Study Arabic at Kenyon
The Arabic program at Kenyon offers four years of instruction in language, literature and culture. Students may minor or major in Arabic.
Arabic
The Arabic program offers four years of instruction in language, literature and culture. Students may
minor or major in Arabic. We offer three different tracks to declaring Arabic as a major: one-language
(Arabic) track; two-language (Arabic and another MLL language) track; and the interdisciplinary
(Arabic and another discipline) track.
Students in the yearlong beginner courses — Beginner Arabic I in the fall and Beginner Arabic II in the
spring—meet three times a week with the professor and once a week with an Apprentice Teacher (AT)
for practice sessions. The ATs are fellow undergraduate students who are either native speakers or
advanced students of Arabic. Second- and third-year Arabic, i.e. intermediate and advanced classes, are
taught as language courses. Fourth-year Arabic courses, however, are thematic courses taught in Arabic,
such as “Introduction to Translation,” “Modern Arabic Poetry,” and “Media Arabic.”
In addition, our program usually offers a general class in English on Arabic literature or Arab culture
every other semester, such as “The Politics of the Modern Arabic Novel,” “Arab Women’s Literature,”
and “Introduction to Arab Cultures.” These courses have no prerequisite and can be taken by students at
any time. Because they are taught in English, these courses do not fulfill Kenyon’s second language
proficiency requirement, but may be taken by MLL majors to satisfy certain degree requirements.
A number of our current and former students have been awarded prestigious scholarships and
fellowships, and one of our most recent graduates is currently pursuing a PhD in Comparative Literature
at Harvard University. In addition, our alumni have worked in the federal government, foreign service,
think tanks, research centers and the private sector.