Courses
Language Courses
Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages
ARAB 101. Elementary Arabic I (4) [GE]
Four lectures plus laboratory.
Introduction to Arabic, with emphasis on language of everyday conversation. Focus
on vocabulary and structures needed for elementary speaking, listening, and reading.
Not open to students with credit in Arabic 102, 201, or 202.
ARAB 102. Elementary Arabic II (4) [GE]
Four lectures plus laboratory.
Prerequisite: Arabic 101 or two years of high school Arabic.
Continuation of Arabic 101. Develops vocabulary and structures needed for elementary
speaking, listening, and reading, with emphasis on the language of everyday conversation.
Not open to students with credit in Arabic 201 or 202.
Advising
Michelle Lenoue
Undergraduate Advisor
Email: [email protected]
For more information, please see the General Catalog.
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.