This course aims to introduce students of third-year and fourth-year Arabic to Arabic poetry and culture through classical and contemporary songs. Many Arabic songs are taken from poems and they reflect different literary trends: romantic, religious, patriotic, Sufi, and contemplative poems. We will explore these poems, their impact on the Arabic collective unconscious, and cultural influence when turned into songs.

In this course, we will examine how the current refugee crisis may be seen as a radical event of a scope that reaches beyond Europe and the Middle East. We will be looking at previously-shaped images of nation, religion, migration, and integration, as well as asylum, refuge, and citizenship. Ultimately, we will be using our newly gained knowledge as a tool to understand cultural inclusion and societal exclusion both "far away" and "at home."

Independent study for advanced students of Hebrew. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Independent study for advanced students of Persian. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

This course is meant to give students training in advanced Sanskrit

Thesis research under the direction of a MESALC faculty member serving as thesis advisor and a second faculty member serving as second reader. The second faculty member may be from outside MESALC. Prerequisite: DMP major and instructor permission.

This course aims to introduce students of third-year and fourth-year Arabic to Arabic poetry and culture through classical and contemporary songs. Many Arabic songs are taken from poems and they reflect different literary trends: romantic, religious, patriotic, Sufi, and contemplative poems. We will explore these poems, their impact on the Arabic collective unconscious, and cultural influence when turned into songs.

The course will concentrate on cinemas of Egypt, the Maghrib (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) as well as Syrian and Palestinian films. It will examine major moments in the history of these cinemas and the political developments that have inevitably had a major influence on filmmaking in the region.

The course treats in depth aspects of Arabic Grammar. It enables leaners to produce orally and in writing samples of Modern Standard Arabic.

Students whose proficiency in Modern Hebrew has already reached the advanced level, or alternatively students who for their research focus on Hebrew Literature in translation, will pursue an independent study that will focus on the reading and interpretation of texts, as well as the analysis of media. Prerequisite: HEBR 3010