Reading Classical Arabic Texts (316-2-1)
Instructors
Fadia M Antabli
847/467-6780
Crowe Hall 4-113, 1860 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208
I am a native of Jerusalem, Palestine. In 2012, I joined Northwestern with a great passion for teaching and learning. I am a Searle Fellow and an award-winning instructor; I received the “Arts and Sciences Alumni Teaching Award” from the Weinberg College in 2016. I hold a Master of Science in Adult Education from Indiana University and an MA in Educational Technology from the University of Huddersfield in England, with focus on “Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language.” I am an emerging poet; I was a finalist for the Gwendolyn Brooks award. My poem “I Love Your Green Eyes: A Haibun for Baba” was published in the Chicago Reader, Jan. 2024. My work will also appear at the Haymarket Palestine Anthology in May 2025 edition. In Fall 2020, I completed the work on a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Writing at NU School of Professional Studies, Creative Writing Program. My research includes Arabic literature, poetry, Islamic history and Civilization, and Palestinian Studies.
Meeting Info
Locy Hall 110: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
This course is for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in exploring ancient and medieval classicists' Arabic text from the pre-Islamic period to the Abbasid's era: The Golden Age of Islamic Civilization. The course offers students an invaluable opportunity to closely read, analyse, discuss and build a vital background in the essential themes of Arabic literary traditions spanning well over a millennium in chronological order and within its historical context. Students will read parts of the Holy Qur'an; Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad; letters by the SaHaba; a chapter of Arabic grammar from Sibawayhi's Al-Kitab, as well as a famous classical poem by Abu Al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi, among others. The selected readings will cohesively deepen students' literary experience with ancient and medieval texts. The provided glossaries of idioms and phrases will assist students with basic comprehension, but students should also make use of a dictionary or consult the instructor.
Learning Objectives
This is a highly interactive course based on pre-class readings and in-class discussions in Arabic. Through intensive engagements with the texts, students will work towards the following objectives:
• Speaking: Oral assignments and in-class discussions will help with the acquisition of vocabulary and popular idioms used in the texts. Students will have a chance to convert their completed written essays into oral presentation to develop a skill for spontaneous response to questions.
• Grammar: Students will deepen their understanding of grammar through in-class discussions of structure, syntax and style used in the assigned texts.
• Writing: Writing assignments will serve as a reinforcement of vocabulary and can require a degree of directed research. The resulting persuasive essays will draw on evidence from the texts to support arguments or draw conclusions.
• Arabic rhetoric: Students will analyze the assigned texts which have their own sets of rules and conventions to improve comprehension of the following elements of Arabic rhetoric:
Evaluation Method
The final grade for the course will be based on attendance and participation, completion of pre-class assignments, and several essays to show a general understanding of the meaning of the assigned texts and the different applications of Arabic grammar and rhetoric.
Class Materials (Required)
Course material will be selected from Bassam Franjieh's book: "Anthology of Arabic Literature, Culture, and Thought". Yale University Press, 2005. ISBN: 978-0-300-22887-8 and will be provided to the students in PDF format and uploaded to Canvas.
Class Notes
Course Prerequisite:
Completion of Arabic 211-3 (the third-year sequence) or equivalent, and one course on the 300-level such as a 316. This course is designed for advanced learners (at least "Advanced-Mid" on the ACTFL scale) in our program and for heritage and quasi native speakers who were placed into a 300-level class through a placement test result. If a student is unsure whether they possess the required language skill for this course, they should reach out to the instructor.
Class Attributes
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area