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Can’t read this? Soon, students will have the opportunity to study
Islamic culture and the Arabic language in a new Arabic course.
After next semester, students will have the opportunity to explore Arabic culture and language through a new Arabic course recently added to the Hillsdale College course list.
"I am very excited; it is a miracle , " junior Janice Faulkner said.
Faulkner said she was interested in starting the class, partly because she is half Syrian, and also because she believes Arabic is an important language to know, especially after Sept. 11. She said the Islamic culture daily impacts our lives.
She also said she thinks Hillsdale College students spend a lot of time studying western civilization and do not know as much about Islamic culture.
"The flourishing of Arabic culture is remarkable," said David Bobb , director of the Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence.
Bobb went to Iraq last year and knows much about the Arabic culture. There he met with members of the political science faculty at the University of Baghdad and the president of the university.
"We need to understand the rich contribution of Arabic to the history of western civilization," Bobb said. "We would have not have Aristotle if it wasn't for the work of Arab scholars."
Since there has not been an Arabic language course at the college, and after the failure of the Italian club a year ago, Faulkner was discouraged that there would not be enough interest for another language.
She said she was seriously thinking about studying Arabic by herself.
"I decided to start learning Arabic on my own when Dr. Blackstock told me that he will make it a course to be taught," Faulkner said.
She said it was a dream come true for her.
Faulkner said that before they were able to make this an official class she had to get an idea of how many members of the student body would be interested in taking the course. There were more than 25 students interested initially and now the number has grown to 40.
Two months ago, Provost Bob Blackstock found a graduate student from the University of Michigan, Mr. Lilal Maanaki, who has some experience in teaching Arabic courses. Arabic is his native language.
Blackstock has been key in getting this class started.
"Hillsdale's college provost contacted the head of department of Arabic, who used to be my professor," Maanaki said.
"Later he asked me if I was willing to teach this class. I am very excited; I've not done this before. In the past I've only taught one-to-one Arabic classes."
Maanaki was born in Lebanon and went to an American university in Peru. In 1991,he went to New York where he studied performance studies for a semester.
In 1992, Maanaki moved to Ann Arbor and attended the University of Michigan, where he got his master's in higher education. Maanaki is interested in theater, higher education and comparative literature.
The Arabic language course is listed as Honors 261.
Director of the Honors Program and Assistant Professor of Religion Donald Westblade said the course will be a seminar divided into two sections. The students will be introduced to Islamic culture and taught the Arabic alphabet and some basic words.
"The Arabic language itself is beautiful and it currently has an increased relevance because of current world events," sophomore Thamini Swenson said.
"As a political science major interested in foreign relations-especially in the Middle East- I'm thrilled that Hillsdale is offering this class and hope that other classes will be offered in the future."
The Arabic Class will not fulfill any foreign language requirements since it will be a one-credit class. It will be taught on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. or noon.