With the help of a projected $3 million endowment, the department of modern languages and literature plans to substantially expand its Arabic program next year to include courses on Arabic literature and culture. Faculty in the Arabic program are ambitious to achieve even further expansion in the future, as student interest in Arabic and international demand for Arabic speakers are continually on the increase.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks prompted a revival of Arabic scholarship and study within government and academic institutions, according to Walid Hamarneh, assistant professor and Arabic program section head. “With the recent [political] developments people seem to want to know more. There’s currently a lot of interest in, but very little knowledge of, Arabic,” Hamarneh said.
“I initially [took Arabic] because I was interested in Middle Eastern politics, but it also opens up a lot of doors as far as work goes — you’re learning a whole different culture,” Gabriel Ramirez ’10 said.
In the spring of 2005, Swarthmore received a $670,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as part of a $2 million Tri-College Islamic and Middle Eastern studies initiative to implement Arabic language instruction. The Mellon grant is largely responsible for the new Arabic section of the department of modern languages and literature, which was put into place this year.
At this time, Swarthmore offers first-, second- and third-year modern standard Arabic (MSA). Bryn Mawr offers first-year Arabic, with the drill sections taking place at Haverford. Prior to the fall of 2006, first- and second- year courses in Modern Standard Arabic were available, but only on a limited basis as part of the religion department.
In 2006, the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) issued a $600,000 challenge grant to Swarthmore to support additional faculty for Arabic language instruction. The “challenge” grant is to be matched 4:1 by non-federal funds for a total endowment of $3 million. “Right now we’re conducting a search for two full-time professors in Arabic studies, basically for language,” Hamarneh said. Eleonore Baginski, coordinator for the the department of modern languages and literature, said the office has received about 20 applications for the two new positions.
Next year, with the addition of new faculty members, the Arabic program hopes to offer first-year intensive MSA on all three Tri-co campuses, second-year at Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr and third-year only at Swarthmore.
In addition to these Arabic language instruction courses, the Arabic program is planning to offer literature and culture courses, including “Writing Women in Modern Arabic Fiction” in the fall and “Cinema in the Arab World” in the spring. “I think it’s really important that cultural courses exist to supplement language courses. Political history, culture and language go hand in hand,” Susannah Gund ’08 said.
MSA is the form of Arabic taught at virtually all American institutions, yet it has limited relevance to the actual colloquial dialects in modern Arab nations. As a result, the Arabic section strongly encourages foreign study as part of the student’s education. “We’re working with the study abroad office to develop study abroad possibilities for our students. I want to give students the option to choose the country and [dialect] from which they will get the most,” Hamarneh said. “There are certain restrictions. We do not want to send students somewhere unsafe, or where it will be difficult to live. We also want students to get the best instruction in Arabic possible,” he said.
Students have gone to Morocco, Egypt and Syria. According to Walid, Syria offers the strongest language program. “It’s very good to study the language, but not necessarily to take [academic] courses. We’re trying to develop relations with that program [at the University of Damascus]. The more students we send, the more clout we have in what the students study, and which instructors they get,” Hamarneh said.
Foreign Study Advisor Steve Piker has been active in developing study abroad programs for Arabic language students. The program at the University of Damascus in Syria was pioneered in the fall of 2004. Three more Swarthmore students attended in the fall of 2005.
In addition to expanding the basic structure of the Arabic section, Hamarneh has concrete ideas to infuse the campus with Arabic culture and develop a larger resource base for students studying Arabic.
“We’re trying to develop library and media resources. We want to provide for the infrastructure needed to launch a strong program,” Hamarneh said. The Arabic language meal table is another resource immediately available to Arabic language students. Students are encouraged by the faculty to attend weekly meetings in the upper lounge of Sharples on Thursdays at 6 p.m. to engage in Arabic conversation.
Potential campus-wide activities include movie screenings, lectures, bringing in Arabic scholars from other universities and native Arab writers. “We have a strategic vision and we are ambitious,” Hamarneh said.
