Academic Program
North Park University through the Center for Middle Eastern Studies is committed to building a strong program in Arabic language, culture, and history.
Learn Arabic at North Park
Arabic language is becoming a highly recommended language as the Middle East remains in the center of the news and will be so for the coming decades. Consider learning Arabic and begin practicing it in the North Park neighborhood in the wonderful restaurants, grocery stores, and shops in the Lawrence-Kedzie neighborhood, as well as with your fellow North Park students in the Middle East Student Association (MESA). Please contact Dr. Don Wagner by email or by phone at (773)244-5785 for further information.
Arabic Courses
Elementary Conversational ARABIC 1010/1020
4 semester hours
Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:15 am
Designed for students with little or no prior experience with Arabic, students will be introduced to modern standard colloquial Arabic including keys to listening, sound recognition, writing, and building a basic vocabulary of at least 500 words including basic Arabic phrases. Students will also be introduced to Arabic as a language, and the language will usher students into the cultures of the Middle East through assignments and research, films, and field trips to the adjacent Arabic communities in Chicago.
Intermediate Conversational ARABIC 2010/2020
4 semester hours
Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11:40 am
The second year of Conversational Arabic is designed for students who have completed Arabic 1010 and 1020 and have mastered the basic lexical and grammatical features of the language. Students will expand their vocabulary, increase the acquisition of spoken and written Arabic as applicable for a variety of topics and contexts, and be introduced to important grammatical variations. Emphasis will be placed on the use of authentic reading and listening materials including exercises on the internet, digital assignments, and more advanced engagement with Arab culture and the Arab neighborhoods of Chicago. Prerequisite: ARAB 1010 and 1020 unless waived by professor after testing.
Minor in Middle Eastern Studies (20 semester hours)
The purpose of the minor is to offer a concentrated program of study for students interested in exploring the politics, history, and religions of the Middle East. These courses will be supplemental to the student’s major field of study. For example, international business, politics and government, history, or Biblical and theological studies majors can focus their studies on the Middle East as an aspect of their vocational or graduate school preparation.
The Middle Eastern Minor is structured to build upon courses currently available primarily in the BTS, History, and POGO departments.
Required Semester Hours: 20 (5 courses)
Required Core Courses
- ARABIC 1010/1020; 2010/2020
- POGO 3370: Politics of the Middle East
- HIST 3320: Ottoman Empire: 1453-1918
- BTS 2710: Children of Abraham
Select One Option
- POGO 3390: Israel
- POGO 2200: International Politics
- POGO 2300: Comparative Politics
- 2770 Palestine and Palestinian Christianity from Pentecost-2002
- HIST 3310: Middle East to 1453
- COMM 3910: International Conflict Transformation