BA French and an Asian or African Language

This module introduces students to key topics in global linguistic diversity, enabling students to put into a global context the language, region or culture that their degree programme focuses on.

This module will explore genres such as the oral epic, the graphic novel, puppet theatre, and internet literature with particular attention to the ways that texts interact with other forms of expression from music and dance to the visual arts. Each of the stories studied will be presented in its cultural context, and connections between cultures will be interrogated in an effort to solidify conceptions of the universal and the local.

This is a Intermediate course in Modern Standard Arabic. The main emphasis is on mastering the basic structures of Modern Standard Arabic as a means of communication, particularly in relation to journalism, with equal emphasis on reading, writing, speaking and hearing. News broadcasts are introduced, and oral competence is developed through extensive use of media resources as well as in small-group conversation classes, where some elements of colloquial Arabic are also introduced

This is a Beginners course in Modern Standard Arabic.The main emphasis is on mastering the basic structures of Modern Standard Arabic as a means of communication, particularly in relation to journalism, with equal emphasis on reading, writing, speaking and hearing.

This is an intermediate language acquisition module, and builds on knowledge acquired in Arabic 1A, Arabic 1B, Arabic 2A, and Arabic 2B. Students study authentic Arabic texts of various writing genres and gain further knowledge of grammar (syntax and structure). The module develops students' competence equally in reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.

This is an upper intermediate language acquisition module that builds on Arabic 3A, providing students with a firmer foundation in Arabic grammar, and training them in the active use of the language through writing exercises that draw on and reinforce a number of skills including knowledge of grammar, syntax, phraseology and general and specialised terminology. Writing skills will also be further built through targeted translation exercises. The module also includes an oral component where students are trained in speaking the colloquial register of the language

Arabic 5 A

This module aims to utilize students' knowledge of syntax to develop their ability in comprehension and grammatical analysis as well as composition and translation into Arabic. The module is based on the reading and discussion of three types of written language: various literary texts, Arabic journalism and selected texts for translation. The module also caters for the oral aspect of language learning.

At the end of the module students will have developed a distinct understanding of the historical and conceptual significance of the earliest Islamic scriptural sources: namely the Qur’an and Hadith and the role they play in the synthesis of Islamic faith and practice. Furthermore, s/he will also have obtained not only a firm grasp of the linguistic and structural features of the associated classical literature which developed around these sources but also the theoretical contexts which defined approaches to scripture and the academic frameworks within which these are gauged.

The module provides a guided inquiry into the history and development of modern Arabic literature in its poltical and cultural contexts, examining intersections of form and content in the creation of meaning. Students will critically examine themes and techniques across an array of genres and will become acquainted with the diversity and breadth of Arabic literary expression in the modern era. The module will familiarize students with the necessary theoretical tools and language for the socio-political analysis of modern Arabic literature.

The course will offer a survey of films from the Arab world, Turkey, Iran, and Israel, as well as an overview of the historical development of film in the region and a grounding in the socio-cultural contexts in which films have been produced. Films will be analysed aesthetically, with an awareness of multiple aspects of film technique, and meanings will be interrogated through a number of interdisciplinary and theoretical prisms.

In this module, selections of Palestinian writings in different genres will be read and analysed as exemplars of literary responses to a situation of alienation and displacement, with particular focus on tradition and innovation, the construction and maintenance of identity, coping strategies and the evolving social function of literature in the context of the current conflict.