BA in International Literary & Cultural Studies – Arabic

Questions about requirements should be addressed to the following faculty members:

Arabic Program Director, Kamran Rastegar
Arabic Language Coordinator, Rana Abdul-Aziz

Program Requirements and Policies

• The BA in International Literary & Cultural Studies - Arabic requires ten courses in all while achieving foreign language proficiency at the eighth semester (122 level or equivalent).
• No major course may be taken Pass/Fail.
• Only courses with a final grade of C- or better may be applied to the major.
• Up to two culture/film/literature courses taken outside of Tufts can be substituted in sections II and III. They must be approved by your advisor.
• If ARB 51 is taken, it must be taken twice.
• Transfer credits from study abroad programs must be equivalent to courses offered in the Arabic program in order to satisfy degree requirements.The degree requirements include three categories: “language,” “culture,” and “related” courses.
  1. Language courses: These are courses whose primary learning objectives relate to progressive language acquisition. The Department of International Literary & Cultural Studies designates only courses that are part of a progressive sequence of language study to be fulfilling the language course requirement. Courses that are equivalent to Tufts language course sequence (i.e. equivalent to Arabic 1, 2, 3, 4, 21, 22, 121, 122) will transfer as fulfilling Tufts courses at a level equivalent to those taken abroad. Courses on discrete other language topics (e.g. media, religion, etc.) do not count for the degree language courses requirement. These courses also do not count towards the culture course requirement (see below). 
  2. Cultural/literary studies courses: These are any courses that cover subjects that are equivalent to those taught in the Arabic program’s literary and cultural studies courses. In general this means courses that contain 50% or more content on literature, film and/or visual cultural topics/materials. These courses must also be critical and/or analytical, meaning that they assess students’ ability to think critically on the topics studied. Courses on topics covered in other departments (e.g. religion, politics, anthropology), while they may be “cultural” in one or another sense, do not fulfill this category—they may transfer to be counted towards the “related course” requirement (see below). Please note: Courses that are primarily on language topics (e.g. media Arabic courses) do not fulfill this requirement. Students majoring in Arabic may apply one approved colloquial/ammiyya course to this requirement. Students pursuing an Arabic minor may not do so. 
  3. Related course: This includes any course that is equivalent to culture courses taught in the ILCS department or courses in a related-field (area-related or thematic) relating to the Arab world or broader Middle East not covered by number 2. When transferring the credits the course will need to be validated by ILCS or, when appropriate, another Tufts department (e.g. Religion, History, Politics, etc.)
  4. Students who have questions about what transfer courses will fulfill the degree requirements must contact the Arabic program director in advance of taking these courses. Students are responsible for the choices of courses they take in study abroad programs and should select these courses carefully and in consultation with the program director if they intend to use any of these transfer courses towards fulfilling degree requirements.
• If you have more than one major, please see the Bulletin for rules on double-counting courses.

Course Requirements

1. Language Requirement
   Four language courses up to the eighth semester (122 level or equivalent), above level 4. Depending on level at entry, higher level language or culture courses can be substituted in consultation with advisor.
2. Culture Requirement
   Four literature/culture courses taught in the ILCS department including at least three Arabic literature/culture courses.
3. Related Course
   One additional culture course taught in the ILCS department or one course in a related-field (area-related or thematic) taken at Tufts or through another program, including study abroad. Must be approved by your advisor in advance.
4. One Integrative Capstone Course
    ILCS 197 Thinking Beyond Frontiers: ILCS Senior Colloquium (taught in the fall).