This course is designed to introduce the students to the world of Persian prose literature. We will read a variety of prose genre. We will look at the semantics, morphology, and syntax and analyze the topic vis-à-vis these aspects. Prerequisite: PERS 2020 or equivalent

Language is a dynamic entity, and it keeps on changing. In HIND-3011, we will learn and build upon our knowledge of Hindi through social media, TV commercials, News, legendary Bollywood dialogues and songs that never lose their charm, and podcasts. The efforts to excel in Hindi reading, writing, speaking, and listening will remain the pivot for the course to improve your confidence in Hindi.

A second-year course focusing on developing reading fluency in Sanskrit. Selections are chosen to reinforce student's knowledge of grammar from SANS 1020, to expand vocabulary, and to introduce the Ramayana of Valmiki, one of two major epics of ancient India, and the 'first poem' in Sanskrit. Prerequisite: SANS 1020.

What is love? How is it articulated? Is love devotion? What is passion? What are the different forms of desire? The object of desire may be human (male or female), divine, abstract or ambiguous; its defining trait is its inaccessibility. Poets through the ages have expressed love and devotion through language. We will read and ponder the poetics of love.

In this class we will conduct close readings (in Urdu!) of several of Masud's short fiction writings, and will discuss them in detail. There will be weekly assignments, a final take-home exam, and a final video project. Prerequisite: URDU 2020 or instructor permission.

This course offers a survey of Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian American comic books, graphic novels, and graphic memoirs. Reading fiction and nonfiction comics, paired with academic and critical writing and other media, we will think critically about what it means for creators of different diasporas and differently marginalized identities to produce art for readers in the United States.

This course reviews key milestones of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict throughout the lends of competitive sports in the MENA regions and in Israel in particular. The course examines sports¿ role in reflecting socio-political divisions of religion, gender, class and representation struggles, while serving political interests as part of culture and identity building, as well as its utilization as a platform for ethno-nationalist violence.

This course is an introduction to major poets of Classical and Medieval Persian literature through learning about different poetic forms and genres, themes and topics, and motifs and images within the Persian literary canon by reading the works of poets from different centuries. We will also learn about these poets, their social lives, cultural changes, court affiliations, thoughts, and philosophies.

This course will approach the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of literature and film. We will study memoirs, short stories, documentaries, and feature films in order to think about several broader historical themes, including: the relationship between religion and nationalism, the role of colonialism in the Middle East, the links between history and memory, and the meaning of homeland.

The primary purpose of this course is to explore the history and culture of the ancient Near East, focusing on Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria-Palestine, with emphasis on its cultural legacy. Considerable attention will be given to primary sources (Kramer, Arnold and others) and archaeological contributions (with slide illustrations).