ARB570

042279

This content course introduces the students to issues in modern and contemporary intellectual thought in Middle Eastern and North African societies. It scaffolds the learners to explore the key trends that have preoccupied a number of Arabic intellectual figures in the Arab world. Focus will be given to the second half of the twentieth century and beyond in which the Arab intellectual and political scene polarized between a glorious past and modernist notions. Adopting a theme-based approach, the course presents seven modules: the early beginnings of modern intellectual thought; Nahda and modernity; intellectual thought and Islamic movements; intellectual thought and secular orientations; Arab nationalism; Arab national identity between originality and authenticity; and gender and women. Special focus is given to the role of Islamic traditions in the conflicting discourses around these topics. Texts and audio-visual interviews and lectures by/with Arab intellectuals, who creatively critique the present predicament and relate it to the future, are presented. The historical and socio-political contexts in which these issues emerged and developed by their respective thinkers are studied. The course ends with a consideration of how this intellectual history bears on current reality in the MENAS region in the post Arab Spring era, and how to envision the future. As a content course conducted entirely in Arabic (Standard and dialects), it is expected to strengthen all the four language skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) at the advanced level. Also, it consolidates students' strategies of academic reading and writing.

GRD - Regular Grades A, B, C, D, E

Graduate

CE - CL (Cross Listed)

ARB 406/506 or above, equivalent to ARB 406/506 or above by test for credit, or permission by instructor.

ARB470