01:013:162 Elementary Urdu I (4) (fall)

The course is designed to give an introduction to Urdu to students with no prior knowledge of the language. The course will cover all four language skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening) in context. The students will learn vocabulary, expressions, grammar, script and familiarize themselves with South Asian culture. Students will acquire knowledge of the language by using it in realistic contexts. The classes will be interactive. The students are expected to remain engaged and actively participate. As the course progresses, students are expected to use Urdu in class as much as possible. Along with the textbook, online and other audio-video authentic materials will be used as supplements.

Syllabus

01:013:186 Elementary Swahili I (4) (fall)

An introduction to Kiswahili, one of Africa's major lingua franca spoken by millions across several nations in Eastern Africa. Using a communicatively-oriented, proficiency-based approach, students will develop basic communicative skills in the language through a combination of classroom activities, take-home and other language assignments. While the initial emphasis will be on the development of audio-oral skills, students will also be introduced to the essentials of reading comprehension and written expression. In addition to the acquisition of a core vocabulary, the student will be prepared to manipulate basic grammatical structures of Kiswahili for purposes of basic communication in a variety of situations. Students will also be introduced to aspects of Swahili and African culture to build cultural awareness and communicative competence.

01:013:342 Modern Arabic Literature (3) (fall)

This course provides an introduction to modern Arabic literature of the nineteenth and twentieth century. We will examine the interaction between social, political and cultural change in the Middle East and the development of a modern Arabic literary tradition. The texts that form the basis of the syllabus deal with major political, social, religious, cultural, and linguistic aspects of modern Arabic society. The course aims to reflect the different spaces of literary development in diverse parts of the Arab world, including North Africa. The questions we will pursue throughout the semester include: How do these Arab writers conceive of "modernity"? How do they conceive of their relation to politics, and how do they understand the role of intellectuals in their societies? Who are the readers (actual or implied) of these texts? Finally, how do these authors relate to the Arabic literary tradition—including its myths and classical texts—and how is it different from the way they relate to the European and American literary traditions?

Syllabus

A Relativist View of the Indian Nation

Presented by: Professor Partha Chatterjee

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Global Africa and The Humanities Series is an Initiative of The Department of African, Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Literatures (AMESALL) in collaboration with School of Arts and Sciences-Humanities and the Center for African Studies.

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