ELEMENTARY TAMIL II
Introduces students to the basic grammatical and syntactical skills required to function adequately in a Tamil-speaking environment. Of particular interest to students planning to conduct scholarly research or fieldwork in that region of the world. Introduces students to the rich culture of the Indian subcontinent where Tamil is spoken. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Jay Ramesh
Info - 4 points
ELEMENTARY SWAHILI II
Essentials of grammar, basic vocabulary, practice in speaking and reading Swahili the most widely used indigenous language of East Africa. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 9:10 a.m.-10 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Abdul Nanji
CULPA: 1 Info - 4 points
ELEMENTARY WOLOF II
Introduction to the basic grammatical structures of Wolof, a major language of West Africa spoken in Senegal and Gambia. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mariame S Sy
Info - 4 points
FIRST YEAR ARABIC I
An introduction to the language of classical and modern Arabic literature. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 8:50 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
- MTWR 2:40 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Ouijdane Absi
CULPA: 6
Info
-
Instructor:
Lamees Fadl
Info - 5 points
FIRST YEAR ARABIC II
Prerequisites: First Year Arabic I or instructor permission. An introduction to the language of classical and modern Arabic literature. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 10:10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
- MTWR 11:40 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
- MTWR 8:50 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Rym Bettaieb
CULPA: 7
Info
-
Instructor:
Reem Faraj
CULPA: 4
Info
-
Instructor:
Zeina Sayegh
Info - 5 points
ELEMENTARY ARMENIAN II
In Elementary Armenian II, students learn the Armenian script and the basic grammar that will enable them to communicate about topics relating to themselves and their immediate surroundings: family, school, daily occupations, describing people, expressing likes and dislikes, requesting and giving information about themselves and others, proper forms of greetings, etc. They also begin to read signs, advertisements, and develop the skills to read texts like short stories and Armenian fables. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 4:30 p.m.-6:10 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Charry Karamanoukian
Info - 4 points
INTEN ARMENIAN/HERITAGE SPKRS
Intensive Armenian for Heritage Speakers is an accelerated course for students of Armenian origin who already have basic knowledge of the spoken language and are able to converse on familiar topics relating to themselves and their immediate surroundings. The course will focus on developing their skills in reading, writing, and speaking and Armenian grammar and vocabulary. By the end of the course, students will be able to read, write and discuss simple texts. Placement will be based on an interview and questionnaire about their background. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- TR 11:45 a.m.-1:25 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Charry Karamanoukian
Info - 4 points
COLLOQUIUM ON MAJOR TEXTS
Readings in translation and discussion of texts of Middle Eastern and Indian origin. Readings may include the Quran, Islamic philosophy, Sufi poetry, the Upanishads, Buddhist sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, Indian epics and drama, and Gandhis Autobiography.
- T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
- W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Wael Hallaq
CULPA: 9
Wikipedia
Info
-
Instructor:
Elaine Van Dalen
CULPA: 3
Info
- 4 points
ELEMENTARY SANSKRIT II
An introduction to classical Sanskrit. Grammar, and reading of texts. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 9:10 a.m.-10 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Jay Ramesh
Info - 4 points
1ST YR MOD HEBREW:ELEM II
Prerequisites: MDES UN1501, or the equivalent, based on performance on the placement test. Continued introduction to Hebrew, with equal emphasis on all languages skills. (See MDES UN1501.) No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 10:10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
- MTWR 11:40 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Illan Gonen
CULPA: 3 Info - 5 points
ELEMENTARY HINDI-URDU II
An introduction to the most widely spoken language of South Asia. Along with an understanding of the grammar, the course offers practice in listening and speaking. The Hindi (Devanagari) script is used for reading and writing. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 4:10 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Timsal Masud
Info - 5 points
HINDI FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS II
This is an accelerated course for students of South Asian origin who already possess a knowledge of basic vocabulary and limited speaking and listening skills in Hindi. They may not have sufficient skills in reading and writing but are able to converse on familiar topics such as: self, family, likes, dislikes and immediate surroundings. This course will focus on developing knowledge of the basic grammar of Hindi and vocabulary enrichment by exposing students to a variety of cultural and social topics related to aspects of daily life; and formal and informal registers. Students will be able to read and discuss simple texts and write about a variety of everyday topics by the end of the semester. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 2:40 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
- MTWR 4:10 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Rakesh Ranjan
CULPA: 6
Info
- 5 points
URDU FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS II
Prerequisite
: one semester of prior coursework in Urdu for Heritage Speakers I (UN1615) in the Fall semester, or the instructor’s permission. This is an accelerated
course for students of South Asian origin who already possess a knowledge of basic vocabulary and limited speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in Urdu. For instance, they should be able to converse, comprehend, read and write on familiar topics in Urdu such as: self, family, likes, dislikes and immediate surroundings. This course will focus on developing knowledge of the basic grammar of Urdu and vocabulary enrichment by exposing students to a variety of cultural and social topics related to aspects of daily life; and formal and informal registers. Students will be able to read and discuss simple Urdu texts and write about a variety of everyday topics by the end of the semester. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 2:40 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Aftab Ahmad
CULPA: 12
Info
- 5 points
ELEMENTARY PERSIAN II
An introduction to the spoken and written language of contemporary Iran. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Saeed Honarmand
Info - 4 points
ELEMENTARY MODERN TURKISH II
Prerequisites: MDES UN1901 An introduction to the written and spoken language of Turkey. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Zuleyha Colak
CULPA: 2 h-index: 0 Info - 4 points
CONTEMP ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
Lecture and recitation. No previous study of Islam is required. The early modern, colonial, and post-colonial Islamic world studied through historical case studies, translated texts, and recent anthropological research. Topics include Sufism and society, political ideologies, colonialism, religious transformations, poetry, literature, gender, and sexuality.
- MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Alison Vacca
Info - 4 points
INTERMEDIATE SWAHILI II
Prerequisites: SWHL W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. A review of the essentials of Swahili grammar; detailed analysis of Swahili texts; practice in conversation. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Abdul Nanji
CULPA: 1 Info - 4 points
INTERMEDIATE WOLOF II
Prerequisites: WLOF W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. Further develops a students knowledge of Wolof, a major language of West Africa spoken primarily in Senegal and Gambia. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mariame S Sy
Info - 4 points
CONTMP ISLAMIC CIVILIZATN-DISC
Required discussion section for ASCM UN2008: Contemporary Islamic Civilization
- W 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
- W 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
- W 5:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
- R 11:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Maryam Siddiqui
Info - 0 points
SECOND YEAR ARABIC I
Prerequisites: MDES W1210-W1211 or the equivalent. A continuation of the study of the language of contemporary writing. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 10:10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Ouijdane Absi
CULPA: 6
Info
- 5 points
SECOND YEAR ARABIC II
Prerequisites: MDES W1210-W1211 or the equivalent. A continuation of the study of the language of contemporary writing. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 11:40 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
- MTWR 10:10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
- MTWR 4:10 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Rym Bettaieb
CULPA: 7
Info
-
Instructor:
Zeina Sayegh
Info -
Instructor:
Lamees Fadl
Info - 5 points
ARABIC HERITAGE SPEAKERS II
Prerequisites: Instructor permission. This is an intensive course that combines the curriculum of both First and Second Year Arabic in two semesters instead of four, and focuses on the productive skills (speaking and writing) in Modern Standard Arabic (Fusha). Students are exposed intensively to grammar and vocabulary of a high register. After successful completion of this course, students will be able to move on to Third Year Arabic. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 10:10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Youssef Nouhi
CULPA: 7
Info
- 5 points
INTERMEDIATE SANSKRIT II
Reading and grammatical analysis of a literary text, chosen from the dramatic and narrative tradition. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- TR 10:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Jay Ramesh
Info - 4 points
2ND YR MODERN HEBREW II
Prerequisites: Second Year Hebrew: Intermediate I or instructor permission. Equal emphasis is given to all language skills. Irregular categories of the Hebrew verb, prepositions and syntax are taught systematically. Vocabulary building. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or writing short compositions. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. (Students completing this course fulfill Columbia College and Barnard language requirement.) No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 2:40 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Illan Gonen
CULPA: 3 Info - 5 points
HEBREW FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS
Prerequisites: Hebrew for Heritage Speakers I Hebrew for Heritage Speakers II forms the second part of a year-long sequence with Hebrew for Heritage Speakers I. The course is intended for those who have developed basic speaking and listening skills through exposure to Hebrew at home or in day-school programs but do not use Hebrew as their dominant language and have not reached the level required for exemption from the Columbia language requirement. Heritage speakers differ in the degree of their fluency, but their vocabulary is often limited to topics in daily life and many lack skills in reading and writing to match their ability to converse. The course focuses on grammar and vocabulary enrichment, exposing students to a variety of cultural and social topics in daily life and beyond. By the end of the semester students are able to read and discuss simple texts and write about a variety of topics. Successful completion of the year-long sequence prepares students to enroll in third-year modern Hebrew. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MWR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
- MWR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Danielle Katz-Shenhar
Info - 4 points
INTERMEDIATE HINDI-URDU II
One year of prior coursework in Elementary Hindi-Urdu I&II or the instructor’s permission. The course aims to continue consolidating and building upon the existing listening, speaking, reading, writing and cultural skills and will help students acquire higher level proficiency in Hindi language. Students will be introduced to new grammatical structures and a broad range of vocabulary through exposure to a variety of authentic materials including Hindi literature, newspapers, folk tales, films, songs, and other kinds of written and audio-visual materials and through these materials. Students will expand their knowledge base of the society and culture of the target languages in this course. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 1:10 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Timsal Masud
Info - 5 points
CINEMAS OF INDIA
This course offers an expansive journey through the forms, pleasures, and meanings of Indian cinema. It explores the plural beginnings of popular film; the many competing cinemas produced across India; the diverse protagonists (from vamps to vigilantes) that populate the imagined entity named ‘national cinema’; and the varied audiences addressed by these cinemas. Over the course of the semester, we will watch 15 of the most iconic narrative films produced in India, including
Diamond Queen
(1940),
Awara
(1951),
Deewar
(1975),
Roja
(1992),
Mahanagar
(1963), and
Bandit Queen
(1994). As we voyage with the dynamic, shifting codes and priorities of India’s fiction filmmaking, we also shadow the emergence of the Indian nation and contestations of its coherence.
- MW 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Debashree Mukherjee
CULPA: 2 h-index: 5 Info - 3 points
GANDHI & HIS INTERLOCUTORS
GANDHI & HIS INTERLOCUTERS
Gandhi is in two senses an extraordinary figure: he was the most important leader of anti-imperialist movements in the twentieth century; yet, his ideas about modernity, the state, the industrial economy, technology, humanity’s place in nature, the presence of God - were all highly idiosyncratic, sometimes at odds with the main trends of modern civilization. How did a man with such views come to have such an immense effect on history? In some ways, Gandhi is an excellent entry into the complex history of modern India - its contradictions, achievements, failures, possibilities. This course will be primarily a course on social theory, focusing on texts and discursive exchanges between various perceptions of modernity in India. It will have two parts: the first part will be based on reading Gandhi’s own writings; the second, on the writings of his main interlocutors. It is hoped that through these exchanges students will get a vivid picture of the intellectual ferment in modern India, and the main lines of social and political thought that define its intellectual culture. The study in this course can be followed up by taking related courses in Indian political thought, or Indian politics or modern history. This course may not be taken as Pass/D/Fail.
- TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Sudipta Kaviraj
Wikipedia Info - 4 points
GANDHI & HIS INTERLOCUTORS-DIS
- R 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
- R 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
- F 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
- F 11:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Sourav Chatterjee
Info - 0 points
INTERMEDIATE PERSIAN II
Prerequisites: MDES W1701-MDES W1702 or the equivalent. A general review of the essentials of grammar; practice in spoken and written Persian; Arabic elements in Persian; selected readings emphasizing Iranian life and culture; materials from Tajikistan and Afghanistan, Indari. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 10:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Saeed Honarmand
Info - 4 points
INTERMEDIATE MODERN TURKISH II
A continuation of the study of the written and spoken language of Turkey, with readings of literary, historical, and other texts. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Zuleyha Colak
CULPA: 2 h-index: 0 Info - 4 points
PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI POLIT/SOC
The History of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) in 19th century Europe and the development of Zionism through the current peace process between the state of Israel and the Arab states and the Palestinian national movement. Provides a historical overview of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict to familiarize undergraduates with the background of the current situation. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Joseph A Massad
CULPA: 23 Wikipedia Info - 4 points
PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI POL/SOC DS
Required discussion section for MDES UN3042: Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Society
- T 4:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
- T 5:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
- W 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
- W 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Elias M Taweel
Info - 0 points
Crisis and War in the Horn of Africa
CRISIS AND WAR HORN OF AF
The Horn of Africa is often described as a disaster story, a land of terror, crisis and failure. But is it really a place in crisis? In what ways and for whom? For the people of the region, what constitutes meaningful social and political life? Is it possible to approach politics in the Horn of Africa through lenses other than those of violence and disaster? Are there other methods of understanding the experiences of crisis and recovery? In addition to examining emerging research trends in the region the course examines various approaches to the questions of war, humanitarian intervention, peace building, democratization, and economic reform. It considers how the study of popular culture, religious change, and social movements provide other ways to think about collective life. The seminar is intended for those interested in the study of Africa and the Middle East, and other regions that may seem bleak to outsiders but can provide new ways of understanding politics.
- T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Elleni Zeleke
CULPA: 1 Wikipedia Info - 3 points
(Re-)Framing the Persian Gulf and Arabia
Reframing Persian Gulf &
This course offers you the opportunity to study the politics and societies of the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf in the 19th and 20th centuries through a critical historical lens. It is designed to question scholarly and popular claims about the Gulf and Arabia by examining both classic works of scholarship and literary/cinematic representation, as well as recent attempts to rethink the geographic, sectarian, national, and ethnic boundaries of the region. The latter include: the nature and legacy of imperialism in the Gulf, the significance of social and labor movements in shaping the kinds of modern states that emerged in the region, the relationship between tribe and state, the formation of nation-states and national identity, and the constitutive role of mobility and migration in the region. In this course, you will engage critically with a range of texts - literary, visual, theoretical - that establish knowledge about the Gulf to assess the merits and limits of the frameworks used to traditionally study it. The aim of the course is to provide you with the theoretical skills and empirical evidence necessary to develop your own arguments about the Gulf's past and present, as well as alternative criteria to understand the present predicaments of its peoples. No prior knowledge of the Gulf or Arabia is required.
- T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Bandar T Alsaeed
Info - 3 points
ADVANCED SWAHILI II
Prerequisites: Advanced Swahili I or the instructor's permission. An introduction to the advanced syntactical, morphological, and grammatical structures of Swahili grammar; detailed analysis of Swahili texts; practice in conversation. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Abdul Nanji
CULPA: 1 Info - 4 points
ADVANCED WOLOF II
Prerequisites: Advanced Wolof I or instructor permission. This course will further your awareness and understanding of the Wolof language and culture, as well as improve your mastery of grammar, writing skills, and oral expression. Course materials will incorporate various types of text including tales, poetry, literature as well as multimedia such as films, and videos, television and radio programs.
- TR 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mariame S Sy
Info - 4 points
URBAN SPACE & CONFLICT IN MIDDLE EAST
URBAN SPACE&CONFLICT MID EAST
This course explores how civil war, revolution, militarization, mass violence, refugee crises, and terrorism impact urban spaces, and how city dwellers engage in urban resilience, negotiate and attempt to reclaim their right to the city. Through case studies of Beirut (1975-present), Baghdad (2003-present), Cairo (2011-present), Diyarbakir (1914-present), Aleppo (1914-present), and Jerusalem (1914-present), this course traces how urban life adjusted to destruction (and post-conflict reconstruction), violence, and anarchy; how neighborhoods were reshaped; and how local ethnic, religious, and political dynamics played out in these cities and metropolises. Relying on multi-disciplinary and post-disciplinary scholarship, and employing a wealth of audiovisual material, literary works, and interviews conducted by the instructor, the course scrutinizes how conflicts have impacted urban life in the Middle East, and how civilians react to, confront, and resist militarization in urban spaces.
- M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Khatchig Mouradian
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
SOCIETIES/CULTRS: INDIAN OCEAN
This course introduces the Indian Ocean as a region linking the Middle East, East Africa, South and Southeast Asia. With a focus on both continuities and rupture from the medieval to the modern period, we study select cultures and societies brought into contact through interregional migration and travel from the 10th to 20th centuries. Different types of people - nobles, merchants, soldiers, statesmen, sailors, scholars, slaves - experienced mobility in different ways. How did different groups of people represent such mobilities? What kinds of political, economic, and social cooperation, accommodation or conflict did different Indian Ocean encounters engender? We read some of the newest humanities and social science scholarship, as well as primary sources ranging from manuscript illustrations, sailor’s stories, merchant letters, travelogues, pilgrimage accounts, colonial documents, memoirs, and diplomatic accounts.
- MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mana Kia
CULPA: 2 h-index: 11 Info - 3 points
A HISTORY OF AFRICAN CITIES
- M 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mamadou Diouf
CULPA: 2 Wikipedia Info - 3 points
Islam and the Politics of Modernity
Islam & Politics of Moder
This course explores the relationship between Islam and politics from in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Muslim and Middle Eastern intellectuals have long grappled with the role of Islam in the modern polity. Their often-contested engagements with this question have deeply shaped the political life of the region. In this course, you will explore the genealogy of these debates by analyzing the issues they brought to the fore: the nature of the modern Islamic community, Islam’s relationship to Western imperialism, the challenges posed by the postcolonial nation-state, as well as the various political theologies at play in Islamist movements, in “liberal” conceptions of Islamic doctrines, and in Muslim states’ interpretations of religion.
The class follows the intellectual history of the “Islam and Politics” dyad. Students will mostly read primary sources produced by individuals who lived in the Middle East in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: political essays, theological writings, legal texts, constitutions, parliamentary debates, autobiographies. The aim of the course is to examine the thought of Muslim intellectuals who have written about the role of religion in politics and society. Students will learn about the politics of the Middle East by understanding the views, claims, and textual productions of Middle Easterners themselves. This exposure to primary texts will give them a deep understanding of the issues related to religion and politics in the Middle East today.
Please note that this course is for students who are interested in
critically and academically
engaging with the issue of Islam and politics. Discussions will be firmly rooted in history, the humanities and the social sciences. This is neither a course on Political Islam (Islamism) nor
a survey of the history of religion and politics throughout the entire Middle East.
Secondary literature in English will be assigned, as well as primary sources in English translation. There will be opportunities to read and comment on Arabic primary sources as well, depending on students’ reading abilities.
- W 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Youssef Ben Ismail
Info - 3 points
Honors Thesis Seminar Part 2
Honors Thesis Sem Pt. 2
The MESAAS honors seminar offers the opportunity to undertake a sustained research project working closely with an individual faculty adviser. It also enables you, as part of a small group of MESAAS students working with the seminar instructor, to develop the skills of academic research and writing and learn how to collaborate with peers and create an engaged intellectual community. This 3-point seminar continues the work begun in the Fall semester of the senior year in MDES 3960 Honors Thesis Seminar Part 1.
- M 10:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Hamid Dabashi
CULPA: 30 Wikipedia Info - 3 points
THE NOVEL IN AFRICA
The main task of this course will be to read novels by African writers. But the novel in Africa also involves connections between the literary genre of the novel and the historical processes of colonialism, decolonization, and globalization in Africa. One important question we'll consider is how African novels depict those historical experiences in their themes and plots—we'll read novels that are about colonialism, etc. A more complex question is how these historical processes relate to the emergence of the novel as an important genre for African writers. Edward Said went so far as to say that without imperialism, there would be no European novel as we know it. How can we understand the novel in Africa (whether read or written) as a product of the colonial encounter? How did it shape the process of decolonization? What contribution to history, whether literary or political, does the novel in Africa make? We'll undertake a historical survey of African novels from the 1930s to the present, with attention to various subgenres (village novel, war novel, urbanization novel, novel of postcolonial disillusion, Bildungsroman). We'll attend to how African novelists blend literate and oral storytelling traditions, how they address their work to local and global audiences, and how they use scenes of characters reading novels (whether African or European) in order to position their writing within national, continental, and world literary space.
- MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Jennifer Wenzel
CULPA: 3 h-index: 15 Info - 4 points
Urban South Africa
Histories of Urban Africa
The aims of this seminar are 1) to introduce students to the broad parameters of urban South African history 2) to familiarize students with the immense creativity and resilience of African peoples, even in the most difficult colonial contexts 3) to illustrate how race, class and gender were socially, historically and politically constructed in South Africa 4) to guide students in the completion of an original research paper on some aspect of black South African urban life 5) to enhance student appreciation for the ways in which a researcher's perspective and interests influences their interpretation of sources 6) to make visible the ways in which research outcomes are shaped by a researcher's choice of source material 7) to develop student research and writing skills.
This course provides only a bare introduction to the history of South Africa. The chief aim is to provide students with a hands-on opportunity to conduct original research and to help students develop skills in documenting African agency and resilience in the face of colonial oppression, often by ‘reading between the lines’ of state-produced documents.
- T 10:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Laura Fair
h-index: 15 Info - 4 points
RETHINKING FREEDOM IN AFRICA
Through the study of a set of key theoretical and fictional texts that range from the late 1960s to the present we will attempt to understand the “pitfalls of national consciousness” within historically existing African emancipatory projects. The texts that we will read will help us comprehend the nature of race, racism, ethnicity, and class struggle within the struggle for African freedom. Overall, the course will unfold in four sequences. In the first sequence we will examine the new debates that have emerged from within the Afro-pessimist literature. Here we will be concerned with the assertion within this body of writing about the impossibility of a collective African emancipatory project in this world. Secondly, because the Afro-pessimist literature is primarily concerned with rethinking freedom in Africa through Frantz Fanon, the course will then turn to the most recent secondary literature on Fanon from Africa (broadly conceived). Our objective here is twofold: to stage a debate regarding stakes between this secondary literature and the Afro-pessimist literature and to pose the question more generally of what it has meant to think of freedom from within Africa. The third sequence of the course will then turn to a rereading of classic texts associated with African emancipatory projects including the writings of Fanon, Amìlcar Cabral, and Steve Biko as a way to ground our thinking within these debates. Lastly, we will turn to the novels of Ben Okri so as to potentially identify and rethink the limits of contemporary debates about the prospects for freedom in Africa today.
- R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Elleni Zeleke
CULPA: 1 Wikipedia Info - 4 points
PAN AFRICANISM
“Pan Africanist” ideologies were very diverse from Garveyism, Negritude to the various African America, Caribbean and African discourses of “neo-pharaohnism” and “Ethiopianism.” This seminar explores how Black leaders, intellectuals, and artists chose to imagine Black (Africans and people of African descent) as a global community from the late 19th century to the present. It examines their attempts to chart a course of race, modernity, and emancipation in unstable and changing geographies of empire, nation, and state. Particular attention will be given to manifestations identified as their common history and destiny and how such a distinctive historical experience has created a unique body of reflections on and cultural productions about modernity, religion, class, gender, and sexuality, in a context of domination and oppression.
- W 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mamadou Diouf
CULPA: 2 Wikipedia Info - 4 points
THIRD YEAR ARABIC II
Students in the regular third-year Arabic track improve reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills through close reading, compositions, class discussions, and presentations in Arabic on topics such as cultures of the Arab world, classical and modern Arabic literature, and contemporary Arabic media. Review of grammatical and syntactic rules as needed. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MTWR 8:50 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
-
Instructor:
Youssef Nouhi
CULPA: 7
Info
- 5 points
FOURTH YEAR MODERN ARABIC II
Prerequisites: MDES W4212. Through reading articles and essays by Arab thinkers and intellectuals of the Twentieth century, starting from the period called Nahda (Renaissance), such as Taha Hussein, Qasim Amin, Abdallah Laroui, Abed Al-Jabiri, Tahar Haddad, Fatima Mernissi and others, students will be able to increase their fluency and accuracy in Arabic while working on reading text and being exposed to the main
themes in Arab thought. The course works with all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Arabic is the language of instruction. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 10:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Taoufik Ben-Amor
CULPA: 11
Info
- 4 points
ADVANCED ARABIC GRAMMAR REVIEW
Through reading and writing, students will review Arabic Grammar concepts within the context of linguistic functions such as narration, description, comparison, etc. For example, within the function of narration, students will focus on verb tenses, word order, and adverbials. Based on error analysis in the past twelve years that the Arabic Program has been using Al-Kitaab, emphasis will be placed on common and frequent grammatical errors. Within these linguistic functions and based on error analysis, the course will review the following main concepts: Types of sentence and sentence/clause structure. The Verb system, pattern meanings and verb complementation. Quadriliteral verb patterns and derivations. Weak Verbs derivations, conjugation, tense frames and negation. Case endings. Types of noun and participle: Noun of time, place, instance, stance, instrument, active and passive participles. Types of construct phrase: al-iDafa. Types of Adverbials and verb complements: Hal, Tamyiz, Maf’ul mutlaq, Maf’ul li’ajlihi, adverbs of time, frequency, place and manner. The number system and countable nouns. Types of maa.Diptotes, al-mamnu’ min-aSSarf. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Taoufik Ben-Amor
CULPA: 11
Info
- 3 points
SPOKEN ARABIC II
Prerequisites: MDES UN2202 This is an introductory course to Levantine Arabic for students who have completed two years of Standard Arabic studies, at the Intermediate level. The course is designed to further develop fluency in oral communication, through building students’ familiarity with a less formal register of Arabic, namely the Levantine dialect. The course will convert and recycle some of the previous Standard Arabic knowledge to the dialect, by comparing their prior knowledge to its dialectal counterpart; while at the same time developing students’ new communicative skills in a diverse range of contexts that are essential in any conversational interaction. The course will build students abilities to interact effectively in various areas where Levantine Arabic is spoken. In addition to varied thematic topics, the course exposes students to cultural aspects specific to the region. Additionally, the course will work on both constructing students’ knowledge of dialectal diction as well as other grammatical features of the dialects. Even though the course is designed for communication in the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), the emphasis will be mostly on speaking and listening. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Reem Faraj
CULPA: 4
Info
- 4 points
COLD WAR ARAB CULTURE
This course studies the effects and strategies of the cold war on Arab writing, education, arts and translation, and the counter movement in Arab culture to have its own identities. As the cold war functioned and still functions on a global scale, thematic and methodological comparisons are drawn with Latin America, India and Africa.
- W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Muhsin Al-Musawi
CULPA: 8
Info
- 4 points
SUFISM: PRIMARY TEXTS/CONTEXTS
This course studies Sufism as it has emerged, developed, and assumed its presence in Sufi autobiographies and religious and literary writings. The Sufi Path is traced in these writings that include poems like ibn al-Farid’s Poem of the Way. Sufi States and Stations are analyzed to understand this Path that reaches its culmination in an ecstatic sense of Oneness. Sufism is also a social and political phenomenon that unsettles formal theologies and involves Sufis in controversies that often end with their imprisonment and death.
- T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Muhsin Al-Musawi
CULPA: 8
Info
- 4 points
From Syria to Spain: History of the Umay
From Syria to Spain: Umay
This course is about the Umayyads, one of the premier families of pre-Islamic Mecca who converted to Islam during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. They were the first to make the position of caliph hereditary. Based in Syria, the Umayyad caliphs ruled an Empire that was—at the time—larger than any other in recorded history, ranging from Uzbekistan and Pakistan in the east to Spain and Portugal in the west. In 750, they were overthrown by another family, the ʿAbbasids, who shifted political power eastwards and founded the city Baghdad. A scion of the Umayyads escaped the fate of the rest of his family and fled to Spain, where he ruled as emir in his own name. Generations later, the Umayyads in Spain hearkened back to their Syrian ancestors and proclaimed themselves to be caliphs. They were overthrown in 1031. The history of the Umayyads in Syria is frequently studied separately from Spain; our project this semester is to assess whether this Syrian-Spain divide makes sense.
This course grapples with important historical questions through the example of the Umayyads. They were much maligned in later sources, as the ʿAbbasids controlled the contours of their legacy. They were branded as “not really Muslim” and criticized for their role in the death of the Husayn (the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad) and for bombing Mecca (twice). At the same time, they ruled over the Islamic world in a very formative period. They built the Great Mosque of Damascus, al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of their Rock, and the Mezquita in Cordoba. Telling their history requires balancing extremely negative accounts in written sources with the material remains of their rule. It also requires engaging with many different types of historical sources as their empire reached from Central Asia to Spain.
- M 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Alison Vacca
Info - 4 points
ADVANCED MODERN ARMENIAN II
- F 11 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Charry Karamanoukian
Info - 3 points
READINGS IN HEBREW TEXTS II
Prerequisites: MDES W4501 or the instructors permission. Students must have a good familiarity with the Hebrew verb system, and the ability to read a text without vowels. This course focuses on central identities shaping Israeli society and is designed to give students extensive experience in reading Hebrew. Through selected readings of contemporary literary works and media texts, students will increase their proficiency in Hebrew and enhance their understanding of Israeli culture and society. All readings, written assignments, and class discussions are in Hebrew. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Naama Harel
CULPA: 1 Info - 4 points
3RD YR MODERN HEBREW II
Prerequisites: Third Year Modern Hebrew I or Hebrew for Heritage Speakers II Focus on transition from basic language towards authentic Hebrew, through reading of un-adapted literary and journalistic texts without vowels. Vocabulary building. Grammar is reviewed in context. A weekly hour is devoted to practice in conversation. Daily homework includes reading, short answers, short compositions, listening to web-casts, or giving short oral presentations via voice e-mail. Frequent vocabulary quizzes. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Naama Harel
CULPA: 1 Info - 4 points
ADVANCED HINDI II
ADVANCED HINDI-URDU II
Advanced Hindi I and II are third year courses in the Hindi-Urdu program that aim to continue building upon the existing four language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) along with grammar and vocabulary in a communicative approach. The objective of these courses is to strengthen students’ language skills and to go beyond them to understand and describe situations and the speech community, understand and discuss Hindi literature and films, news items, T.V. shows and current events. Students will also be given opportunities to work on their areas of interest such as popular culture, professional and research goals in the target language. Students will be expected to expand their vocabulary, enhance grammatical accuracy and develop cultural appropriateness through an enthusiastic participation in classroom activities and immersing themselves in the speech community outside. This course will be taught in the target language. All kinds of conversations such as daily life, on social/public interests’ topics as well as on academic interests, will occur in the target language. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- TR 10:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Rakesh Ranjan
CULPA: 6
Info
- 5 points
Love and Longing in Early-Modern South A
Love & Longing in S. Asia
How were love and longing imagined and articulated in early-modern South Asia? How do romantic themes and literary genres cross perceived divides between religions, realities, and geographical regions? This class explores themes of romance and love in South Asia and introduces students to a corpus of early-modern Indian literature including the
Premakhyan
(love story) genre,
Bhakti
and
Sufi
devotional poetry, courtly
Kavya
poetry, and the
Ghazal
literary tradition, among others.
- W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Christine H Marrewa Karwoski
Info - 4 points
Sound and Listening Cultures of the Indi
Sound Listening Cult Indi
This course will explore major themes in the growing field of Sound Studies with a focus on the rich history of sound and varied cultures of sound and listening in the Indian subcontinent. The main questions that we will address include: how have political, commercial, and cultural movements shaped
what
the diverse populations of South Asia listen to and
how
they listen? How have different forms of media shaped/ informed listening experiences in South Asia? How do listening practices and cultures from the subcontinent differ from those in other regions? In this class we will listen to the human voice, rumor/gossip, gramophone, loud speakers, radio, film, and mp3. We will discuss the role political speeches, film songs, and devotional songs in shaping South Asian politics and culture in the twentieth-century as the subcontinent transitioned from colonial rule to nation-states. Drawing on the interdisciplinary nature of Sound Studies, we will read works from across the disciplines—anthropology, ethnomusicology, Religious Studies, Media Studies, and history. Organized thematically, this course will focus on the twentieth century, but the readings will address earlier time periods.
This is an upper-level undergraduate and graduate (MA) seminar. Students are expected to have some background in South Asian studies/history or media/sounds studies. The class will meet once a week for discussion of readings. In addition to readings there will be a several required film screenings or listening activities.
- W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Isabel Huacuja Alonso
Info - 4 points
READINGS IN URDU LIT
READINGS IN URDU LIT II
Two semesters of prior coursework in Urdu for Heritage Speakers (Urdu for Heritage Speakers I and II) or one semester of Advanced Urdu or the instructor’s permission. This course is a literary course, with in-depth exposure to some of the finest works of classical and modern Urdu poetry i.e. genres of
ghazal
and
nazm
. This course is open for both undergraduates and graduates. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- TR 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Aftab Ahmad
CULPA: 12
Info
- 4 points
ADVANCED PERSIAN II
While helping students advance their levels of oral and written expression, this course focuses on literature of the modern and medieval periods, with particular emphasis on the development of the modern novella and traditional and new forms of poetry. In addition to literature, students are introduced to a wide variety of genres from political and cultural essays and blogs to newspaper translations of the early 20th century. They will be further exposed to ta?rof in reference to a wide variety of socio-cultural contexts and be expected to use ta?rof in class conversations. Students will be exposed to popular artists and their works and satirical websites for insight into contemporary Iranian culture and politics. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- MW 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Saeed Honarmand
Info - 3 points
ADVANCED TURKISH II
Advanced Turkish II is designed to use authentic Turkish materials around projects that are chosen by the student in a research seminar format where students conduct their own research and share it in class in a friendly atmosphere. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Zuleyha Colak
CULPA: 2 h-index: 0 Info - 3 points
READINGS IN OTTOMAN TEXTS II
Prerequisites: Elementary Ottoman Turkish. This course deals with authentic Ottoman texts from the early 18th and 19th centuries. The class uses Turkish as the primary language for instruction, and students are expected to translate assigned texts into Turkish or English. A reading packet will include various authentic archival materials in rika, talik and divani styles. Whenever possible, students will be given texts that are related to their areas of interest. Various writing styles will be dealt with on Ottoman literature, history, and archival documents. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
- TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Dilek Oztoprak
Info - 3 points
THEORY AND METHODS II
The main purpose of this course is to acquaint students with different theories and methodological approaches to reading and interpretation of texts. This course may not be taken as Pass/D/Fail.
- W 10:10 a.m.-noon
-
Instructor:
Sudipta Kaviraj
Wikipedia Info - 4 points
MESAAS RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM
This course provides a structured setting for stand-alone M.A. students in their final year and Ph.D. students in their second and third years to develop their research trajectories in a way that complements normal coursework. The seminar meets approximately biweekly and focuses on topics such as research methodology; project design; literature review, including bibliographies and citation practices; grant writing. Required for MESAAS graduate students in their second and third year.
- R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mana Kia
CULPA: 2 h-index: 11 Info - 2 points
NATL IN MID EAST AS IDEA/PRAC
NATIONALISM IN MIDDLE EAST
Intends to familiarize students with the most recent theories dealing with nationalism from a variety of angles and perspectives.
- T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Joseph A Massad
CULPA: 23 Wikipedia Info - 4 points
Sharia Texts
This seminar aims to introduce graduate students to the major subfields making up the Sharīʿa system, both in its theoretical as well as practical and institutional manifestations. We will be dissecting representative texts from each genre, all in the Arabic original, ranging from works on the psychoepistemic foundations of the law, to legal theory, the judiciary and juridico-political practice, legal education, biographical constructions of authority, and economic and political management by the Sharīʿa. Theoretically, we will be drawing on historical and cultural anthropology, political theory, Critical Theory, the theories of the subject, and constitutional studies, among others. A reasonable success in this course will permit the student to comfortably specialize in any Sharīʿa subfield.
- W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Wael Hallaq
CULPA: 9
Wikipedia
Info
- 4 points
DISSERTATION COLLOQUIUM
The dissertation colloquium is a non-credit course open to MESAAS doctoral students who have completed the M.Phil. degree. It provides a forum in which the entire community of dissertation writers meets, bridging the departments different fields and regions of research. It complements workshops outside the department focused on one area or theme. Through an encounter with the diversity of research underway in MESAAS, participants learn to engage with work anchored in different regions and disciplines and discover or develop what is common in the departments post-disciplinary methods of inquiry. Since the community is relatively small, it is expected that all post-M.Phil. students in residence will join the colloquium. Post M.Phil. students from other departments may request permission to join the colloquium, but places for non-MESAAS students will be limited. The colloquium convenes every semester, meeting once every two weeks. Each meeting is devoted to the discussion of one or two pre-circulated pieces of work (a draft prospectus or dissertation chapter). Every participant contributes at least one piece of work each year.
- R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Gil Hochberg
CULPA: 1 Wikipedia h-index: 14 Info - 0 points
Readings in African Masculinities
Readings/African Masculin
Several generations of rich and varied scholarship on gender in Africa has been key to transforming our understanding of families, communities and power. Yet by and large gender has remained largely synonymous with women. Scholars note the importance of gender as a relational construct, but the rich empirical exploration of gendered relations and formations have tended to focus largely on women and girls. In this seminar we read and theorize the construction of masculinities on the continent. Readings provide and introduction to some of the key texts and historiographical trends in this field over the past 30 years.
In addition to providing students with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with key literatures on masculinities and the social, economic, political and cultural forces that have shaped and transformed them on the African continent, the course also provides students with the opportunity to delve into a cache of primary sources and produce the first draft of an original research paper. Students can analyze representations of masculinities in a piece of literature, film or art, or explore their changing social constructions utilizing newspapers, colonial documents, missionary archives or other primary sources. If utilizing primary sources, the aim is to produce a paper of 10-12 pages that might serve as a draft for a conference paper. Students may also opt to produce a lengthier (15-20 page) historiographical essay on a theme of interest, or a paper situating a sub-set of Africanist scholarship within a wider and broader theoretical field.
Course Requirements
: A lively seminar is dependent on your
active and consistent participation
. You are expected to come to each class and to arrive with a firm grasp of the week’s assigned texts and list of questions/issues you would like to discuss. We will take turns leading discussion, but each week you should come prepared with a list of issues/questions you would like to discuss.
- T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Laura Fair
h-index: 15 Info - 4 points