| CODE | ARB1025 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Introduction to Arabic Studies | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The Arab world is a diverse geographical and cultural region spanning two continents, yet is united by a shared historical, cultural, and linguistic fabric. In order for students to critically study and discuss topics related to the Arab world, this study-unit is designed to cover topics related to culture such as religious and ethnic diversity, impact of the West, stereotyping, the role of education, music, movies, calligraphy, culinary cultures and tourism and topics related to the linguistic tradition, including the historical development of Classical Arabic and diglossia. The second part of the study-unit consists of a series of lectures tackling specific skills that students require in the various components of the Arabic programme such as presentation skills, academic writing including Arabic transcription, and other general research skills. Study-Unit Aims: 1. To provide a practical and basic introduction to Arabic studies as area studies; 2. To equip students with basic knowledge regarding the cultural and linguistic issues pertaining to the Arab world; 3. To introduce students to basic learning and research strategies; 4. To raise the students' awareness about various politically-motivated agendas underlying various forms of popular culture (movies, literature, etc.). Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. explain basic cultural and linguistic characteristics of the Arab world; 2. transcribe Arabic texts into the Latin script; 3. distinguish modern standard Arabic from various Arabic dialects; 4. discuss aspects of geography, history, and cultural issues pertaining to different countries of the Arab world. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. analyse critically data about the Arab world; 2. produce well-structured presentations about specific topics; 3. identify reliable primary and secondary sources for academic research; 4. compose short audio-visual and written projects. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: "Aramco World" available on: https://www.aramcoworld.com/Home Also available as an application. Goldschmidt, Arthur. A Concise History of the Middle East. Westview Press, 1999. Hattstein, Markus and Peter Delius, eds. Islam: Art and Architecture. Koenemann, 2004. Hitti, Philip K. History of the Arabs. Macmillan International Higher Education, 2002. Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Faber and Faber, 2013. Lewis, Bernard. The Arabs in History. Hutchinson University, 2002. Nydell, Margaret K. Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Westerners. Intercultural Press, 2002. Shehab, Bahia and Haytham Nawar. A History of Arab Graphic Design. American University of Cairo Press, 2020. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Amy Marie Abela |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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