This information is subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Registrar's Directory of Classes.
Note that enrollment in language courses is determined in some cases by placement examinations. See Languages for details, and consult the pages on specific languages, such as Arabic for further information. Language courses must be taken for a letter grade. Pass/D/Fail or Registration credit (R) is not permitted.
For course requirements, see the pages on the Graduate and Undergraduate programs.
The following course designators appear in abbreviated form:
- MDES (Middle East)
- AHUM (Asian Humanities)
- ASCM (Asian Civilizations-Middle East)
- CLME (Comparative Literature-Middle East)
- HSME (History-Middle East)
COURSES (NON-LANGUAGE)
| Introduction
to Islamic Civilization |
ASCM V2003 |
George
Saliba
| |
| Lecture
and recitation. Islamic civilization and its characteristic political,
social, and religious institutions and intellectual traditions. |
| Theory
& Culture in the Middle East and South Asia |
MDES W3000 |
| Hamid
Dabashi |
|
| Required
of all majors. Introduces theories of culture particularly related to
the Middle East and South Asia. Theoretical debates on the nature and
function of culture as a symbolic reading of human collectivities. Examines
critical cultural studies of the Middle East and South Asia. Enables
students to articulate their emerging knowledge of Middle East and Asian
cultures in a theoretically informed language. |
| Colonialism:
Film, Fiction, History & Theory |
CLME W3032 |
| Hamid
Dabashi |
|
| This
course is intended as a Global Core Requirement, introducing Columbia
College students to the global phenomenon of colonialism in a broadly
introductory, interdisciplinary, and temporally and spatially expansive
way. As all other courses in the Global Core, this introductory course
to the global phenomenon of Colonialism is organized around a set of
primary texts ??? in film, fiction, history, autobiography, and theory
??? produced in or about the regions of the world in which colonialism
has had an impact. The purpose of this course is to introduce students
to a wide range of cinematic, fictional, historical, autobiographical,
and theoretical sources on the global and cross-cultural phenomenon
of colonialism. |
| Rethinking
Middle East Politics |
MDES W3260 |
| Timothy
Mitchell |
|
| This course examines a set of questions that have shaped the study of the politics of the modern Middle East. It looks at the main ways those questions have been answered, exploring debates both in Western academic scholarship and among scholars and intellectuals in the region itself. For each question, the course offers new ways of thinking about the issue or ways of framing it in different terms. The topics covered in the course include: the kinds of modern state that emerged in the Middle East and the ways its forms of power and authority were shaped; the birth of ???economic development??? as a way of describing the function and measuring the success of the state, and the changing metrics of this success; the influence of oil on the politics of the region; the nature and role of Islamic political movements; the transformation of the countryside and the city and the role of rural populations and of urban protest in modern politics; and the politics of armed force and political violence in the region, and the ways in which this has been understood. The focus of the course will be on the politics of the twentieth century, but many topics will be traced back into developments that occurred in earlier periods, and several will be explored up to the present. The course is divided into four parts, each ending with a paper or exam in which participants are asked to analyze the material covered. Each part of the course has a geographical focus on a country or group of countries and a thematic focus on a particular set of questions of historical and political analysis. |
| Major
Texts of India |
AHUM V3399 |
| Sheldon
Pollock |
|
| |
| Introduction
to Israeli Literature |
MDES W3542 |
| Dan Miron |
|
| |
| Culture
in the Modern Arab World |
MDES W3920 |
| Joseph
Massad |
|
| This seminar, designed for seniors, aims to acquaint students with the notion and theoretical understanding of culture and to introduce them to a critical method by which they can study and appreciate contemporary culture in the Arab World. The seminar will survey examples of written and cinematic culture (fiction and autobiography), as well as music, dance, and literary criticism in the contemporary Arab world. Students will be reading novels, autobioghraphies and literary criticism, as well as watch films and listen to music as part of the syllabus. All material will be in translation. Films will be subtitled. Songs will be in Arabic. |
| Introduction
to Western Armenian Literature |
MDES W3925 |
| Nanor
Kenderian |
|
| A broad introduction to the major stages, movements and works of Western Armenian literature from its ???inception??? in the Ottoman Empire to its contemporary Diasporic variations. Using translations of Harutyun Kurkjyan???s comprehensive textbook Hay Kyank??? yev Grakanut???yun [Armenian Life and Literature] alongside translations fromHeritage of Armenian Literature III and various readings in history and criticism, this course will offer a broad introduction to the major stages, movements and works of Western Armenian literature from its ???literary inception??? in the 1850???s Ottoman Empire until its current trends in the Diaspora. The course, which will also touch on major developments in theatre, cinema, and music, will offer an opportunity for comparative study. Since the trajectory of Western Armenian literature is inextricably bound with major historical events, the course will take an interdisciplinary approach as it brings significant historical developments into discussions of the literature???s trajectory. All readings will be in English and English translation. |
| Theory
& Methods: Middle East and Asia |
MDES G4000 |
| Sudipta
Kaviraj |
|
| |
| Themes
in the Novels of the Middle East, Africa & South Asia: Fiction of
Post-Colonialism |
CLME W4024 |
| Noha
Radwan |
|
| This
course offers a reading of a selection of novels from the Middle East,
India and Africa that represent, interrogate and challenge the colonialist
and post-independence history of their nations and regions. It has long
been understood that colonial domination was achieved through the deployment
of more than brute force. It was not only power, but also colonialist
knowledge that became the foundations of European hegemony over the
colonial world. It has also become a matter of little debate that post-colonial
societies are still, to varying degrees, subject to overt or subtle
forms of neo-colonial domination. The course examines the complex processes
by which the writers of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa suffer,
resist and ultimately try to extricate their cultures and societies
from the legacy of colonialism. Novels in both English and English translations
will constitute the primary reading material for this course.
They will be supplemented by a selection of theoretical and critical
readings. |
| Locating
Africa in the Early 20th Century World |
HSME G4052 |
| Mamadou
Diouf and Jinny Prais |
|
| During
the early twentieth century the meaning of Africa and its location within
the universal historical narrative was a source of discussion
and debate among western and African elites. In this seminar, we will
study the ways that African and people of African descent participated
in this discussion. We will learn about how African, African American
and European writers, artists and activists engaged and (re) interpreted
imperial and international resources (including the insights of the
new sciences of Man) to (re)imagine their political and social situations,
and to participate in various political expressions , including surrealism,
pan-Africanism, communism, feminism, black internationalism, and anti-imperialism.
We will also engage critically debates (e.g., Egyptianisms and Ethiopianisms)
and theoretical developments in African, imperial, transnational, international
and global scholarship that seeks to understand the complex traffic
of people and ideas across national and imperial boundaries. |
| Global
Political Thought: Gandhi, Iqbal, Nehru, Senghor |
MDES G4062 |
| Sudipta
Kaviraj, Akeel Bilgrami and Souleymane Diagne |
|
| This
course is intended to explore important themes in modern political thought
from texts taken from traditions outside the modern West. It will not
be devoted to textual exegesis, but use as sites of exploration central
questions of modern politics. The attempt will be not merely to grasp
what these thinkers thought, but to think more widely with and through
their texts. The course will focus on the works of M K Gandhi, Jawaharlal
Nehru, Mohammad Iqbal, and Leopold Senghor. It will involve reading
assigned texts and critical and comparative analysis of their theoretical
ideas. |
| Arabic
Self-Narratives: Secular Autobiography &
Its Writers??? Predicament |
CLME G4226 |
| Muhsin
Al-Musawi |
|
| This
course studies a number of autobiographical works; memoirs and reminiscences
that are meant to rationalize and sell a writer???s experience. These
serve as trajectories for a secular journey rather than one from denial
to affirmation. Staunchly established in modernity and its nahda paradigms,
most of these writings are secular itineraries that rarely search for
faith. They are the journeys of a generation of Arab intellectuals who
are facing many crises, but not the crisis of faith. They provide another
look at the making of the Arab intelligentsia since the early 20th century
and help us discern the pitfalls and failures, along with successes,
that have been wrapping the nation state. No prior knowledge of Arabic
language is required. |
| Islam
on the Street: The Religious Dynamic in Modern Arabic Literary Production |
CLME G4261 |
| Muhsin
Al-Musawi |
|
| This
course questions the whole idea of Arab modernity usually associated
with thenahda or Arab awakening at the turn of the nineteenth century.
Through close analysis of texts, poetry, narrative, travelogue and memoirs,
it argues that the bane of modernity is its subordination to a Western
ideal that minimizes or even negates its engagement with Islamic and
Arab tradition. The nation state and through codification processes
and as led by the intelligentsia forged a social program that is no
less divested of tradition and rural culture. Only after 1967, the unsettling
experience of total bankruptcy, that intellectuals question the dichotomies
of science versus religion and the myth of progress versus tradition.
New writings take to the street where they find substance and faith
that has been ignored for long under cultural dependency. These works
receive due attention in relation to theoretical studies that increase
readers??? critical insight. No prior knowledge of Arabic language is
required. |
| Mughal
India |
MDES G4652 |
| Allison
Busch |
|
| The Mughal
period was one of the most dynamic eras in world history, when India
was the meeting place of many cultures. Of Timurid ancestry, the earliest
Mughal rulers drew upon the heritage of Central Asia in their ruling
styles and cultural practices, but they would soon adapt to the complexities
of their Indian milieu, which had longstanding traditions that were
a blend of Sanskrit and Persian, Hindu and Muslim idioms. European culture,
whether filtered through Jesuit sermons, itinerant merchants, or Flemish
engravings, was also making inroads into India during this period. This
course is a broad cultural history of Mughal India as seen from a range
of perspectives and sources. We consider the Mughals??? major achievements
in visual culture as manifested in painting and architecture, as well
as exploring diverse topics in religion, literature, politics, and historiography.
Yet another approach is to listen to the voices of the Mughal rulers
as recorded in their memoirs, as well as investigating the signal contributions
of the dynasty???s women. |
| Constitutionalism,
Ataturk & Reza Shah |
MDES G4941 |
| Nader
Sohrabi |
|
| The emergence
of modern Turkey and Iran has been linked to two strong figures of Ataturk
and Reza Shah. Depicted as "men of order," they have been
held responsible for the major transformations associated with the rise
of the modern nation states of Turkey and Iran. This course critically
examines the legacy of these two leaders by placing them within the
long term history of social and political transformations in the Ottoman
Empire and Iran in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship between the emergence
of these leaders and the constitutional movements that preceded them.
Of interest here is the degree to which they were in continuity with,
a reaction to, or a break from these movements. Of further interest
is the creation of modern citizenship, authoritarianism, commitment
to constitutionalism, radical reforms from above, rise of the middle
class, social and political programs directed toward homogenization,
and republicanism. |
| Modern
Jewish Literary Complex |
MDES G6522 |
| Dan Miron |
|
| |
| Psychoanalysis,
Identity and Culture |
MDES G8206 |
| Joseph
Massad |
|
| This
graduate seminar aims to introduce students to Freud and Freudian Psychoanalysis
and the integration of both in critical theory. The main question the
seminar aims to study is the formation of identity in psychoanalysis
and how it relates to civilization and culture more generally, whether
in its gender, sexual, or national configurations. The influence of
Social Darwinism and Developmentalism more generally on Freudian psychoanalysis
will be discussed as well as the importance of related temporal concepts
deployed in psychoanalysis' insistence on the divide between primitivism
and culture. We will discuss a number of major scholarly works engaging
Freud's theories on all these questions and their relevance to social
and cultural analysis. |
| South
Asia Research Colloquium |
MDES G8620 |
| Sheldon
Pollock and Allison Busch |
|
| This course is open to all graduate students working on any aspect of the South Asia humanities. Students will present their research in progress, choosing one or two historical or theoretical readings to accompany the draft of their work (this can be a dissertation chapter or MA essay in progress, an honors thesis, a seminar paper, or the like). Our focus will be on clarifying the object of study, testing the methodology employed, and situating the research within current historical and theoretical discussions.
|
LANGUAGE COURSES
Middle East Languages
Arabic
| ARABIC for HERITAGE
SPEAKERS I |
MDES W1208 |
| Youssef Nouhi |
|
| FIRST YEAR ARABIC
I |
MDES W1210 |
| Reem Faraj |
|
| Reem Faraj |
|
| Tarik Belhoussein |
|
| Reem Faraj |
|
| Tarik Belhoussein |
|
| Ghada Badawi |
|
| FIRST YEAR ARABIC
II |
MDES W1211 |
| Ouijdane Absi |
|
| SECOND YEAR ARABIC
I |
MDES W1214 |
| Ghada Badawi |
|
| Ouijdane Absi |
|
| May Ahmar |
|
| Rym Bettaieb |
|
| THIRD YEAR ARABIC
I |
MDES W4210 |
| May Ahmar |
|
| Youssef Nouhi |
|
| 4TH YEAR ARABIC I:
MODERN PROSE |
MDES W4212 |
| Taoufik Ben-Amor |
|
| ADVANCED ARABIC GRAMMER
REVIEW |
MDES W4215 |
| Taoufik
Ben-Amor |
|
| Through reading and writing, students will review Arabic Grammar concepts within the context of linguistic functions such as narration, description, comparison, etc. For example, within the function of narration, students will focus on verb tenses, word order, and adverbials. Based on error analysis in the past twelve years that the Arabic Program has been using Al-Kitaab, emphasis will be placed on common and frequent grammatical errors. |
| READINGS IN CLASSICAL
ARABIC I |
MDES G6210 |
| George Saliba |
|
| Readings and analysis of texts, with discussion of the nature and development of the genres within the context of Islamic thought. One genre covered each term. |
Hebrew
| 1ST YEAR MODERN HEBREW:
ELEMENTARY I |
MDES W1510 |
| Zipora Rubin |
|
| This is an introductory course for which no prior knowledge is required. Equal emphasis is given to listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or paragraph writing. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. |
| 2ND YEAR MODERN HEBREW:
INTERMEDIATE I |
MDES W1512 |
| Nehama R Bersohn |
|
| Prerequisite: MDES W1511 or the equivalent. Students who completed First Year Hebrew at Columbia are required to enroll in section 1. New students are placed in section 1 or 2, based on their performance on the placement test. Equal emphasis is given to listening, speaking, reading and writing. Regular categories of the Hebrew verb, prepositions, and basic syntax are taught systematically. Vocabulary building. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or short compositions. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. |
| 2ND YEAR MODERN HEBREW:
UPPER INTERMEDIATE I |
MDES W1514 |
| Nehama R Bersohn |
|
| Prerequisites: For students who acquired basic knowledge of the language in Hebrew School, and received appropriate scores on the placement test. Equal emphasis is given to listening, speaking, reading and writing. Regular Hebrew verbs, prepositions, and syntax are taught systematically. Vocabulary building. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, listening to webcasts, or short compositions. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. |
| 3RD YEAR MODERN HEBREW I |
MDES W4510 |
| Ruth Raphaeli-Slivko |
|
| Prerequisites: Hebrew W1513 or W1515 or the instructor's permission. Students are expected to have basic familiarity with regular and irregular verbs in five categories of the Hebrew verb system: Pa'al, Pi'el, Hif'il, Hitpa'el and Nif'al. The course focuses on vocabulary building and on development of reading skills, using adapted literary and journalistic texts with and without vowels. Verb categories of Pu'al and Huf'al are taught systematically. Other verb forms are reviewed in context. A weekly hour is devoted to practice in conversation. Daily homework includes reading, short answers, compositions, listening to web-casts, and giving short oral presentations via voice e-mail. Frequent vocabulary quizzes. |
| 4TH YEAR MODERN HEBREW:
READINGS |
MDES W4512 |
| Ruth Raphaeli-Slivko |
|
| Prerequisites: MDES W4511, MDES W1515 or MDES W1516 or the instructor's permission. Students are expected to have a good familiarity with the Hebrew verb system, and the ability to read a text without vowels. This is an advanced course focusing on the development of reading skills using authentic, un-adapted literary, journalistic and academic texts. Verb forms are reviewed in context. In addition to the texts read by the whole class, each student completes two independent reading projects in areas of his/her interest. A weekly hour is devoted to practice in conversation. Daily homework includes reading, composition, listening to web-casts, or giving short oral presentations via voice e-mail. Frequent vocabulary quizzes. Two five page term reports on the independent readings. |
Persian
| ELEMENTARY PERSIAN
I |
MDES W1710 |
| Ghazzal Dabiri |
|
| INTERMEDIATE PERSIAN
I |
MDES W1712 |
| Ghazzal Dabiri |
|
| ADVANCED PERSIAN
I |
MDES W4710 |
| Ghazzal Dabiri |
|
Turkish
| ELEMENTARY MODERN
TURKISH I |
MDES W1910 |
| Etem Erol |
|
| INTERMEDIATE MODERN
TURKISH I |
MDES W1912 |
| Etem Erol |
|
| ADVANCED TURKISH
I |
MDES W4910 |
| Cenk Palaz and Etem
Erol |
|
| BEGINNING OTTOMAN
TURKISH |
MDES W4921 |
| Nader Sohrabi |
|
| INTERMEDIATE OTTOMAN
TURKISH |
MDES W4918 |
| Nader Sohrabi |
|
Armenian
| ELEMENTARY ARMENIAN
I |
MDES W1310 |
| Charry Karamanoukian |
|
| INTRODUCTION TO WESTERN
ARMENIAN LITERATURE |
MDES W3925 |
| Nanor Kenderian |
|
South Asian Languages
Sanskrit
| ELEMENTARY SANSKRIT
I |
MDES W1401 |
| Som Dev Vasudeva |
|
| INTERMEDIATE SANSKRIT
I |
MDES W1404 |
| Som Dev Vasudeva |
|
| ADVANCED SANSKRIT
I |
MDES W4810 |
| Sheldon Pollock |
|
Hindi-Urdu
| HINDI FOR HERITAGE
SPEAKERS I |
MDES W1608 |
| Rakesh Ranjan |
|
| This is an accelerated course for students of South Asian origin who already possess knowledge of basic vocabulary and limited speaking and listening skills in Hindi. They may not have sufficient skills in reading and writing but are able to converse on familiar topics such as: self, family, likes, dislikes and immediate surroundings. This course will focus on developing knowledge of the basic grammar of Hindi and vocabulary enrichment by exposing students to a variety of cultural and social topics related to aspects of daily life; and formal and informal registers. Students will be able to read and discuss simple texts and write about a variety of everyday topics by the end of the semester. |
| ELEMENTARY HINDI-URDU
I |
MDES W1610 |
| Rakesh Ranjan |
|
| Tyler Williams |
|
| Suman Mallipattana |
|
| Suman Mallipattana |
|
| INTERMEDIATE HINDI-URDU
I |
MDES W1612 |
| Dalpat Rajpurohit |
|
| Dalpat Rajpurohit |
|
| READINGS IN HINDI-URDU
LITERATURE |
MDES W4612 |
| Allison
Busch |
|
| This course introduces a range of modern Hindi-Urdu literary texts and trends. From the late nineteenth century Hindi and Urdu authors experimented with genres like the short story and novel, which had been imported through colonial contact, creating a rich array of new (and sometimes hybrid) literary offerings. In this course we read select authors from the canon of modern fiction, while also touching on the most salient literary historical and cultural currents taking place in the world outside the texts. Students will also be exposed to select works of secondary literature and a few genres and poets of historical importance. Students develop their skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as working with advanced grammar topics and learning new idioms. While it is preferred that all students develop their skills in both Hindi and Urdu scripts, students who know only one script may also be admitted to the course with the permission of the instructor. |
Tamil
| ELEMENTARY TAMIL
I |
MDES W1101 |
| D. Samuel Sudanandha |
|
| INTERMEDIATE TAMIL
I |
MDES W1201 |
| D. Samuel Sudanandha |
|
| ADVANCED TAMIL I
|
MDES W4118 |
| D. Samuel Sudanandha |
|
Kannada
| ELEMENTARY KANNADA
I |
KANA W1101 |
| Suman Mallipattana |
|
| INTERMEDIATE KANNADA
I |
KANA W1201 |
| Suman Mallipattana |
|
African Languages
Swahili
| ELEMENTARY SWAHILI
I |
SWHL W1101 |
| Jane Clayton |
|
| Membezi J. Inniss |
|
| INTERMEDIATE SWAHILI
I |
SWHL W1201 |
| Membezi J. Inniss |
|
| ADVANCED SWAHILI
II |
SWHL W3335 |
| Membezi J. Inniss |
|
Wolof
| ELEMENTARY WOLOF
I |
WOLOF W1101 |
| Marianne Sy |
|
| INTERMEDIATE WOLOF
I |
WOLOF W1201 |
| Marianne
Sy |
|
Zulu
| ELEMENTARY ZULU I |
ZULU W1101 |
| John Zuzo |
|
| INTERMEDIATE ZULU
I |
ZULU W1201 |
| Marianne Sy |
|
