Arab and Islamic Studies Concentration and Minor

Director: Dr. Silvia Nagy-Zekmi
Office: 268 St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts
Tel. (610) 519-4640
Website: http://www.villanova.edu/artsci/arabislamic/

CONCENTRATION: The Arab and Islamic Studies Concentration requires 10 courses only one of which is an elective; and includes four courses of Arabic language.

MINOR: The Arab and Islamic Studies Africana Minor requires seven courses including two Arabic language courses and two electives. The list of approved electives is available from the Arabic and Islamic Studies Office Studies office, St. Augustine C Rm.443

The Arab and Islamic Studies Concentration requires 21 credits, in addition to a minimum of 12 credits of Arabic language courses.

Course Requirements for a Concentration:
1. AIS 4100 AIS Seminar (3 credits)
and
2. Three courses (total of 9 credits) from this list as follows:
• HIS 4031 Islamic Civilization to 1800 or HIS 4041 History of the Modern Middle East
• PSC 4900 The Arab States or PSC 5900 Middle East International Relations
• THL 5150 Introduction to Islam
Any AIS course not chosen for requirement from the above list may be chosen as elective.
and
3. Three ELECTIVE courses (9 credits): (see list below)
The remaining 9 credits for the concentration must come from any of the approved courses on the Arab and Islamic Studies electives list, including additional Arabic language courses. Certain topics courses with content relevant to AIS may qualify as electives with permission from the director of the Arab and Islamic Studies program. Topics courses offered are listed under each Department (ARB, COM, GIS, HIS, HUM, PSC, THL, etc) at every semester.
and
4. 12 credits of Arabic language courses.
• Students are encouraged to take more than the mandatory minimum of 12 credits of Arabic language courses as their electives. Intermediate ARB courses are 5 credits each, thus students who choose to take more ARB for their electives will do 10 credits.
• Students who are fluent in Arabic may test out of the language requirement at the intermediate level. They must take 12 credits of additional elective courses instead.

MINOR:
The Arab and Islamic Studies Minor requires 15 credits.

Minor Required Courses (9 credits):
1. AIS 4100 AIS Seminar (3 credits)
and
2. Two courses (6 credits) from this list:
HIS 4031 Islamic Civilization to 1800
HIS 4041 History of the Modern Middle East
PSC 4900 The Arab States
PSC 5900 Middle East International Relations
THL 5150 Introduction to Islam
Any AIS course not chosen for requirement from the above list may be chosen as elective.
and
3. Two ELECTIVES (6 credits) (see list below)
4. The remaining 6 credits for the minor must come from any of the approved courses on the Arab and Islamic Studies electives list, including Arabic language courses. Certain topics courses with content relevant to AIS may qualify as electives with permission from the director of the Arab and Islamic Studies program. Topics courses offered are listed under each Department (ARB, COM, GIS, HIS, HUM, PSC, THL, etc) at every semester.

Students minoring in AIS are encouraged to complete their College language requirement by taking Arabic language courses.

Sample Electives
ARB 1111 – Beginning Arabic I
ARB 1111 – Beginning Arabic II
ARB 1121 - Intermediate Arabic I
ARB 1122 - Intermediate Arabic II
ARB 1123 - Intermediate Arabic I
ARB 1124 - Intermediate Arabic II
ARB 1125 - Intermediate Arabic III
ARB 1131 - Intensive Adv Arabic I
ARB 1132 - Intensive Adv Arabic II
ARB 1141 - Intro to Colloquial Egypt Arabic
ARB 2100 - Arabic Lit in English Translation
ARB 2142 - Arab Culture
COM 3342 - International Cinema
FRE 2218 - Francophone Writers & Cultural Identity
GEO 3800 - Islamic World
HIS 4031 - Islamic Civilization to 1800
HIS 4041 - History of the Modern Middle East
HIS 4090 - Women in the Middle East
HIS 4095 - Topics in Middle Eastern History
HIS 4360 - History of Modern South Asia
HIS 4365 - History of India & Pakistan
HUM 4000 - Jews, Christians and Muslims in Dialogue
PHI 3160 - History of Islamic Philosophy
PSC 4200 - South Asia
PSC 4900 - The Arab States
PSC 5900 - Middle East International Relations
THL 5150 - Introduction to Islam
THL 5160 - Islamic Mysticism
THL 5170 - Islamic Philosophy & Theology
THL 5180 - Islamic Political Thought
THL 5270 - Religion in India & South East Asia

 

See the website address above for more information.