Majoring in Arab Cultures
B.A. Major in Asian Studies: Arab Cultures Concentration
Core Requirements
Two Arabic language courses beyond ARAB 204. Students whose initial language placement is above ARAB 305 should consult the department.
One of these two courses:
ARAB 300: Arabic Grammar and Composition
ARAB 301: Introduction to Qur’anic Arabic
One of the following introductory-level classes:
ARAB 150: Introduction to Arab Cultures
ARAB 151: Survey of Arabic Literature.
ASIA 64: First-Year Seminar: Arab World Photography
ASIA 70:First-Year Seminar: Narrating the Self: Autobiographies of Arab Intellectuals
It is recommended that students take this course either prior to or concurrent with upper-level Arabic literature and culture classes.
Four Arabic literature and culture courses, of which at least three must be chosen from among the following:
ARAB 250: Introduction to the Languages of Morocco
ARAB 253: Contemporary Moroccan Literature
ARAB 321: Visions of Emancipation in Modernist Arab Thought
ARAB 337: Borders and Walls in the Arab World
ARAB 338: Borders and Walls in the Arab World–Experiential
ARAB 350: Women and Leadership in the Arab World
ARAB 407: Readings in Arabic I (taught in Arabic)
ARAB 408: Readings in Arabic II ( taught in Arabic)
ARAB 434: Modern Arabic Literature in Translation
ARAB 443: Dissident Voices in Arab Cultures
ARAB 452: Imagining Palestine
ARAB 453: Film, Nation, and Identity in the Arab World
ARAB 462: Global Perspectives on Arab Cultures and Societies
ASIA 692H: Senior Honors Thesis II
ASIA/CMPL 359: Literary Diasporas of the Middle East
ASIA/CMPL 442: Postcolonial Literature of the Middle East
ASIA 357/JWST 357/PWAD 362: The Arab-Jews: Culture, Community, and Coexistence
ASIA/JWST/PWAD 425: Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music
ASIA/WGST 329: Middle East Women Writers
ASIA/WGST 471: Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern Literature
At most one course may be chosen from the following:
ARTH/ASIA 154: Introduction to Art and Architecture of Islamic Lands (8th-16th c. CE)
ARTH/ASIA 251: Art and Architecture in the Age of the Caliphs (7th-12th Centuries CE)
ARTH 351: Crusader Art
ARTH/ASIA 458: Islamic Architecture and the Environment
ARTH/ASIA 561: Arts of the Islamic Mediterranean
ASIA/PWAD 435: The Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa
FREN 617: Framing Identities: Franco-Arab Transvisual Transcultural Contexts
GEOG 59: First-Year Seminar: Space, Identity, and Power in the Middle East
GEOG/ASIA 447: Gender, Space, and Place in the Middle East
GEOG 448: Transnational Geographies of Muslim Societies
HIST/ASIA 138 : History of Muslim Societies to 1500
HIST/ASIA 139: History of Muslim Societies since 1500
HIST/ASIA 276: The Modern Middle East
HIST/ASIA 277: The Conflict over Israel/Palestine
HIST/ASIA 536: Revolution in the Modern Middle East
HIST/ASIA 537: Women in the Middle East
HIST/ASIA 538: The Middle East and the West*
RELI/ASIA 180: Introduction to Islamic Civilization
RELI/ASIA 181: Modern Muslim Societies
RELI 185: Women/Gender/Islam
RELI 480: Modern Muslim Literatures
RELI/ASIA 581: Sufism
RELI/ASIA 582: Islam and Islamic Art in South Asia
RELI/ASIA 584: The Qur’an as Literature
RELI/ARAB/ASIA 681: Readings in Islamicate Literatures
SOCI 60: First-Year Seminar: Sociology of the Islamic World
SOCI 419: Sociology of the Islamic World
or approved courses taken in UNC–Chapel Hill-sponsored study abroad programs.
Placement credit (PL) may not be used to meet core requirements for the concentration.
Additional Requirements
Arabic through level 4 (ARAB 101, 102, 203, and 204)
Note that ARAB 308 does not count toward this major.
Students majoring in Arab cultures are strongly encouraged to take additional Arabic literature or culture courses as electives or to fulfill General Education requirements.
With the approval of the associate chair of Asian 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.
Of the eight courses in the concentration in Arab cultures, at least six must be passed with a grade of C (not C-) or better.