Modern Languages and Cultures – Arabic Minor
Overview for Modern Languages and Cultures – Arabic Minor
This minor provides two full years of modern language and culture instruction to prepare students for living and working within an intercultural society both at home and abroad. The minor consists of five courses, either five language courses or a combination of language courses with up to two culture courses. Students with previous language skills must consult the minor adviser for placement evaluation before they register. Part of the requirements for this minor can be fulfilled by courses taken abroad.
Notes about this minor:
- This minor is closed to students majoring in international and global studies who have chosen an area of study in Arabic language or a field specialization in the Middle East; or are native speakers of Arabic.
- Students with prior experience in the language they wish to study are required to take a placement exam before enrollment. This helps ensure that they are placed in the right course for their skill level.
- Posting of the minor on the student’s academic transcript requires a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the minor.
- Notations may appear in the curriculum chart below outlining pre-requisites, co-requisites, and other curriculum requirements (see footnotes).
- At least nine semester credit hours of the minor must consist of specific courses not required by the student’s degree program.
The plan code for Modern Languages and Cultures – Arabic Minor is ARBC-MN.
Curriculum for 2024-2025 for Modern Languages and Cultures – Arabic Minor
Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements
| Course | |
|---|---|
| Electives | |
| Choose five consecutive language courses: | |
| MLAR-201 | Beginning Arabic I Beginning Arabic I introduces students with no prior knowledge of the language to Modern Standard Arabic. Beginning Arabic I builds the foundation skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture, with emphasis on beginning writing and on conversation. Students must take placement exam if this is their first RIT class in Arabic and they have some prior study of Arabic. Seminar 4 (Fall). |
| MLAR-202 | Beginning Arabic II Beginning Arabic II is the second course at the beginning level. It focuses on the development of functional competence in speaking, listening, reading, writing and culture. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 1 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLAR-201 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Spring). |
| MLAR-301 | Intermediate Arabic I Intermediate Arabic I continues with intermediate-level development of functional skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing and culture, including conversation, with increased work in reading and writing. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 2 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLAR-202 or MLAR-202T or equivalent course.) Seminar (Fall). |
| MLAR-302 | Intermediate Arabic II Intermediate Arabic II, the second course at the intermediate level, engages students in further mastery of four skills with emphasis in conversation, reading and writing. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 3 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLAR-301 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Spring). |
| MLAR-401 | Advanced Arabic I Advanced Arabic I, the beginning of the advanced (third year) sequence, does advanced work in all skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing, culture), including conversation, with increased work in reading, writing, and culture. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 4 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLAR-302 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Fall). |
| MLAR-402 | Advanced Arabic II Advanced Arabic II, the final course of the advanced (third year) sequence, continues study of the advanced-year textbook and does advanced work in all skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing, culture), including conversation, with increased work in reading, writing and culture. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 4 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLAR-302 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Spring). |
| Students can take up to two culture courses as part of the Arabic minor. In addition to culture courses listed for the minor, other courses from other departments or schools dealing with aspects of Arabic culture may be approved by the faculty adviser. | |
| ANTH-275 | Global Islam This course examines the spread of Islam beyond its origins in the Middle East, and the cultural and social clashes, but also the mutual adjustments that have followed. This course explores core tenets of Islam, but also how its practices and beliefs are altered as practitioners in different countries alternately adopt, co-opt, massage, react to, and reject elements in accordance with the meaningful social, cultural, and political lives they build for themselves. The compatibility of Islam with Western society is often debated in contemporary public discourse. This debate is typically marked by an assumption that Islamic beliefs clash with Western secular democratic ideals, an assumption which results in tensions over mosque building, headscarves, and other public signs of Islamic faith. We will explore the diverse ways of being Muslim from a cross-cultural perspective and the sometimes-challenging negotiation of fulfilling these religious tenets while living in Muslim-minority places. Lecture 3 (Fall or Spring). |
| ANTH-365 | Culture and Politics in the Middle East With a focus on everyday life in families, communities, and nations, we examine the diverse cultures and peoples of the Middle East in the context of political and economic forces that have shaped their lives in the past and present. We examine European colonialism and its modern-day legacies, including ethnic inequalities, economic vulnerability, labor migration, urbanism, and social unrest. We look at how art, music, oral traditions, and literatures have engaged critically with the forces of political change and neo-colonialism. We consider political activism, religious diversity, changing experiences and expectations of women and men, rebellion, revolution, and war, and the impacts of and creative responses to globalization. The cultural, political, social, and religious dynamics of Middle Eastern peoples will be discussed from a humanistic perspective. Lecture 3 (Fall or Spring). |
| MLAR-449 | Topics in Arabic An in-depth exploration of the Arabic language and culture focusing on skills/topics that are not covered in sequential regular language courses. Prerequisite: varies; contact the instructor. Seminar 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer). |
Contact
Program Contact
- Sara Armengot
- Department Chair
- Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
- College of Liberal Arts
- 585‑475‑4343
- seagsl@rit.edu
Offered within
the
Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
Department of Modern Languages and Cultures