The Intensive Arabic and Middle East Studies Institute's unique feature is its complementary combination of instruction in language, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and colloquial Arabic, politics, policy, and law. The institute is jointly offered by the World Languages Center and the International Affairs Program at Northeastern University.
An intensive 8 credit course will allow students to take an Arabic course in the morning for 3 and ½ hours, 4 days a week, and a course in Middle East Studies in the afternoon, also for 3 and ½ hours, twice a week.
Offerings for Summer 2009
June 29th – August 13th
Arabic Language Courses
Elementary Arabic 1
Elementary Arabic 2
Arabic I and II provide training in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The textbook will be supplemented with material from current media and popular culture events and from Arabic literary sources. Students will have opportunities to use Arabic in class in conversation drills and in presentations in Arabic on matters relevant to the cultures of the region.
Arabic 1 covers Alif Baa and Units 1-4 in Al-Kitaab I.
Arabic 2 continues with Al-Kitaab and covers Units 5-12.
Intermediate Arabic 1
Intermediate Arabic 2
This sequence develops the integration of MSA and colloquial Arabic through intensive instruction in one dialect. Hence, fewer units from Al-Kitaab are covered in both 1 and 2, and more time is devoted to colloquial Arabic. In addition to training in the four skills pursued in Elementary Arabic, Intermediate Arabic focuses more on writing and conversation.
Intermediate 1 covers Al-Kitaab Units 13-16 and considerable material in the Cairine dialect.
Intermediate 2 finishes Al-Kitaab (Units 17-20) and devotes about half the time to the Cairine dialect. In both 1 and 2, a textbook on Egyptian dialect will be used.
Middle East Studies Course
Human Rights and Counterterrorism in the Arab World
This course will explore the politics, policies and law related to human rights and counterterrorism in the Arab world, and the broader Middle East.
The course has three aims: First, to develop and deepen students’ definitional and functional understandings about human rights, terrorism, and counterterrorism in the international and domestic arenas.Second, explore the real and rhetorical tensions that exist between these concepts, both within the Arab world and in the West as applied in the Middle East. And finally, use case studies of states and non-state actors to bring these concepts to life.The latter will include Hezbollah, Hamas, al Qaeda (in its various permutations), and the Taliban, as well as Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Afghanistan.
Kimberly Jonesis a Faculty Associate for the Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development and teaches in Middle East Studies and International Affairs at Northeastern University. Prof. Jones' research focuses on human rights, regional relations and militant groups, primarily in the Middle East.
Shakir Mustafais a Visiting Associate Professor of Arabic at Northeastern University. His published works are in the area of Contemporary Iraqi Fiction, Jewish American Fiction, Irish Drama, and literary translation.
Arabic @ Northeastern
The Arabic program at Northeastern employs the communicative approach to the teaching and learning of Arabic. It emphasizes both MSA and spoken Arabic from the start. The textbook used in Arabic I and II, Al-Kitaab fi Ta’allum al-‘Arabiyya, facilitates the task, but the summer intensive program will supplement the textbook with more use of colloquial Arabic material. It will also offer instruction in enabling students of Arabic to use their skills and strengths in one variety of the language to improve their knowledge of the other. Equally important is introduction to cultural contexts necessary for a better understanding of how language works.
To learn more about the Arabic program and the World Languages Center, click here.
Middle East Studies and International Affairs @ Northeastern
The Middle East Studies and International Affairs programs embrace a focused and practical approach that supplements academic courses with international experiential education, including the “Dialogue of Civilizations” initiative. Students enrolled in a Middle Eastern Dialogue spend five to six weeks in the region and have a myriad of opportunities to build a knowledge base focused in the region and enrich their academic training through daily, interactive encounters with Middle Eastern peoples and cultures.
To learn more about Middle East Studies and the International Affairs Program, click here.
To learn more about the Middle East Center, click here.
Note:
-Northeastern students should register for the following courses: LNA U914, key# 10821 and IAF U904, key# 04271.
-All other students should contact Boris Rasting-Sera: b.rastingsera@neu.edu – 617-373-3131
To visit the Registrar’s Office website, click here.
Arabic Language Courses
