The Department and The Programs

The Arabic and Islamic Studies department offers two graduate programs, one at the M.A. level, one at the Ph.D. level. Three concentrations are offered in each program: Arabic Literature, Arabic Linguistics, and Islamic Studies.

The Arabic Literature Concentration

Arabic Literature is a dynamic 1400-year-old tradition, comprised of multiple genres and registers, and with diverse geographical and historical textures. Students of the concentration are expected to acquire advanced knowledge of prose and poetic genres in both the classical and modern periods, as well as training in modern critical methodology and Arab literary critical traditions. Moreover, given the privileged status of literary texts as linguistic exemplars of Arabic, and given the centrality of rhetoric and poetics to the Muslim exegesis, the field of Arabic Literature is also key to the fields of Arabic Linguistics and Islamic Studies. Subjects covered in the concentration of Arabic Literature include: Classical and modern poetry, performance theory, comparative methods, narrative theory and the novel, belletristic prose, popular literature, and more.

The Arabic Linguistics Concentration

Over the years, the Georgetown Arabic program has played a pioneering role in the development of Arabic linguistic research, curricula, and pedagogy. It was one of the first departments to offer courses in Arabic language acquisition and theoretical linguistics, and has graduated prominent scholars in the field. Today, the department continues to offer a strong Arabic linguistic program, with specialized graduate level courses in Arabic Linguistics. The linguistics concentration aims to prepare graduate students for work in linguistic research and data analysis. There is special emphasis on linguistic theories and application with reference to Arabic. Current research by its faculty focuses on Arabic linguistic analysis, syntax, morphology, acquisition, Arabic variation and sociolinguistics. Some of our courses include Arabic linguistic analysis, Arabic dialectology, Arabic sociolinguistics, language policies/politics and political discourse.

The Islamic Studies Concentration

The Islamic Studies concentration seeks to advance knowledge of classical and modern Islamic culture and thought and to provide an understanding of Arabic and Islamic intellectual history in the pre-modern and modern periods. In addition to philological training in Arabic, the program offers undergraduate and graduate training in the study of the history, religion, culture, society, and thought of the Islamic world, and introduces students to the traditional and modern scholarly approaches to the study of Islam. The teaching and research of the department cover classical and modern Islamic history; the Qur’an, hadith and jurisprudence; Islamic theology, mysticism, and sectarianism; the history of Arabic and Islamic science and philosophy; classical and modern Islamic thought and movements; as well as gender studies.

In addition to the core courses offered in the Department, Georgetown offers a rich variety of courses on the politics, anthropology, sociology and economies of the Arab and Muslim world through the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding as well as in the departments of History, Theology, and Government.