Courses

ARAB 201. Intermediate Arabic I (4) [GE]
Four lectures plus laboratory.
Prerequisite: Arabic 102.
Further development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, with emphasis on the language of everyday conversation. Not open to students with credit in Arabic 202. 

ARAB 202. Intermediate Arabic II (4) [GE]
Four lectures plus laboratory.
Prerequisite: Arabic 201.
Further development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, with emphasis on the language of everyday conversation.

ARAB 301. Advanced Arabic I (4) [GE]
Four lectures plus laboratory.
Prerequisites: Arabic 202; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Advanced facility in oral expression and writing for practical purposes; exposure to various dialects through newspaper and media Arabic; elements of literary and classical language. 

ARAB 302. Advanced Arabic II (4) [GE]
Four lectures plus laboratory.
Prerequisites: Arabic 301; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Continuation of Arabic 301. More advanced writing and longer expository texts. Reading modern and classical texts.

ARAB 350. Advanced Conversational Arabic (4) [GE]
Four lectures plus laboratory.
Prerequisites: Arabic 202; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Study of one or more spoken varieties of Arabic, with emphasis on advanced conversational proficiency. Social and cultural topics, conversational strategies and stylistic features. May be repeated with new content. Maximum credit eight units.

ARAB 360. Advanced Arabic Grammar (3) [GE]
Prerequisites: Arabic 202; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Arabic grammar and grammatical relations, parts of speech, and cases. Word, sentence, and discourse structure. Comparison between Modern Standard Arabic and spoken Arabic.

PERS 101. Elementary Modern Persian I (4) [GE]
Introduction to modern Persian and Persian writing system. Development of speaking, listening, and reading skills using multimedia materials. Vocabulary for everyday topics and develop culturally appropriate discourse strategies for everyday situations. Not open to students with credit in Persian 102, 201, 202, 301, or a higher-numbered Persian course. 

PERS 102. Elementary Modern Persian II (4) [GE]
Prerequisite: Persian 101 or two years of high school Persian.
Continuation of Persian 101. Development of speaking, listening, and reading skills using multimedia materials. Vocabulary for everyday topics and develop culturally appropriate discourse strategies for everyday situations. Not open to students with credit in Persian 201, 202, 301, or a higher-numbered Persian course. 

PERS 201. Intermediate Persian I (4) [GE]
Prerequisite: Persian 102.
Further development of speaking, reading, listening, and writing skills, with emphasis on language of everyday conversation. Integrated approach to learning Persian to include awareness and appreciation of Persian culture. Not open to students with credit in Persian 202, 301, or a higher-numbered Persian course.

PERS 202. Intermediate Persian II (4) [GE]
Prerequisite: Persian 201.
Intermediate level students achieve further proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing; produce language needed for daily routines and work related discourse. Not open to students with credit in Persian 301 or a higher-numbered Persian course. 

PERS 301. Advanced Persian I (4) [GE]
Prerequisites: Persian 202 and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Oral expression and writing for practical purposes; exposure to various dialects through newspaper and media; elements of literary and classical language. 

PERS 302. Advanced Persian II (4) [GE]
Prerequisites: Persian 301 and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Writing complex literary and expository texts. Reading modern and classical texts to include complicated media. Producing, understanding debates and speeches. 

Non-language Courses Offered in Islamic and Arabic Studies

Department of Economics

ECON 466. Economics of the Middle East (3)
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and ECON 102
Theories and practices of economic development in the Middle East to include economic history, colonial legacies, natural resource curse, migration, state capitalism, and economics of conflict. 

Department of History

HIST 473. Middle Eastern History from the Advent of Islam to 1500 (B) (3) [GE]
Prerequisite: Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities required for nonmajors.
Middle Eastern history, 600 C.E. to 1500 C.E.; spread of Islam through rise of Ottoman Empire.

HIST 474. The Middle East Since 1500 (C) (3) [GE]
Prerequisite: Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities required for nonmajors.
Middle Eastern history since 1500 C.E.; Islamic empires, European colonialism, nationalism, and modernization.

HIST 574. Arab-Israeli Relations, Past and Present (C) (3)*
Arab-Israeli conflict and diplomacy over Palestine from perspectives of Zionism, Arab nationalism, and Great Power relations from nineteenth century to present.

HIST 582. Topics in Social and Cultural History (A) (3)*
Prerequisite: Upper division or graduate standing.
Variable topics in social and cultural history may include: Ritual in early modern Europe, radicals ad revolutionaries, intellectuals and society, families in former times, and American popular culture. See Class Schedule for specific topic. May be repeated with new content. Maximum credit six units.

* indicates courses open to both graduates and undergraduates.

Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages

ARAB 296. Topics in Arabic Studies (1-4)
Topics in Arabic language, culture, and linguistics. May be repeated with new content. See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor’s degree.

ARAB 330. Arabic Culture (3) [GE]
Prerequisites: Upper division standing; and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities.
Cultures of Arabic speaking peoples of the Near East, Middle East, and North Africa, as reflected in literature, the arts, history, political and social institutions. Taught in English. 

ARAB 496. Topics in Arabic Studies (1-4)
Topics in Arabic language, literature, culture, and linguistics. May be repeated with new content. See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor’s degree. Maximum credit eight units. 

ARAB 499. Special Study (1-3)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Individual study. Maximum credit six units.

PERS 296. Experimental Topics (1-4)
Selected topics. May be repeated with new content. See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor’s degree. 

PERS 400A. Iranian Life and Culture through Literature (3)
Prerequisite: Persian 302.
Iranian life and culture as represented through literature. Iran’s cultural, political, and social trends. History and the study of cross-cultural encounters.

PERS 400B. Iranian Life and Culture through Contemporary Film (3)
Prerequisite: Persian 302.
Current cultural and social issues in Iran through study of representative films.

PERS 496. Topics in Persian Studies (1-4)
Topics in Persian language, literature, culture, and linguistics. May be repeated with new content. See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor’s degree. Maximum credit eight units. May be taught in English.

Political Science

POL S 300. Islam and Politics (3) [GE]
Concepts, interactions, and theories between Islamic actors and political institutions. Islam-state relations.

POL S 363. Governments and Politics of the Middle East (3) [GE]
Prerequisite: Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.B., Social and Behavioral Sciences required for nonmajors.
The governmental and political structures of representative states in the Middle East including Turkey, Israel, and the Arab States.

POL S 562. Religion and Politics
Prerequisite: POL S 103
Various types of relationships between contemporary states and religious institutions. Concepts and theories on religion and politics. Cases of state-religion interaction. 

Religious Studies

REL S 310. The Qur’an (A) (3) [GE]
Prerequisites: Three units of religious studies and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities required for nonmajors.
Major themes of Qur’an including cosmology, eschatology, good and evil, gender, God and monotheism, People of the Book (Jews and Christians), and role of religion in society. Attention to historical period in which the Qur’an was compiled. 

REL S 328. Islam (B) (3) [GE]
Prerequisites: Three units of religious studies and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities required for nonmajors.
Islamic religion and culture in Asia, Africa, and Near East. History, doctrines, practices, literatures, social and intellectual movements, role of Mohammed, and gender relations within Islam as understood in global context.

REL S 330. Abrahamic Faiths: Shared Stories (B) (3) [GE]
Prerequisites: Three units of religious studies and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities required for nonmajors.
Theological, textual, and political relations among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Shared religious practices and stories such as creation, sacrifice, theories of evil and salvation, prophecy and Messianic expectations. Contemporary issues regarding gender, fundamentalism, and rise of nationalism.

REL S 379. Religious Violence and Nonviolence (D) (3) [GE]
Prerequisites: Three units of religious studies and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.C., Humanities for nonmajors.
Role of religion in terrorism, hate groups, scapegoating, domestic and ecological violence, versus role of religion in peacemaking and movements for social justice. Nonviolent philosophies of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and pacifism in Jain, Buddhist, and Christian traditions.

Women’s Studies

WMNST 331. Women in Asian Societies (3) [GE]
Prerequisite: Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.B., Social and Behavioral Sciences required for nonmajors.
Socio-economic status of women in Asia. Feminism and the status of women in China, India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and other countries. Feminist movements in Asia and women’s status as affected by changing social, economic, and political orders in Asia

WMNST 560. Women in Muslim Societies (3)
Prerequisite: Three upper division units in women’s studies.
Socio-political status of women in Muslim societies in Middle East, North Africa, and Asia; women in the Quran; Muslim women’s movements.

 

View the SDSU class schedule.