This upper-level seminar focuses on the durability of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and NorthAfrica. The course examines the emergence of authoritarian regimes in the Arab world; their consolidation into full-fledged systems of rule; patterns and variation in authoritarian governance among Arab states; thepolitical economy of authoritarianism; state-society relations under authoritarian rule; and authoritarianresponses to democratization, economic globalization and pressures for political reform.

This colloquium will expose students to contemporary political literature of the Arab world in translation. Through their critical engagement with this literature, students will gain a nuanced, tangible, and deeply dimensional understanding of contemporary life in the Middle East and the many diverse and complex ways in which lives of the region’s peoples are shaped by their political circumstances. Enrollment limit of 20.

This course helps students reach advanced proficiency in Arabic through language study and content work focused on Arab history, literature and current events. We continue to focus on developing truly active control of a large vocabulary through communicative activities. Grammatical work focuses on complex grammatical constructions and demands increased accuracy in understanding and producing complex structures in extended discourse. Preparation for class and active, cooperative participation in group activities are essential to students’ progress in this course.

This course is a continuation of Intermediate Arabic I. Students will continue honing their knowledge of Arabic using an approach designed to strengthen communication skills. By the end of this semester, students should have sufficient proficiency to understand most routine social demands and non-technical conversations, as well as discussions on concrete topics related to particular interests and special fields of competence at a general professional level.

This course is a continuation of Elementary Arabic I. Emphasis will be on integrated development of all four language skills—reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By the end of this semester, students should have the language skills necessary for everyday interactions and be able to communicate in a variety of situations, and read and write about a broad variety of familiar topics. In addition to textbook exercises and group work, students will write short essays, give oral and video presentations and participate in role-play activities. Prerequisites: ARA 100 or equivalent.

This course is a continuation of Elementary Arabic I. Emphasis will be on integrated development of all four language skills—reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By the end of this semester, students should have the language skills necessary for everyday interactions and be able to communicate in a variety of situations, and read and write about a broad variety of familiar topics. In addition to textbook exercises and group work, students will write short essays, give oral and video presentations and participate in role-play activities. Prerequisites: ARA 100 or equivalent.

Same as LSS 389. This class is for students who have taken introductory landscape studios and are interested in exploring more sophisticated projects. It is also for architecture and urbanism majors who have a strong interest in landscape architecture or urban design. In a design studio format, the students analyze and propose interventions for the built environment on a broad scale, considering multiple factors (including ecological, economic, political, sociological and historical) in their engagement of the site. The majority of the semester is spent working on one complex project.

Same as ARS 389. This class is for students who have taken introductory landscape studios and are interested in exploring more sophisticated projects. It is also for architecture and urbanism majors who have a strong interest in landscape architecture or urban design. In a design studio format, the students analyze and propose interventions for the built environment on a broad scale, considering multiple factors (including ecological, economic, political, sociological and historical) in their engagement of the site. The majority of the semester is spent working on one complex project.

Photography and landscape are intertwined. Scholars, design professionals, artists, and journalists use photographs as evidence, as a means of representing sites, as a design tool, as source material for project renderings, and as documentation. This course focuses on how photography is a part of field observations and research techniques, how photographs are used in landscape studies, and how text and image are combined in different photographic and scholarly genres. Students will take photographs and examine the photographs of landscape architects, urbanists, artists, and journalists.

Students in this course investigate the production of the built environment and the landscape of cities, focusing on key actors such as neighborhood activists, real estate developers, city officials, and environmentalists, among other advocates and interested parties. Organized thematically and supplemented by readings in urban theory and related fields, the course tackles questions of how urban places are made, why different cities look and feel the way they do, and who shapes the city. Prerequisites: LSS 100 or LSS 105 or by permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 20.