Majoring in Arab Cultures
Requirements
In addition to the program requirements, students must
- earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| ARAB 300 | Arabic Grammar and Composition | 3 |
| Two additional Arabic language courses beyond ARAB 204 1 | 6 | |
| One of the following introductory-level classes: 2 | 3 | |
ASIA 73 |  First-Year Seminar: Popular Culture in the Arab World 3 | |
ASIA 74 | First-Year Seminar: Imagining Palestine | |
ARAB 150 | Introduction to Arab Cultures | |
ARAB 151 | Arabic Literature through the Ages | |
| Four Arabic literature and culture courses (list below) | 12 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Arabic through level 4 4 | 4 | |
| Total Hours | 28 | |
- 1
Students whose initial language placement is above ARAB 305 should consult the department.
- 2
It is recommended that students take this course either prior to or concurrent with upper-level Arabic literature and culture classes.
- 3
No more than one first-year seminar may be counted among the eight major courses.
- 4
The first three levels of Arabic (ARAB) can count toward the General Education Foundations requirement and have not been included as additional hours for the major.
Arabic Literature and Culture Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least three must be chosen from: | ||
ARAB 211 | Arab Comics | |
ARAB/ANTH 214 | Medicine in the Arab World | |
ARAB 255 | Arab World Photography | |
ASIA/WGST 329 | Middle East Women Writers | |
ARAB 337 | Borders and Walls in the Arab World | |
ARAB 350 | Women and Leadership in the Arab World | |
ARAB/ANTH 354 | Everyday Lives in the Middle East: Anthropological Perspectives | |
ASIA/CMPL 359 | Literary Diasporas of the Middle East | |
ARAB 407 | Readings in Arabic I (taught in Arabic) | |
ARAB 408 | Readings in Arabic II (taught in Arabic) | |
ARAB 409 | Performing Arts in the Arab World (taught in Arabic) | |
ARAB 410 | Visual Arts in the Arab World (taught in Arabic) | |
ASIA/JWST/PWAD 425 | Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music | |
ARAB/ANTH 432 | Science and Society in the Middle East | |
ARAB 434 | Modern Arabic Literature in Translation | |
ASIA/CMPL 442 | Postcolonial Literature of the Middle East | |
ARAB 453 | Film, Nation, and Identity in the Arab World | |
ASIA/JWST/PWAD 462 | The Arab-Jews: Culture, Community, and Coexistence | |
ASIA/WGST 471 | Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern Literature | |
ASIA 692H | Senior Honors Thesis II | |
| At most one course may be chosen from: | ||
GEOG 59 | First-Year Seminar: Space, Identity, and Power in the Middle East 1 | |
ASIA/HIST 138 | History of Muslim Societies to 1500 | |
ASIA/HIST 139 | History of Muslim Societies since 1500 | |
ASIA/RELI 180 | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | |
ASIA/RELI 181 | Modern Muslim Societies | |
RELI 185 | Women/Gender/Islam H | |
ASIA/HIST 276 | The Modern Middle East | |
ASIA/HIST 277 | The Conflict over Israel/Palestine | |
RELI/ASIA 279 | Islamic Law, Ethics, and Practice | |
SOCI 419 | Sociology of the Islamic World | |
ASIA/PWAD 435 | The Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa | |
ASIA/GEOG 447 | Gender, Space, and Place in the Middle East | |
GEOG 448 | Transnational Geographies of Muslim Societies | |
RELI 480 | Modern Muslim Literatures | |
RELI/ASIA 485 | Gender and Sexuality in Islam | |
RELI/ASIA 486 | Islam and Feminism/Islamic Feminism | |
ASIA/HIST 536 | Revolution in the Modern Middle East | |
ASIA/HIST 537 | Women in the Middle East | |
ASIA/HIST 538 | The Middle East and the West | |
ASIA/RELI 581 | Sufism | |
ASIA/RELI 582 | Islam and Islamic Art in South Asia | |
ASIA/RELI 584 | The Qur'an as Literature | |
RELI/ASIA 587 | Islam and Sexual Diversity | |
FREN 617 | Framing Identities: Franco-Arab Transvisual Transcultural Contexts | |
ARAB/ASIA/RELI 681 | Readings in Islamicate Literatures | |
or approved courses taken in UNC–Chapel Hill-sponsored study abroad programs | ||
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
- 1
No more than one first-year seminar may be counted among the eight major courses.
Students majoring in Arab cultures are strongly encouraged to take additional Arabic literature or culture courses as electives or to fulfill General Education requirements.
Note that ARAB 308 does not count toward this major.
Placement credit (PL) may not be used to meet core requirements for the concentration.
With the approval of the associate chair of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, a student may count a course in directed readings (ASIA 496 or ARAB 496) in the concentration in Arab cultures. To register for ASIA 496 or ARAB 496, a student must obtain the approval of the associate chair and the faculty member who will supervise the project.
Special Opportunities in Asian Studies
Honors in Asian Studies
A candidate for honors in Asian studies will write a substantial paper under the guidance of a faculty member. While researching and writing the honors paper, the student will enroll in ASIA 691H and ASIA 692H. ASIA 692H may count as one of the interdisciplinary courses for the major; ASIA 691H will count for elective credit only. In the case of the concentrations in Arab cultures, Chinese, Japanese, Korean studies, and South Asian studies, ASIA 692H may count toward the major in the concentration.
A committee composed of at least two faculty members will examine the candidate. To be accepted as an honors candidate, a student must meet the University’s requirement of a minimum overall grade point average of 3.3, secure the consent of a faculty member in the Asian studies field to act as advisor for the project, and submit a proposal to the associate chair of Asian studies for approval.
Departmental Involvement
The department sponsors a variety of cultural events — lectures, film series, performances, and more — as well as social and informational events where students can get to know each other and faculty members in an informal setting. Faculty members in the department serve as advisors to some of the many Asia-related student organizations on campus, such as the Japan Club, Chinese Conversation Club, Hebrew Table, and more.
Languages across the Curriculum
The department participates in the Languages across the Curriculum (LAC) program, offering a one-credit-hour discussion section that is conducted in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, or Korean but associated with a variety of courses offered in English, both in Asian studies and in such other departments as history or religious studies. This LAC recitation section offers students the opportunity to use their Arabic, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, or Korean language skills in a broader intellectual context.
Libraries
The University has rich collections of books and periodicals on Asia in the relevant Asian languages, as well as in English and other Western languages. Experts in the collection development department for Davis Library are available to help students locate the materials they need. The University also has an outstanding collection of Asian films and other audiovisual materials, housed in the Media Resource Center at House Library.
Speaker Series
The department sponsors an annual speaker series. These events include lectures by prominent artists, scholars, and writers and are often cosponsored by other units on campus.
Study Abroad
UNC–Chapel Hill sponsors several study programs (summer, semester, and yearlong) in China, Egypt, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Asian studies majors are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities to live and study in an Asian setting; UNC-approved study abroad programs also satisfy the experiential education requirement. For further information on these programs and other study abroad opportunities in Asia, contact the UNC Study Abroad Office.
Undergraduate Research
The department actively encourages undergraduate student research. Through classes, advising, and office hours, faculty members guide students toward defining areas of interest, conceptualizing research questions, identifying sources, and writing academic papers. Students may pursue research through independent studies, the senior honors thesis, and study abroad research opportunities such as the Burch Fellowship. Asian studies students have received a variety of competitive research support and travel awards, won regional contests for undergraduate papers, published papers in academic journals, and presented their work at such events as the Senior Colloquium in Asian Studies and the campuswide Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research in the spring.