African and Asian Languages and Literatures-Arabic, Hebrew, Yoruba, Swahili, Chinese and Japanese

The Department of African and Asian Languages and literatures (AALL) offers courses in the languages and cultures of the vast regions of the world where Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Swahili, and Yoruba are dominant. These courses in the language, linguistics, literature, film and culture of these regions enrich the study of majors in anthropology, art history, business, health sciences, history, international relations, journalism, law, music, political science, and sociology, as well as English and other languages and literatures. AALL works in cooperation with other interdisciplinary centers-Center for African Studies, Center for Jewish Studies, the Film and Media Studies Program, the Graduate Program in Linguistics, and the Asian Studies Program, to administer a wide variety of academic programs. Programs directly administered by AALL include the B.A. degree in East Asian Languages and Literatures (Chinese and Japanese track), an I.D.S. degree in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (Arabic and Hebrew track), as well as minors in African Studies, Arabic, Asian Studies, Chinese and Japanese.

The Major: The department offers a major in East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL) with concentrations in either Chinese or Japanese. A major needs a minimum of 30 credit hours of 3000 level or above courses.

The Chinese concentration requires A-CHI 3400-01 (language requirement); B-any 4 of the following, of which at least two must be at the 4000-level: CHI 4850, CHI 4930., CHI 4935 (honors thesis), CHT 3110, CHT 3123, CHT 3124, CHT 4111, CHW 4130, CHW 4140, FOL 3932 (content requirement); C-CHI 3500 or CHN 4905 or ASN 4905 (methods and practice); and D-either 3 Group (B) courses from Japanese, or 3 courses composed of additional Group B Chinese and courses outside the department with exclusive reference to East Asia (such as history, religion).

The Japanese concentration requires A-JPN 3400-01 (language requirement); B-any 4 of the following: JPN 3730, JPN 4850, JPN 4930, JPN 4935, JPN 4940, JPT 3100, JPT 3120, JPT 3121, JPT 3130, JPT 3135, JPT 3140, JPT 3150, JPT 4502, JPW 4120, JPW 4130, JPW 4131, (content requirement); C-JPT 3500 or JPN 4905 or ASN 4905 (methods and practice); and D-either 3 Group B courses from Chinese or 3 courses composed of additional Group B Japanese and courses specifically on East Asia from other disciplines (history, anthropology, religion, fine arts, etc.).

Course offerings vary from semester, particularly within group D and majors should consult the appropriate undergraduate coordinator before registration every semester.

Prospective majors should be mindful of the prerequisites to CHI 3410-11 (third-year Chinese) and JPN 3400-01 (third-year Japanese). Both concentrations require LIN 3010 as an exit requirement not counted toward the 30 hours. A student should take this course before taking CHI 4850 or JPN 4850.

Honors: A student must attain a 3.5 overall junior/senior average. Graduation with high or highest honors requires a senior honors thesis under ASN 4935, CHN 4935 or JPN 4935 and recommendation of the faculty.

The Minor: A minor in East Asian Languages and Literatures is available for students who take 15 credit hours distributed as follows:

• Second-year Chinese (10 hours) or Japanese (10 hours),
• Any two courses at the 3000 level or above with the following course prefixes: CHI, CHT, CHW, JPN, JPT, JPW (6 hours), and
• One course outside the department with exclusive reference to either China or Japan (3 hours).

Overseas Study: A year-long full tuition exchange program is available at Kansai Gaidai, near Osaka, Japan, which offers courses in Japanese language (all levels) and area studies focusing on Japan and its international role. Students majoring in the Japanese track of East Asian Languages and Literatures are given admission priority. We are also developing an exchange program with Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, and sent our first students in a pilot program in 2000.

A quarterly or year-long exchange program at the Mandarin Training Center, National Taiwan Normal University (Taipei, Taiwan), offers courses in Chinese language (all levels). Also available for study abroad of Chinese language (all levels) and culture is an exchange program at Shaanxi Teachers University (Xian, China) for one or more terms, including summer.

General Education: The Department of African and Asian Languages and Literatures is international and multicultural in outlook and in course offerings. General education courses have been selected to give insight into the humanities, social sciences and the international perspective of the African, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew and Japanese components of the department. Most classes listed under CHT or JPT qualify for the Writing and Math Requirement. NOTE: EALL courses can simultaneously satisfy general education requirements (H, I and/or the Writing and Math Requirement). Students are responsible to ensure they have completed all General Education requirements. Refer to the Academic Advising section of this.

Courses: The department anticipates coordinating the language, literature and culture components of an Asian Studies B.A. in the near future. All languages offered through this department fulfill the language requirements of the various colleges.

Japanese or Chinese Concentration: This represents an ideal progression through the EALL major. Your actual course may be different depending on language preparation and availability of courses. In particular, beginning language is best started Semester 1, and no later than Semester 3, but study abroad or accredited intensive summer courses can be used to catch up. In any case, all requirements must be met for graduation.

Asian Languages and Literatures

To remain 'on track' for this major you must meet the following critical tracking criteria. The critical tracking courses appear in bold.

Semester 1:

• 2.0 UF GPA required for sem 1-5

• Maintain 2.0 UF GPA

Semester 3:

• Complete 1 Chinese or Japanese course

Semester 4:

• Complete 1 additional Chinese or Japanese course with 2.5 GPA on all critical tracking coursework

Semester 5:

• Complete 2 additional East Asian Language and Literature related courses with 2.5 GPA on all critical tracking coursework.

The Major: The department offers an IDS major in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (NELC). Students design a concentration that focuses on either Arabic or Hebrew language and culture. Students acquire knowledge of relationships among language, politics, religion, arts, and economics. The major consists of 33 credit hours and culminates in a senior thesis. It is a two-track major, Arabic and Hebrew, with two core courses required by the two tracks:

• ABT 3131, Modern Arabic Literature/HBT 3110, Israeli Literature in Translation and ARA/HEB 4930, Introduction of Semitic Languages.

The Arabic concentration requires:

• ARA 3240-41, Third-year Arabic (6 credits)
• ARA 4420, Arabic Through the Texts (3 credits)
• ABT 3130, Classical Arabic Literature (3 credits)
• ABT 3130, Modern Arabic Literature (3 credits, core course)
• HBT 3110, Israeli Literature in Translation (3 credits, core course)
• ARA/HEB 4930, Introduction of Semitic Languages (3 credits, core course)
• IDS 4906, Senior Honor Thesis (7 credits)

Electives: 3-6 credits from courses with the following prefixes:

• ARA, ABT, REL (with reference to Islam or Judaism)
• AFH (with reference to North Africa) and
• CPO and WOH )with reference to the Middle East).

The Hebrew concentration requires:

• Nine credits chosen from the following 3 credit courses: HBR 3410, Third Year Hebrew 1, HBR 3411, Third Year Hebrew 2, HMW 3200, Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature 1, and HMW 3201, Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature 2.
• Six credits chosen from the following 3 credit courses: HMW 3201, Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature 2, HMW 4202, Reading in Modern Hebrew Literature 1, HMW 4203, Reading in Modern Hebrew Literature 2, HEB 4140, Reading in Classical Hebrew Literature
• Three credits from one of the following 3 credit courses: HEB 3130, Biblical Hebrew, HEB 4905, Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew
• Electives: 3-6 credits from the following courses: ARA 1120, Beginning Arabic (5 credits), WOH 3283, The Origins and Development of Modern Israel, REL 2210, Special Topics in Biblical Studies, ABT 3500, Arabic Culture, ABT 3520, The Maghrib and its People
• Seven credits-IDS 4906, Senior Thesis

The Minor: The minor in Arabic language and literature requires 15 credit hours distributed as follows:

• Third year Arabic (6 hours)
• Arabic Through the Texts (3 hours); offered during the Spring semester

Two other courses from the linguistics, or the literature component of the program with the following prefixes: ARA and ABT. It is also possible to complete the requirement with six hours of advanced Arabic (ARA 4400-4401).

Overseas Studies: An intensive summer program in Fez, Morocco is available for students on all levels, beginning to advanced. The six-week program earns six transferable credits or ten credits for beginners.

Courses in beginning and intermediate Swahili and Yoruba, as well as at least one 3000-level course are offered each semester. These courses may receive general education credit for humanities, international and/or diversity .

Overseas Studies: Year-long exchange programs are available at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for the study of Swahili, and at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, for the study of Yoruba. Students with a GPA of 2.5 and a background in African studies and/or African languages will be given priority.

The African studies faculty is composed of nearly ninety members campus-wide who teach courses with African content.

The Minor: A minor in African studies can be taken in conjunction with a department or interdisciplinary major leading to the bachelor's degree in the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Agricultural and Life Sciences, Education, Fine Arts, Journalism and Communications, and Business Administration. The minor provides a solid foundation for careers in teaching and research as well as in other professional work for which a knowledge of Africa is essential.

The requirements for the minor can be fulfilled by following one of several 15 credit hour tracks.

For complete information, please consult the center's web site or the undergraduate coordinator, 427 Grinter Hall, 392-2183.

Overseas Study: The center offers an academic year program at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (East Africa).