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2004-05 Undergraduate Catalog

Academic Programs 2004-05 Home

African and Asian Languages and Literatures—Arabic, Hebrew, Akan, Yoruba, Swahili, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese

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 IDS degree in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (Arabic and Hebrew track), as well as minors in African Studies, Arabic, Asian Studies, Chinese and Japanese.

Chinese and Japanese

The Major: The major in East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL) develops proficiency in Chinese and Japanese language and acquaints students with the literature and cultural history of China and Japan. Courses are also available for those interested in business Chinese, film, and women’s studies. The major provides students with the foundation for further work at the graduate level in East Asian studies or allied fields (linguistics, history, and religion). An EALL major is excellent general preparation for entry to professional schools (medicine, law), foreign service, diplomacy, translation, business, import and export of information and culture, museums and libraries, tourism, and the like. The EALL major offers two tracks: Chinese and Japanese. A minimum of 30 credit hours at the 3000 level or above is required. (All courses must be graded to count toward the major; designations of satisfactory or unsatisfactory are not acceptable.).

The Chinese concentration requires:

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

The Japanese concentration requires:

  • JPN 3400-01 (language requirement);
  • any four of the following: JPN 3391, 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 3300, JPT 4502, JPW 4130, JPW 4131, (content requirement);
  • JPT 3500 or JPN 4905 or ASN 4905 (methods and practice);
  • either three Group B courses from Chinese or three 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 to semester, particularly within Group D. Majors should consult the appropriate undergraduate coordinator before registration every semester.

Prospective majors should be aware 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: To graduate cum laude, a student must have a 3.5 overall junior/senior average. To graduate magna cum laude or summa cum laude 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 19 credit hours distributed as follows:

  • Second-year Chinese (10 hours) or Japanese (10 hours)
  • Any three courses at the 3000 level or above with the following course prefixes: CHI, CHT, CHW, JPN, JPT, JPW, FOL (9 hours)
  • Students minoring in Chinese who are qualified to enter third-year Chinese (6 hours) may complete this sequence in place of second-year Chinese. In this case the minimum credit hours for the minor are 15. These students should contact the Chinese program office to arrange proficiency testing before enrolling in the third year.

Overseas Study: A yearlong 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. There also is an exchange program with Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, and UF placed its first students in a pilot program in 2000. UF continues to send one or two students a year to this program.

A quarterly or yearlong study-abroad program at the Mandarin Training Center, National Taiwan Normal University (Taipei, Taiwan), offers courses in Chinese language (all levels). A program at Shaanxi Teachers University (Xian, China) also offers study of the Chinese language (all levels) and culture 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 for completing all General Education requirements. Refer to the academic advising section of this catalog.

Courses: The department anticipates coordinating the language, literature and culture components of a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies in the 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.

East Asian Languages and Literatures

To remain ‘on track’ for this major, a student must meet the following critical-tracking criteria.

Semester 1:

  • 2.0 UF GPA required for semesters 1-5

Semester 2:

  • Maintain 2.0 UF GPA

Semester 3:

  • Complete one Chinese or Japanese course

Semester 4:

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

Semester 5:

  • Complete 2 additional East Asian Language and Literature-related courses with 2.5 GPA on all critical-tracking course work

Semester 1

Credits

JPN 1120 or CHI 1120 1st year language

5

Composition (GE)

3

Biological Science (GE)

3

Social & Behavioral Sciences (GE)

3

Total

14

Semester 2

Credits

JPN 1121 or CHI 1121

5

Physical Science (GE)

3

Social & Behavioral Sciences (GE)

3

Mathematics (GE)

3

Total

14

Semester 3

Credits

JPN 2200 or CHI 2200 2nd year language

5

CHI 3500 or JPT 3500 Introductory culture

3

Humanities (GE)

3

Major elective (JPT/CHT 3100 series)

3

Physical Science (GE)

3

Total

17

Semester 4

Credits

JPN 2201 or CHI 2201

5

Humanities (GE)

3

Mathematics (GE)

3

Major electives

6

Total

17

Semester 5

Credits

JPN 3400 or CHI 3410 3rd year language

3

Biological Science (GE)

3

LIN 3010 Intro to Linguistics (GE-H)

3

Composition

3

Major elective (3000 level or above)

3

Total

15

Semester 6

Credits

JPN 3401 or CHI 3411

3

Major elective (3000 level or above)

6

Free electives (3000 level or above)

6

Total

15

Semester 7

Credits

Science lab (GE-P or B)

1

Social and Behavioral Sciences (GE)

3

Senior thesis option or elective

3

Major elective (3000 level or above)

3

Major elective (4000 level or above)

3

Elective (3000 level or above)

3

Total

16

Semester 8

Credits

Major electives (3000 level or above)

6

Electives (3000 level or above)

9

Total

15

Total Required for Degree

120

Note: Several of the courses in the major count for GE-H, I and/or the writing and math requirement.

Arabic and Hebrew

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 or 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/HMW 4903 Israeli History through contemporary novels, ARA/HEB 4930, Introduction of Semitic Languages.

The Arabic concentration requires:

  • ARA 3300-01, Third-year Arabic (six credits)
  • ARA 4420, Arabic Through the Texts (three credits)
  • ABT 3130, Classical Arabic Literature (three credits)
  • ABT 3130, Modern Arabic Literature (three credits, core course)
  • HBT 3110, Israeli Literature in Translation (three credits, core course)
  • ARA/HEB 4930, Introduction of Semitic Languages (three credits, core course)
  • IDS 4906, Senior Honor Thesis (seven credits)

Electives: Three to six 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 WHO (with reference to the Middle East)

The Hebrew concentration requires:

Major in Near Eastern Languages & Cultures (NELC).

The track of Hebrew concentration requires (33 credits).

  • HBR 3410/3411, third-year Hebrew (H, I) (6 credits)
  • HMW 3200/3204, Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature (3 credits)
  • HMW 4930, Images of Women in Modern Hebrew Literature (3 credits)
  • HMW 4930, Israeli History in Contemporary Israeli Novels (3 credits)
  • ABT 3131, Arabic Heritage 2 (H, I) GR-E+ (3 credits)
  • ARA/HEB 4930, Comparative Semitic Languages (3 credits)
  • IDS 4906, Senior Honors Thesis (7 credits)

Electives: Three to six credits from the following prefixes: REL, HBR, HMW, JST, POS (courses related to Judaism, the Bible, or the Middle East).

The Hebrew Minor requires: (15 credits)

  • HBR 3410/3411, third-year Hebrew (6 credits)

Electives: – Nine credits from the following:

  • HMW 3200, Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature 1 (3 credits)
  • HMW 3201, Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature 2 (3 credits)
  • HMW 4930, Images of Women in Modern Hebrew Literature (3 credits)
  • HMW 4930, Israeli History in Contemporary Israeli Novels (3 credits)
  • HMW 4930, The Individual and the Collective: An Introduction to Modern Hebrew Short Fiction (3 credits)
  • ARA/HEB 4930, Comparative Semitic Languages (3 credits)
  • ARA 1120, Beginning Arabic 1 (3 credits)
  • REL 2210, Hebrew Scripture (3 credits)
  • REL 2493, Special Topics in Biblical Studies (3 credits)
  • REL 3938, Women/Gender in the Hebrew Bible (3 credits)
  • POS with reference to the Middle East conflict

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 10 credits for beginners.

Swahili and Yoruba

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: Yearlong 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.

African Studies

The African studies faculty is composed of nearly 90 members campuswide 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, research and 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, Grinter Hall, Room 427, 352-392-2183.

Overseas Study: The center offers a semester or academic-year program at both the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and the University of Botswana.