ARB4640 Arabic Cinema and Culture
(Formerly ARB4600)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course will provide a broad introduction to the historical, literary, artistic, and popular cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. It will examine how film in this part of the world is used as a space through which filmmakers reflect on significant cultural, social, political issues and concerns. Students will study films reflecting a wide array of cinematic genres in the Middle East and North Africa and will explore how issues like poverty, independence, political freedom, women’s rights are visually expressed.
The course seeks to represent various films across the region, from Morocco and Algeria, to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, with the aim to expose students to different cultures and introduce them to important moments and phenomena in the history of these countries.
Arabic 4640 is an Advanced Liberal Arts course. The course is taught in English and films have English subtitles. No prior knowledge of Arabic language is needed.