Spring 2026 - All Courses
Arabic 1101.01 - Elementary Modern Standard Arabic I
Developing the ability to use Arabic functionally and communicatively in context; intensive oral interaction with instructor and fellow students; the basics of the writing system. Classroom track. Not open to native speakers of Arabic.
Prereq: Not open to native speakers of Arabic. Not open to students with 1101.02 or 4 cr hrs of 1101.51. This course is available for EM credit.
GE Foundation: World Languages
Professor: Manal Habbal
Credit Hours: 4
Arabic 1102.01 - Elementary Modern Standard Arabic II
Developing further language ability through learning how to perform certain functions orally and using them with fellow students; reading and writing passages reflecting their abilities. Classroom track.
Prereq: Not open to native speakers of Arabic. 1101.01 or 4 cr hrs of 1101.51. Not open to students with credit for 1102.02 or 4 cr hrs of 1102.51. This course is available for EM credit.
GE Foundation: World Languages
Professor: Manal Habbal
Credit Hours: 4
Arabic 1103.01 - Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I
Building on previously acquired functional abilities; using Arabic to express opinion and feelings; oral interaction in the classroom; reading authentic texts or various genres. Classroom track.
Prereq: Not open to native speakers of Arabic. 1102.01, 1102.02, or 4 cr hrs of 1102.51. Not open to students with credit for 1103.02 or 4 cr hrs of 1103.51. This course is available for EM credit
GE Foundations: World Languages
Instructors: Hekmat Dirbas, Nahla Al-Huraibi
Credit Hours: 4
Arabic 2101 - Arabic Grammar I
Accelerated introduction to the structure of modern standard and classical Arabic: phonology, morphology, and syntax, with emphasis on development of reading comprehension skills.
Pre-req: 1103, placement exam, or instructor permission.
Professor: Hekmat Dirbas
Credit Hours: 3
Arabic 2104.01 - Intermediate Standard Arabic II
Initiating and sustaining communication, reading and understanding short authentic passages, and writing to express many language functions. Regular classroom track. Not open to native speakers of Arabic.
Prereq: 1103.01 or 4 credit hours of 1103.51. Not open to students with credit for 2104.02.
Professor: Marie-Therese Labaki
Credit Hours: 5
Arabic 2112 - Colloquial Arabic II
Continued study of the phonology and grammar of the everyday spoken language used in the Eastern Arab world.
Prereq: 2111 or 4111. Not open to students with credit for 4112.
Professor: Marie-Therese Labaki
Credit Hours: 3
Arabic 2241 - Contemporary Arab Cultures: Arts, Mass Media, Society
A general survey and examination of the socio-cultural structure of the modern Arab world. Taught in English.
GE Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies, GE Foundation: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Diversity
Professor: Hekmat Dirbas
Credit Hours: 3
Arabic 2701 - Classical and Medieval Arabic Literature in Translation
Reading and analysis of major works of Arabic literature from the 6th to the 17th centuries including classical poetry, the Qur'an, and the Arabian Nights.
Prereq: English 1110 (110). Not open to students with credit for 371.
GE Foundation: Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts
Professor: Johanna Sellman
Credit Hours: 3
Arabic 3601 - Introduction to Arabic Philosophy
Surveying the development and major subjects and thinkers of the most vivid period of Arabic philosophy.
GE Theme: Citizenship For a Diverse and Just World
Professor: Sean Anthony
Credit Hours: 3
Arabic 3702 - Place, Space, and Migration in Modern Arabic Literature and Film
This course on modern Arabic literature and culture in translation focuses on questions of belonging, relationship to space, and migration. It examines how Arabic literary narratives, films, documentaries, and other arts have imagined modes of belonging to spaces such as cities and nations, the natural world (and even the universe!) from the early postcolonial period to the present.
Prereq: English 1110
GE Theme: Lived Environments
Professor: Johanna Sellman
Credit Hours: 3
Arabic 4106 - High Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic
Continued development of language skills through reading and evaluating a variety of authentic Arabic texts and genres; writing compositions on various aspects of Arabic culture.
Prereq: 3105
Professor: Nahla Al-Huraibi
Credit Hours: 5
Arabic 5405 - ALI Advanced Arabic for the Professions
This advanced-level course immerses students in the complexities of professional Arabic used in governmental and organizational contexts, including diplomacy and fields of work that are adjunct to it. Focusing on verbal communication in the classroom, the course presents language skills that enable students to professionally express practical themes and topics used by embassies, NGOs, and more.
Prereq: GPA 3.0 or above in Arabic major/minor courses, and Soph, Jr, Sr or Grad standing.
Professor: Hekmat Dirbas
Credit Hours: 3
Arabic 8891 - Seminar in Arabic Studies
Intensive investigation of a selected topic or problem in Arabic linguistics, philology, literature, or literary culture. This course will give graduate students an opportunity to explore thoroughly a major issue or phenomenon in the larger context of Arabic literary culture or linguistics and to examine its ramifications and implications. The objective is to provide a well-defined area of concentrated literary/cultural or linguistic study and invite the investigation of a specific scholarly problem through the application of appropriate research skills and methodological approaches.
Prereq: Permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 16 cr hrs.
Professor: Sean Anthony
Credit Hours: 4
Hebrew 1102.01 - Elementary Hebrew II
Reading of passages from various periods of Hebrew literature; review of salient points of elementary grammar & introduction to elements of classical Hebrew. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit.
Prereq: 1101, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 102. This course is available for EM credit.
GE Foundation: World Languages
Professor: Galit Golan
Credit Hours: 4
Hebrew 2105 - Intermediate Hebrew II
The purpose of this course is to continue to develop communication skills in Modern (Israeli) Hebrew. This includes reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension. Equal emphasis is placed on each of these language skills. Special emphasis will be given to using new grammatical skills in advanced forms of composition and conversation.
Prereq: 1103 (104), or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 205.
Professor: Galit Golan
Credit Hours: 4
Jewish Studies 2201 - Introduction to Jewish Culture, Thought, & Practice
An introduction to the historical, ideological, and cultural growth of Judaism examined from a variety of methodological perspectives.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 201.
GE Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies
Professor: Adena Tanenbaum
Credit Hours: 3
Jewish Studies 2455 - Jews in American Film
A study of how modern Jews appear in film compared with historical reality.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 2455 (332). GE historical study course. Cross-listed in History.
GE Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies
GE Foundation: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Diversity
Professor: Matthew Goldish
Credit Hours: 3
Hebrew 2700H - The Hebrew Bible in Translation
Reading and analysis of selected chapters from the Hebrew scriptures and post-biblical Hebrew writings representative of major historical, cultural, and literary trends.
Prereq: English 1110 (110). Not open to students with credit for 370.
GE Foundation: Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts, GE Foundation: Race, Ethnicity, & Gender Diversity
Professor: Daniel Frank
Credit Hours: 3
Hebrew/Jewish Studies 3245: Israeli Film & Society
This course focuses on Israel films from 1948 to the present day. From early Israeli films with low budgets to recent blockbusters, we’ll examine the art of filmmaking and analyze specific cinematic representations of Israeli life and society. In the process, we’ll watch a lot of great movies. Hebrew 3245 is designed for anyone interested in film and society, and assumes no previous knowledge about Israel. All films will include English subtitles.
Prereq: English 1110. Not open to students with credit for 2245 or JewshSt 2245 or 3245. GE VPA and diversity global studies course. Cross-listed in JewshSt.
GE Theme: Citizenship for a Diverse & Just World
Professor: Galit Golan
Credit Hours: 3
JEWSHST/HEBREW 3704 - Women in the Bible and Beyond
An examination of the social, legal, and religious position of women as they appear in the Hebrew Bible and the ways in which the have been represented and interpreted in later textual, visual, and audio sources. Prereq: English 1110 (110). Not open to students with credit for 374. GE lit and diversity global studies course. Cross-listed in Jewish Studies.
GE Foundation: Literary, Visual, & Performing Arts
Professor: Yoni Nadiv
Credit Hours: 3
Hindi 1102 - Elementary Hindi II
Continued study of Hindi language, with appropriate cultural background; development of listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
Prereq: 1101. Not open to students with credit for 102.
GE Foundation: World Languages
Professor: Preeti Palvankar
Credit Hours: 4
Hindi 2104 - Intermediate Hindi II
Continued study of Hindi language, with appropriate cultural background; development of listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
Prereq: 1103.
Professor: Preeti Palvankar
Credit Hours: 3
Islam 3201 - Muslims in America and Europe: Migration and Living Between Worlds
Explore the experiences of religious minorities in the U.S. and Europe for Muslims whose families are originally from the Arab world, Iran, South Asia, Turkey, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for NELC 3201.
GE Theme: Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World
Professor: Parvaneh Hosseini
Credit Hours: 3
This course explores the development of, and the dynamics behind, four traditions of Islam during its formative and classical periods (ca. 600-1200 AD): Islamic scriptural tradition, tradition of Islamic law and jurisprudence, tradition of Islamic politics and rulership, and the Islamic tradition of divinity. This course is conducted entirely in English.
Prereq: English 1110.xx; or GE foundation writing and info literacy course. Not open to students with credit for NELC 3501.
GE Theme: Traditions, Cultures, and Transformations
Professor: TBD
Credit Hours: 3
NELC 2200 - Introduction to the Modern Middle East
This course presents students with a multidisciplinary analysis of diversity and change in the modern Middle East. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide students with an enlarged perspective of the political, economic, social and theological issues in the Middle East and its diaspora, with close attention to diverse social categories such as race, religion, gender and ethnicity.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for IntStds 2200. GE soc sci orgs and polities and diversity global studies course. GE foundation social and behavioral sci and race, ethnicity and gender div course. Cross-listed in IntStds.
GE Foundation: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Diversity
GE Foundation: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Professor: Parvaneh Hosseini
Credit Hours: 3
NELC 2241 - The Middle East Close-Up: People, Cultures, Societies
This course provides an ethnographic overview of the "Culture" and cultures of the contemporary Middle East. It is designed to increase student knowledge and awareness about the Middle East in regard to its cultural, social, political and religious institutions. The history of the region is examined as background to developing a more thorough understanding of the contemporary Middle East as represented by its villages, towns, and cities. This is also a course in the comparative study of culture, addressing essential questions in the study of societies located within a single regional context which are informed by different cultural traditions. We'll get acquainted with the region through readings, films, and other course materials that provide fascinating windows into the Middle East " close-up".
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 241 or Anthrop 2241 (241). Cross-listed in Anthrop.
GE Foundation: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Diversity, GE Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies
Professor: Nathan Young
Credit Hours: 3
NELC 2244 - Films of the Middle East
Overview of contemporary films from different Middle Eastern countries; how filmmakers of the region view, present, and construct their countries using particular modes of representation.
Prereq: English 1110.
Professor: Mehrak Kamali Sarvestani
GE Foundation: Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts.
Credit Hours: 3
NELC 3168 - The History of God
Exploration of how the idea of a single God developed in religions having their origins in the ancient near East and the Mediterranean (judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hellenistic philosophy) from ancient times to the present
Prereq: English 1101, or GE Foundation: Writing and Info Literacy course. Not open to students with credit for RelStds 3168. Cross-listed in RelStds.
GE Theme: Traditions, Cultures, and Transformations
Professor: James Moore
Credit Hours: 3
NELC 3700 - Mythology of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
An introductory comparative survey of the mythology of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Prereq: English 1110 (110). Not open to students with credit for 370.
GE Theme: Lived Environments
Professor: Sarah Schellinger
Credit Hours: 3
NELC 3804 - Culture and Society in Ancient Egypt
Students will develop an advanced understanding of how cultural traditions and transformations over time impacted the daily lives of the ancient Egyptians. Topics include the land of Egypt and its people, art and writing, international relations, women and children, religion and ritual, the legacy of ancient Egypt and more.
GE Theme: Traditions, Cultures, and Transformations
Professor: Sarah Schellinger
Credit Hours: 4
NELC 5103 - Phoenician Grammar
The Phoenicians were master seafarers, merchants, and artisans whose trade networks spanned the Mediterranean, spreading goods, technologies, and ideas across cultures. By transmitting the alphabet and facilitating the circulation of Near Eastern knowledge, they helped lay the foundations upon which Greek culture and ultimately Hellenism could flourish. As intermediaries between Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, the Phoenicians occupy a central place in understanding the interconnected world of the ancient Near East. In this course, we will read from the breadth of surviving genres in Phoenician and early Punic, including literary inscriptions, economic records, religious texts, administrative documents, and more.
Prereq: Students must have completed at least one semester of any Semitic language, ancient or modern. Graduate students without a background in a Semitic language may undertake a brief self-study in the basics of Phoenician over winter break, if they choose to join.
Professor: James Moore
Credit Hours: 3
Weds: 2:15 - 5:00 PM
PERSIAN 1102 - Elementary Persian II
Further development of listening, writing, speaking, and reading skills; reading of simplified Persian texts. In Persian 1102, Elementary Persian II, students develop and gain confidence in spoken Persian, master the second third of the grammar content of the required text, acquire an active vocabulary of about 1,200 words and read and write simple prose. The text and dictionary is the same as in Persian 1101, and additional reading material is provided
The grade determination is on the basis of class attendance, homework, quizzes, a midterm test, and a final examination.
Prereq: 1101 or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 102. This course is available for EM credit.
GE Foundation: World Languages
Professor: Mehrak Kamali Sarvestani
Credit Hours: 4
PERSIAN 2104 - Intermediate Persian II
Extensive reading from literary texts, with practice in conversation and composition. During this course students will continue to increase their vocabulary, to develop their abilities in oral and written expression, and to complete the study of the fundamental structures essential to an understanding of modern literary Persian. In this course, students will have the opportunity to read literary texts and essays and comment on them, both in writing and orally. The grade determination is mostly on the basis of video-recording, in-classroom debates, formal polished presentations to the class, and compositions and written exercises.
Prereq: 1103.
Professor: Mehrak Kamali Sarvestani
Credit Hours: 4
Persian 2701 - Persian Literature in Translation
A study of Persian literature in translation and the history of its discourses, genres, and styles. This course will expose students to Persian literature in translation from both classical and modern periods in order to make it available to students and comparativists in other languages and disciplines. Become acquainted with a number of representative works of Persian literature, identify enduring themes in the literature, and see the ways in which modern Persian literature has grown from its classical origins.
Prereq: English 1110, or GE foundation writing and info literacy course.
GE Foundation: Literature, Visual and Performing Arts
Professor: Mehrak Kamali Sarvestani
Credit Hours: 3
SASIA 2230 - Living Everyday Lives: Systems of Discrimination in the United States and South Asia
The course shows how everyday life in South Asia where caste is a category of oppression compares to everyday life in the United States where race is a category of oppression. Everyday life will also introduce students to how race and caste as categories of oppression interact with gender and ethnicity in the United States and South Asia.
GE Foundation: Race, Ethnicity and Gender Diversity
Professor: Richa Jhaldiyal
Credit Hours: 3
SASIA 3220 - Citizenship in South Asia
This course engages students with a look at how citizenship is imagined in nation states, how it was imagined in colonial India, and how it is manifest in post-colonial South Asia.
GE Theme: Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World
Professor: Richa Jhaldiyal
Credit Hours: 3
SASIA 3625 - Understanding Bollywood, Knowing India: Hindi Cinema Since 1960
Explores life in India from the lens of Hindi language cinema.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for NELC 3625, 3625.01, or 3625.02.
GE Theme: Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World
Professor: Richa Jhaldiya
Credit Hours: 3
SASIA 3635 - Desi Diaspora: South Asians in the United States
This course is designed as a multi-disciplinary introduction to communities with South Asian heritage who live in the United States of America. The material for the class centers on the South Asian diaspora in the US. The class aims to teach students the connections between diasporas, identities, nationalism, citizenship, and if diasporic communities have lived experiences that are unique.
GE Theme: Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World
Professor: Richa Jhaldiyal
Credit Hours: 3
SASIA 5241 - Interdisciplinary Approaches to South Asian Studies
This course is designed as a multi-disciplinary introduction to South Asia, primarily focusing on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, but also referring to Afghanistan, Tibet, and Maldives in geographical, political, cultural, and religious context and connections.
Prereq: English 1110. Not open to students with credit for NELC 5241.
GE Theme: Traditions, Cultures, & Transformations
Professor: Ila Nagar
Credit Hours: 3
TURKISH 1102: Elementary Turkish II
Further development of listening, writing, speaking, and reading skills; reading of simplified Turkish texts. Not open to native speakers through regular enrollment or EM credit. In Turkish 1102, students develop and gain confidence in conversational Turkish, learn the second half of the grammatical content of the text, acquire a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words, and read and write simple prose approximately one page in length.
Prereq: 1101, or placement exam.
GE Foundation: World Languages
Professor: Nathan Young
Credit Hours: 4
TURKISH 2101 - Intermediate Turkish II
Extensive reading from literary texts, with practice in conversation and composition.
Prereq: 1103. Not open to students with credit for 201.
Professor: Nathan Young
Credit Hours: 4
URDU 1102 - Elementary Urdu II
Continued study of Urdu language, with appropriate cultural background; development of listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills.
Prereq: 1101, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 102, native speakers, or EM credit. This course is available for EM credit.
GE Foundation: World Languages
Professor: Preeti Palvankar
Credit Hours: 4
UZBEK 2101 - Intermediate Uzbek II
Extensive reading from literary texts, with practice in conversation and composition.
Prereq: 1103 or 104. Not open to students with credit for 201, or to native speakers.
Professor: Preeti Palvankar
Credit Hours: 4
Uzbek 3102 - Advanced Uzbek
This course aims to increase fluency in oral expression; develop skills in listening, reading and writing; extend knowledge of literary Uzbek language; and enable research in Uzbek. Course will use four skills approach as well as communicative. Using authentic language materials (newspapers, journals, TV programs) will be emphasized.
Prereq: 2102
Professor: Preeti Palvankar
Credit Hours: 3