, the recent Arab revolutions, and the war in Iraq, emphasizing their human dimension and focusing on the role of the Arab Media in representing conflicts.

Texts:

The Arabs,  Edward Atiyya.

Course Packet (Available at Jenn’s Copy, 2200 Guadalupe St)

Grading & Requirements:

Participation (20%)

Students are expected to come to class having read the material assigned for that day. Participation is assessed based on the frequency and quality of the questions and comments raised in class. 

Oral Presentation (10%)

Students will present to the class research on any topic relevant to the content of the course. The presentations will be scheduled during Week 3 of the session.

Assignments (30%)

There will be 4, 3-page assignments required in this class. These short assignments spread throughout the semester are meant to test students’ comprehension of the material assigned. Papers will be evaluated on their accuracy of information, analytical skills, attention to detail, organization, and writing. The assignments will be reaction papers to materials read and/or covered in class

Final Paper (40%)

The final for this class consists of an 8 page take-home paper which addresses a particular theme related to the class material. Students will discuss the paper topic with the instructor during the course of the semester. The paper will comprise a research and analytical component, and will be evaluated based on originality, presentation, and writing. Paper topics will be provided during the course of the semester.

Writing Guidelines

All assignments and the final paper should be typed and double spaced. Late assignments or paper will NOT be accepted.

Writing Assistance

The Undergraduate Writing Center is located in FAC 211, phone 471-6222. The Center offers individualized assistance to students who want to improve their writing skills. There is no charge, and students may come in on a drop-in or appointment basis.

Through music, literature, and historical and political writings, this interdisciplinary course offers an overview of contemporary Arabic culture. Starting with a historical overview of the Middle East, the rise of Islam, and the “Golden Age” of Arabic culture, we will address the effects of European colonialism on Middle Eastern politics, religion, and identity from the nineteenth century onward. Then, we will explore the geopolitics of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Lebanese civil war, the recent Arab revolutions, and the war in Iraq, emphasizing their human dimension and focusing on the role of the Arab Media in representing conflicts.

Texts:

The Arabs,  Edward Atiyya.

Course Packet (Available at Jenn’s Copy, 2200 Guadalupe St)

Grading & Requirements:

Participation (20%)

Students are expected to come to class having read the material assigned for that day. Participation is assessed based on the frequency and quality of the questions and comments raised in class. 

Oral Presentation (10%)

Students will present to the class research on any topic relevant to the content of the course. The presentations will be scheduled during Week 3 of the session.

Assignments (30%)

There will be 4, 3-page assignments required in this class. These short assignments spread throughout the semester are meant to test students’ comprehension of the material assigned. Papers will be evaluated on their accuracy of information, analytical skills, attention to detail, organization, and writing. The assignments will be reaction papers to materials read and/or covered in class

Final Paper (40%)

The final for this class consists of an 8 page take-home paper which addresses a particular theme related to the class material. Students will discuss the paper topic with the instructor during the course of the semester. The paper will comprise a research and analytical component, and will be evaluated based on originality, presentation, and writing. Paper topics will be provided during the course of the semester.

Writing Guidelines

All assignments and the final paper should be typed and double spaced. Late assignments or paper will NOT be accepted.

Writing Assistance

The Undergraduate Writing Center is located in FAC 211, phone 471-6222. The Center offers individualized assistance to students who want to improve their writing skills. There is no charge, and students may come in on a drop-in or appointment basis.

Through music, literature, and historical and political writings, this interdisciplinary course offers an overview of contemporary Arabic culture. Starting with a historical overview of the Middle East, the rise of Islam, and the “Golden Age” of Arabic culture, we will address the effects of European colonialism on Middle Eastern politics, religion, and identity from the nineteenth century onward. Then, we will explore the geopolitics of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Lebanese civil war, the recent Arab revolutions, and the war in Iraq, emphasizing their human dimension and focusing on the role of the Arab Media in representing conflicts.

Texts:

The Arabs,  Edward Atiyya.

Course Packet (Available at Jenn’s Copy, 2200 Guadalupe St)

Grading & Requirements:

Participation (20%)

Students are expected to come to class having read the material assigned for that day. Participation is assessed based on the frequency and quality of the questions and comments raised in class. 

Oral Presentation (10%)

Students will present to the class research on any topic relevant to the content of the course. The presentations will be scheduled during Week 3 of the session.

Assignments (30%)

There will be 4, 3-page assignments required in this class. These short assignments spread throughout the semester are meant to test students’ comprehension of the material assigned. Papers will be evaluated on their accuracy of information, analytical skills, attention to detail, organization, and writing. The assignments will be reaction papers to materials read and/or covered in class

Final Paper (40%)

The final for this class consists of an 8 page take-home paper which addresses a particular theme related to the class material. Students will discuss the paper topic with the instructor during the course of the semester. The paper will comprise a research and analytical component, and will be evaluated based on originality, presentation, and writing. Paper topics will be provided during the course of the semester.

Writing Guidelines

All assignments and the final paper should be typed and double spaced. Late assignments or paper will NOT be accepted.

Writing Assistance

The Undergraduate Writing Center is located in FAC 211, phone 471-6222. The Center offers individualized assistance to students who want to improve their writing skills. There is no charge, and students may come in on a drop-in or appointment basis.

Levantine Arabic, spoken across a wide area (referred to as bilad ash-sham) and encompassing different political boundaries has several dialects: 1) Lebanese, 2) Syrian, 3) Palestinian and 4) Jordanian Arabic. Dialect areas tend to be identified with urban centers such as Damascus, Amman, Jerusalem, and Beirut. While the focus of the course is the dialect natively spoken by the instructor, namely northern rural Palestinian Arabic, students will be repeatedly exposed to other dialects in this group. The material used will be as authentic as possible and will be given in the Arabic script. The target of this course is to approximate what may be termed as Educated Spoken Arabic.

Texts:

Syrian Arabic available at syrianarabic.com

Grading:

Homework and class participation: 50% Two presentions 50% (25% each).

Please see the instructor for a detailed course description.

This course is designed for Arabic majors and graduate students who are interested in teaching Arabic. We cover all aspects of Arabic grammar by first focusing on the core and then move on to the periphery. We also cover the morphology of Arabic. There will be a great deal of hands-on training where students extensively apply the grammatical points covered in class. Students are, therefore, expected to do a great deal of homework in time in order to be able to participate fully in class. As part of a cultural bonus, we follow the methodology adopted in Departments of Arabic in the Arab World in teaching grammar.

Texts:

To be provided by the instructor.

Grading:

To be provided by the instructor.