Arabic
Arabic is the principal language of Islamic civilization and the key to understanding the Middle East, both past and present.
Various forms are spoken from North Africa to the borders of Iran, and as a literary language it is used throughout and far beyond this area.
Owing to its sacred status it has exerted immense influence throughout the Islamic world and has also been an important language for non-Muslims throughout history. Arabic has a vast 'classical' and a varied and vital modern literature.
At Oxford, you may choose to focus entirely on Arabic and Islamic Studies for a BA in Arabic, or you may study it in combination with a subsidiary language in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Arabic may also be studied as an additional language as part of other degrees within the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the wider University (e.g., Modern Languages, Classics, and Theology and Religion).
BA in Arabic
The BA in Arabic is a four-year course centred on the study of Arabic language and literature. It may also be studied in combination with a subsidiary Asian or Middle Eastern language.
The second year is spent on an approved course of study in an Arabic-speaking country.
The BA in Arabic aims to give you a thorough grounding in written and spoken Modern Standard Arabic, and to equip you with a knowledge of the history and culture of Arabs and Islam. The course addresses this history and culture through critical engagement with secondary literature and by reading original writings dating from pre-Islamic times to the present century.
There are core courses in literature, history and religion, and options which will give you the opportunity to specialise further in these subjects as well as in Islamic art and archaeology and medieval or modern Islamic thought. You will also write a dissertation on a topic of your choice.
Visit the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies course page for more information.
Arabic with a subsidiary language
If you wish to combine Arabic with another language, you may choose from one of the following subsidiary language options:
- Akkadian
- Aramaic and Syriac
- Armenian
- Early Iranian
- Hebrew
- Hindi/Urdu
- Persian
- Turkish.
Arabic as a subsidiary language
Arabic may also be studied as a subsidiary language (i.e., as a second subject) alongside one of the following main subjects within Asian and Middle Eastern Studies:
- Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
- Hebrew
- Persian
- Turkish.
When Arabic is taken as a subsidiary language option, students will study Arabic prose composition and unprepared translation, selected classical and modern Arabic prose texts, and selected Arabic religious texts.
This will lead to a degree combining the main subject area with Arabic, e.g., BA Persian with Arabic.
BA in European and Middle Eastern Languages - Arabic with a European language
European and Middle Eastern Languages is a four-year joint degree through which you can combine Arabic with one of the following European languages:
- French
- German
- Modern Greek
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish
- Czech (with Slovak).
You will spend around half your time studying Arabic language and literature, and around half studying the other language and related literature.
In the first year, there is less literature in the European language to allow for intensive focus on the Middle Eastern language. You will normally spend your second academic year at an approved course of study in an Arabic-speaking country. You are strongly advised to spend the adjacent summers where the European language of your choice is spoken.
BA in Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Arabic can also be studied as a main or second subject in the joint degree of Classics and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. This course allows you to combine the study of a Middle Eastern language and culture with Latin and/or Greek and the study of the ancient world.
BA in Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Religion and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is a three-year course that gives you the opportunity to combine the study of Arabic with a range of options offered by the Faculty of Theology and Religion.
