Curriculum in Arab Culture Studies

Curriculum in Arab culture studies is very comprehensive.

Of course, the curriculum for any major in every school varies. There may be an equivalent course here or a varying course there. However, they are largely the same; for those schools that offer Arabic studies majors, they aim to ensconce students with a general understanding of the Arabic culture by offering classes that touch upon most subjects that comprise a culture. This refers to anthropological studies, historical studies, international relations studies, related demographics studies, religious studies, political studies, media studies, and language studies. The only exception to this would be specialized majors, such as “Arabic Religious Studies since the Emergence of the New World.” In this case, courses will be limited to religious and historical studies with a light sprinkling of other cultural aspects.

Anthropological Studies

Anthropology is the study of humanity therefore, classes that refer to anthropological studies are topics that could not be learned any other way than through anthropological applications. For example, in what region of the world did a demographic originate? How did the influences of where that culture lived, what it ate, and how it lived shape how its members’ appearance, perspectives, lifespan, etc.? They are the basic building block of coming to truly understand any culture. Examples of anthropological classes are as follows:

  • Exile and Diaspora in the Middle East
  • Peoples of the Middle East
  • Culture and Society (of the Middle East)
  • Perspectives of the Holocaust (of Middle Eastern People)

Historical Studies

Historical studies are a necessary component of any topic. They answers the question of where and how the subject originated, how its concept evolved with further understanding, and how the topic under study evolved with historical events. Examples of historical studies courses are as follows:

  • Land of Israel/Palestine throughout the ages
  • Studies in (Middle Eastern) History
  • Persianate Histiography from Medieval to Early Modern Times
  • The First Millennium of the Islamic Near East

International Relations/Political Studies

In order to understand a culture, one must learn about its relationship with the world at large. It is very relevant whether a culture is generally hostile or whether it has been weather-beaten by war and strife. The way a culture interacts with the world can help students infer how other cultural aspects collectively manifest. Some international relations courses are:

  • Special Studies in International Politics (for Middle Eastern people)
  • Advanced Topics in International Relations
  • The World of Islam
  • Islamic Sources of Conflict Resolution

Related Demographics Studies

Every culture has been influenced by at least one other culture. Thus, one would find courses for such cultures in order to learn a summary of that culture as well as how it relates to a major area of study. With such knowledge, students can begin to lines of cause and effect for Middle Eastern people, but they can also learn lines of distinctions between cultures with similar histories or appearances. Such courses include:

  • From Genghis Kahn to the Taliban: Modern Central Asia
  • Kurds: Social, Cultural, and Political Identity
  • Ancient Egypt: Religion and Culture
  • Ethnicity and Culture in Greco-Roman Egypt

Religious Studies

If a culture isn’t most influenced by its religions, then its secondary influence is religion. This concept is one of the most powerful driving forces of any culture or demographic and continues to be as of 2010. Usually the locus of major changes, movements, and cultural activity from jubilation to wars, religion is a critical competency to understand any culture. These classes could be:

  • Ancient Israel/Hebrew Bible Seminar: Methods and Theory
  • Christianity and Hellenistic Civilizations
  • The Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke
  • Introduction to World Religions: Near East

Media Studies

A cultures art and literature is its heartbeat. Providing just as much, if not exceedingly more intuition than other topics, art and literature courses are some of the most important for a cultural major. Not only does it provide an account of the culture in its own words (ethnographically speaking), but it also holds aspects of every other topic. Examples of such courses include:

  • Introduction to Rabbinic Literature
  • Communication Media
  • Modern Arabic Literature in Arabic
  • Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature

Language Studies

How a culture communicates is indicative of how it collectively thinks. Learning a language can help students to better understand a corresponding culture as well as have the capacity to communicate with members of that culture to gain firsthand knowledge. Subsequently, learning a culture’s language can prove very effective. Such classes include:

  • Intermediate Classical Hebrew
  • Elementary Modern Standard Arabic
  • Colloquial Levantine Arabic
  • Business Arabic