100 Level Courses

ARAB 101: Introduction to the Arabic Language. 3 credits.
Introduction to Arabic language, dialects, countries, and culture. Beginning modern standard and classical Arabic, with emphasis on the written language, script and phonology. Basic grammar covering gender, numbers, cases, prepositions, nominal sentences, and basic conversation and greetings. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts. Equivalent to ARAB 110.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 102: Introduction to the Arabic Language. 3 credits.
Introduction to developing reading skills in formal settings. Emphasizes modern standard Arabic in oral communication. Beginning grammar level focuses on verbal sentences, present tenses, questions, and compound nouns. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts. Equivalent to ARAB 110.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 101.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 110: Elementary Arabic. 6 credits.
Introduces elements of grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, and reading. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts. Equivalent to ARAB 101, ARAB 102.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic

200 Level Courses

ARAB 201: Intermediate Arabic I. 3 credits.
Further development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Advanced level of vocabulary. Grammar covers past tenses, subordinated conjunctions, and introduction to passive voice. Notes: Also introduces Arabic dictionary. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 101, 102.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 202: Intermediate Arabic II. 3 credits.
Emphasis on application of language skills to reading, composition, and discussion. Focuses on language structure, format of developing vocabulary from verbs, covering different derivations, and language patterns. Leads to learning the use of Arabic dictionary in depth. Grammar covers passive voice and verbal nouns. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 201.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Fulfills Frgn Lng requirment, Taught in Arabic

300 Level Courses

ARAB 300: Advanced Arabic. 3 credits.
Introduces new complex syntactical and grammatical structures for critical enhancement of fluency in Modern Standard Arabic. Emphasis is plced on sentence structure and vocabulary enrichment. Students also gain additional exposure to linguistic diglossia, culture, and history. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 202 or equivalent, appropriate placement score, or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 325: Major Arab Writers/Stories. 3 credits.
Studies works of major Arab writers or collections such as The Arabian Nights. Notes: Knowledge of Arabic helpful but not required. May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Mason Core: Literature
Recommended Prerequisite: ENGH 101 or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
ARAB 330: Reading and Conversation I. 3 credits.
Development of conversational fluency and reading skills in modern standard Arabic through class discussion, reports, and presentations. Includes readings from newspapers, journals, magazines, web sites, literary works, and other sources. Notes: ARAB 330 and 331 must be taken in sequence. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 202 or equivalent, appropriate placement score, or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 331: Reading and Conversation II. 3 credits.
Continuation of ARAB 330. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Writing Intensive in Major
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 300, appropriate placement score, or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 351: Media Arabic (Spoken and Written). 3 credits.
Develops advanced listening and speaking skills through work with current broadcasts in Arabic TV and Radio. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Capstone
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 350 or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 355: Advanced Arabic Media: Debates & Context. 3 credits.
Multilevel open-source media analysis and advanced language acquisition class. In addition to developing effective strategies for discourse analysis in Arabic, students will gain exposure to core issues and debates within the current Arab world. Secondary source readings and lecture material focus on issues of rhetorical and aesthetic persuasion, propaganda, censorship, media bias and fake news. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to two attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 300
Registration Restrictions:

Required Prerequisites: ARAB 202C or 202XS.
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 360: Topics in Arabic Cultural Production. 3 credits.
Focuses on major trends and issues in modern Arabic cultural production with an emphasis on the inter-connectivity of politics and art, socio-economic contexts, issues of censorship and regulation, and the means of access to production for Arab artists working beyond state apparatus. The course surveys works of art, cinema, media, and literature from across the Arabic speaking world. Notes: Prior knowledge of Arabic is not required. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies, Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
ARAB 365: Black and Minority Cultures in Arabic Literature. 3 credits.
Designed to highlight the influence of Black and other minority cultures on the formation of national identity in the modern Arab world. Will emphasize the work of Black artists and thinkers in places like Egypt, the Sudan, Morocco and the Arabian Gulf; Berber culture in North Africa; Copts and ethnic Christian minorities Egypt, the Levant and elsewhere; the Jews of North Africa, Yemen, or Iraq, Ethiopians in Israel/Palestine and more. In addition to focusing on the modern era, the class engages key literary and poetic contributions by minority voices drawn from the classical era, including selections from the seminal body of lyricism surrounding the Zanj rebellion of Abbasid Caliphate. The class is taught in English, but some knowledge of Arabic is recommended. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
ARAB 370: Arabic for the Professions. 3 credits.
Students gain access to career-specific lexica as developed and administered by professionals in the field. Drawing on the wealth of Arabic-speaking professionals in the DC metro area, this course aims to provide students the opportunity to interact and network directly with regional experts. Experiential dimensions of course may include site visits, guest lecturers, or workshops. Students may undertake case studies or research projects relevant to the expertise of the instructor and the subject matter of the class. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Registration Restrictions:

Required Prerequisites: ARAB 202C or 202XS.
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 375: Study Abroad - Arab World. 1-6 credits.
Designated study abroad programs in the Arab world. Notes: must be approved by Arabic program coordinator. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 110.
Schedule Type: Independent Study
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 380: Arabic Dialects. 3 credits.
Study of the structure of one Arabic dialect with comparison to Modern Standard Arabic and the classical Fus-ha. Includes study of literature, proverbs, and culture associated with that dialect. Notes: May be repeated when dialect covered is different. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 202 or equivalent, appropriate placement score, or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lec/Sem #1, Lec/Sem #2, Lec/Sem #3, Lec/Sem #4, Lec/Sem #5, Lec/Sem #6, Lec/Sem #7, Lec/Sem #8, Lec/Sem #9, Lecture, Sem/Lec #10, Sem/Lec #11, Sem/Lec #12, Sem/Lec #13, Sem/Lec #14, Sem/Lec #15, Sem/Lec #16, Sem/Lec #17, Sem/Lec #18
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 385: Migrating Voices in Arabic Literature. 3 credits.
Explores the various forms that migration takes in contemporary Arab society, examining issues of uprising, diaspora, refugee crisis, and youth activism across literature, film, and journalism in the Middle East. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ENGH 101
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
ARAB 390: Translation Methods: Arabic to English. 3 credits.
Provides students with essential tools and techniques to translate Arabic texts to English. Includes practice applying these techniques to a variety of documents including literary, media, and legal texts. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 330 and 331 or appropriate placement score or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic

400 Level Courses

ARAB 420: Survey of Arabic Literature. 3 credits.
A survey of Arabic literature from its genesis to the present day. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Recommended Prerequisite: Six credits of 300 level courses taught in Arabic or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 430: Advanced Arabic Grammar. 3 credits.
Introduction to traditional Arabic grammar. Covers parts of speech, sentence structure, case marking, and verb structure. Combines traditional with modern approaches to Arabic grammar and includes practical drills. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: 6 credits of 300 level Arabic or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 440: Topics in Arabic Religious Thought and Texts. 3 credits.
Survey of the religious and intellectual heritage of the Arab world. Notes: May be repeated when topic and texts are different. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Mason Core: Capstone
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies, Non-Western Culture
Recommended Prerequisite: Six credits of 300 level Arabic or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic
ARAB 470: Special Topics in Modern Arabic Studies. 3 credits.
Addresses core topics in the study of the Arab world through the lens of literature, language and aesthetics. Topics may include the Nahdha or ‘Renaissance’ period of the late nineteenth century, Black and minority cultural productions, diaspora studies, post-colonialism or literary movements of the twentieth and twenty-first century. Topics will vary. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 325
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
ARAB 498: Independent Study. 1-6 credits.
Designated independent study in the United States or abroad under the direction of a full-time faculty member. Notes: Must be approved by Arabic program coordinator. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: ARAB 202 or equivalent, appropriate placement score, or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Independent Study
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
Additional Course Details: Taught in Arabic