Arabic Language and Literature

The Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages is steeped in the Arabic philological and literary tradition. Its faculty is also experienced in the use of contemporary western methods of teaching and approaches to language and literature. For this reason, the department is wellpositioned to train future leaders in the field.

Academic governance of the department complies with the practices and procedures currently applied by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The department seeks to augment its faculty as needed, mainly through exchange and visiting programs as well as through highly selective and articulately defined recruitment.

The program’s objective is to train men and women to become technically competent in their preferred field of specialization and to train them to play a principal role in enhancing education in the region.

PhD candidates will acquire:

• critical, interpretive and analytical skills,

• benchmark methodologies leading to the conduct of advanced research, and

• deeper, more sophisticated and more nuanced understanding of Arabic language and literature.

Curriculum

The offerings of the department fall within three broadly defined fields:

• Arabic language and related fields (phonetics, morphology, syntax, history of grammar, lexicology, stylistics, etc.);

• classical and pre-modern Arabic literature and thought (including poetry, prose, belles lettres and other forms of literary expression); and

• modern Arabic literature and thought (including poetry, prose, literary theory, etc.).

The department requires the following three requirements:

• a master’s degree in Arabic from a recognized university, or an equivalent considered acceptable by the department, plus three recommendations and an interview (when considered necessary by the department). Students of exceptional promise may be admitted after finishing their BA;

• proven unimpaired Arabic; and

• English proficiency. For the required level of proficiency, see the section entitled English Language Proficiency Requirement under Admissions.

The department offers, on a selective basis, substantial support which fully covers tuition and includes a monthly stipend. In return, PhD students are expected to teach courses and perform other tasks assigned by the department. Students may also apply for support to carry out research in archives and libraries outside of Lebanon and to attend international scholarly conferences.