There is a growing need to assess how Islam and Mulsims have been represented in literature and how 'words' and discursive partciles are used in the media and popular culture to (mis)represent them. While "several hundred million Muslims now use English as their first or secodn language, and more books on Islam ar epublished in it than any other language" (Hasan, 2014, 1) a commensurate amount of critical look at English literature and linguistics has not been offered to ascertain the relationship between Islam and these subjects. Given the urgency of academic engagement between literature, linguistics and Islam, this course will look at the discursive practices of literature and linguistics from Islamic perspectives. It will look at linguistics an literature postcolonially and will see selected literary works and linguistics issues through the lens of Islam and Muslim realities.

The course acts as a preamble to the study of linguistics. It covers crucial basic concepts such as morphology, phonology, semantics, syntax, sociolinguistics, language acquisition and history of language. Relationships between these concepts and real-life events are hightlighted to enhance students' comprehension of them in human life. Aspects of religion (Islam) such as the origins of language are also covered, as well as efforts to connect the theories to languages throughout the world. 

This course introduces students on theories of grammar and principles of language analysis (not limited to English), specifically on morphology (structure of words) and syntax (the structure of phrases and sentences). Focus is made on inflections, derivations, compounding of words and productivity. Students are exposed to the inevitable connection between word formaiton and grammar, phonology, syntax and semantics. Historical, current and potential future sources of English word formation (as well as other languages) are also explored. 

This course introduces students to the appreciation of poetry through the discovery of meaning by reading analytically. Poems studied in this course include works written in English by writers from Britain, America and around the world, as well as some poems in translation from the corpus of world literature. Major poetic forms and poetic devices are examined to understand the relationship between form and content, and to uncover how poets 'create' meaning. The course also helps raise the students' awareness of the need for appreciation of poetry as an important part of the Islamic experience. 

This course introduces students to plays written during several historical periods. Students will learn to approach plays as works of art; reaidng, discussing and critically analysing the tects from Western and Islamic perspectives. Students will be taught to explore dramatic conventions and elements such as plot, character, theme, dialogue, conflict, setting, and scene. Students will also be taught rhetorical and linguistic devices, as well as dramatic forms such as tragedy and comedy. 

This course introduces students to the scientific study of how the mind perceives, processes and produces language. The course covers the mahor subfields in psycholinguistics and cognitive linguistics, such as language and the brain, language processing, language acquisition, language development and language disorders. Where relevant the theories and issues presented will be discussed from an Islamic perspective. 

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of phonetics and phonology as well as the osunds and pronunciaton patterns of English. It involves an examination of the anatomy and physiology of speech, and exposure to sound distinctions of the human language. Special reference to speech data sets from the world's languages and the Quran is applied where possible to broaden the skills of analysis. The course also provides practical training in the perception, articulation, and transcription analysis. The course alo provides practical training in the perception, articulation, and transcription of sounds in isolation and more importantly in connected speech using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The course is expected to further increase one's appreciation of God's gift which is the ability for humans to speak. 

Literary criticism and contemporary theories are important tools with which students and scholars of literature examine and engage actively with literary texts. In this ocurse, students will be introduced to some of the key texts and issues in literary and/or cultural theory and criticism in order to build on their first-year literature coruses. This course also equips students with basic skills in applying theories and criticism in their literayr analysis, which they will develop in their third year. 

Literary practices are generally based upon human obersvation and experience. Islamic literature is unique in the sense that it is a human production but inspired by the Islamic worldview. Prophet Muhammad appreciated literature and encouraged some of his companions to produce it to advance Islamic causes and to counter verbal and literary attacks on him and on Islam. There are innumerable literary pieces - right from the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAAS) till today - that are studded with Islamic teachings. It is important that students of English language and literature are familiar with the Islamic literary tradition so that they can approach their subject from a holistic perspective. Based on this understanding, this course surveys Islamic literature in English and translation. It seeks to encourage and enable students to intellectually participate in various debates about Islam and Muslims in different periods right from the time of the Prophet. 

This course has been designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of quantitative and qualitative research methods which include concepts such as problem statement, research gap, theoretical framework, variables, hypotheses, measurement, validity, and reliability. Students will be exposed to knowledge related to research designs, data collection, data analysis and report writing. The course will prepare students to produce a research proposal in areas such as linguistics, literature, and language studies. Ethical and Islamic concerns of research methodology will also be emphasised throughout the course. 

When using English for business contexts, it is vital to consider the audience, to be as clear as possible and leave nothing to misinterpretation. Pitching a product persuasively and professionally can also change the outlook of others towards the graduates in their careers. Business English equips future graduates with the necessary English language skills that are required to in professional contexts. This course provides language instruction and training in business communication, including business correspondence and negotiations, business vocabulary and jargon, business reports and proposal writing as well as reading for professional purposes. The course offers opportunities for students to be engaged in extended work-related simulation activities while recieving the necessary skill-based training. Seminars include peer feedback and forums for discussions. 

This course equips students with theoretical and practical knowledge of digital stools, applicaitons and methodologies to help them study linguistics and literary data. Through the perusal of various Digital Humanities (DH) projects, students will not only explore the major digital approaches that are prominent and current in the study of linguistics and literary texts but will also learn key insights in digital literary studies such as born-digital texts, genre, the digital edition, data-driven criticism, archiving and annotation. Additionally, students will look at how digital approaches enrich the psychological, social, cultural, and historical dimensions of language use from a linguistic lens, with emphasis on corpus linguistics. More importantly, this course encourages students to think about the benefits and limitations of using digital methods and engaging in digital spaces through real-life scenarios such as participation on the Internet and social media. 

The course introduces students to the linguistic study of meaning as applied to English. It has two main components: semantics and pragmatics. Semantics covers topics on context-free meaning at both lexical and syntactic levels. Figurative languages will also be included. Pragmatics includes topics on context-bound meaning such as implicatures, speech acts and discourse phenomena like definiteness and information structure. 

In this course we will take account of the various meanings that the term "discourse" has across the social sciences and humanities, but we shall primarily be concerned with discourse seen as language use as a social practice. This means that we shall look at the formal and functional technical details of linguistic analysis which include speech acts, interactions, politeness, argumentations, metaphors, rhetoric, mental models and other grammatical aspects of discourse and text, while also asking how these different kinds of language use relate to and affect society as a whole. This course will also include elements of power and ideology as a preliminary basis for Critical Discourse studies. The seminars will involve practical hands-on work with spoken, visual and written, online and offline, texts. 

Since the rise of cultural studies in the 1960s, films have been recognised as cultural texts that can be interpreted in the same way we interpret "literary texts", as more traditionally understood. This course explores how films work, in terms of the formal elements unique to the medium of film, including the elements of direction (e.g., camera angles, movement), editing (e.g., cuts, montages), visual design (e.g., mise-en-scene, lighting) and sound. Students will also explore how cinematic conventions position the spectator, and what the ideological implications of this are, particularly in relation to race and gender. This course encourages students to critically engage with and analyze film texts, and, more importantly, develops in students the ability to write about film. 

In this course, students explore literary and cutural texts (including but not limited to drama, films, videos, songs and other multimedia texts) produced by Malaysian and Singaporean writers, artists and filmmakes and their articulations of issues of identity, race and ethnicity, gender, and concepts of the naiton. This course will enable students to critically analyse the issues pertinent to Malaysia and Singapore by examining literary and cultural texts, texts in other languages spoken/written in these two countries may also be studied comparatively. The aim is to enable students to develop a sound understanding of Malaysia and Singapore as postcolonial nations in a rapidly developing Asia through critical analysis of selected texts. 

This course analyses the various interrelationships in the way languages are used in the different cultures and societies. Concepts such as gender, ethnicity, age, religion, social class, language preservation, dialects and accents, bilingualism and multilingualism, facial expressions and gestures, intercultural communication, among others, are examined and linked to various socio-cultural communities around the globe and Malaysia in particular. References are also made to Islamic values in societies that practise the faith across the world. The main goal is to ensure an understanding of language usage, socially and culturally.

In this course, students are given the opportunity to see how moving images on the screen create meaning and how to analyze cinematic forms based on frameworks that have been proven in textual forms. There is a focus on film adaptations of narratological complex novels or stories especially into the way non-verbal means are exploited in the film version. Students will also be introduced to multimodal texts which are capable of monitoring several items (sound, movement, colour or verbal input) in the various semiotic modes which can simultaneously work by the notion of the moving image, that is the sonic, the musical, the pictorial or the linguistic modes.

This course focuses on the way the empire is conceived, maintained, popularized and later, problematized in both the text and context of British literature from the 18th up to the 20th centuries. It is divided into 3 parts: initially it touches on the way it is imagined within literature on exploration, conquest and new colonial acquisitions; this will be followed by the way the Empire was consolidated in the period of High Imperialism through imperial metaphoric representations, particularly the British as the civilizers of the world, the Empire as a commodity to be traded and the way these lead to the formalization of imperialist ideologies, especially pertaining to race and gender; finally, it deals with decline which is characterized by contradictions and colonial anxieties, indigenous resurgence as well as collaboration, including the Muslims’ response to British imperialism. Edward Said’s Orientalism is introduced as the main theoretical framework for this course. The literary text covered varies according to the instructor’s recommendations.

The course studies selected modernist and postmodernist texts and examines the characteristics and contexts of the literary period/s. It explores how the idea of "the modern" developed in the West at the end of the 18th century, and how “the modern” became an important standard for understanding cultural change. Modernism is examined in terms of its being both a reaction to and an integral part of modernity. Modernist writing and art utilize a number of political, ideological and aesthetic strategies to unsettle what we understand of the present and to reconceive relations to the past and the future. The course then considers postmodernism in relation to modernity and to the aesthetic considerations of modernism and explore whether it makes sense to go beyond the modern to the postmodern. This course will also look at relationships between literature and other cultural forms, such as painting, as well as contemporary intellectual movements

This course provides an introduction to the journey the English language has taken from the period prior to the coming of the Anglo-Saxons to the British Isles to the current global spread of the language. Specific periods including Old English (OE), Middle English (ME) and Early Modern English (EModE) are focused on in terms of external factors that have shaped the language and internal ones that have impacted various linguistic features. Significant events explored in the course include the conquests of the British Isles by the Romans, the Vikings and the Normans. Influential figures to the development of the English language are also explored and they include Chaucer, Caxton, Shakespeare, Swift and Johnson. Excerpts of texts from each period of English will be analysed and comparisons will be made between the periods. The course also emphasises the American varieties (AE), which includes African American English (AAE), and Present Day English (PDE). The course will be used as a platform to encourage students to critically think of recurring issues and events that have shaped the English language.

Community engagement involves collaboration between the students, faculty and partner community to address issues of the common good. Students who participate in a community-engagement project will gain a variety of both academic and non-academic benefits which include creative and critical thinking skills, people management and communication skills, organizing and coordinating skills, negotiation and decision-making skills, reporting and presenting skills– coupled with the right use of language while working as a team. This course connects students with activities that address community‐identified needs through mutually beneficial partnerships that deepen students' linguistics knowledge and skills to real, complex, community concerns. Students explore the essential work- world skill of taking responsibility for humanitarian projects. Reference will be made to the Islamic perspective on ethics and values within the realm of applied linguistics and its role in community engagement projects.

This course is a socio-historical survey of English Literature from Early Medieval period to the late 18th century. A selection of representative texts by major authors, like Chaucer, Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Dryden and Pope will be studied. The texts will be related to the main social, religious and intellectual concerns of the period to which they belong. An Islamic point of view will also be used to examine their relevance to a Muslim audience.

In this course, students will delve further into the age of the Renaissance and the works of Shakespeare that have been introduced in earlier courses. The course covers not only several of Shakespeare’s dramatic works but also selected poems. Students will also view film versions of Shakespeare’s dramatic works and discuss Shakespearean influences in order to examine the relevance of those works to a modern audience in general, and to the ummah.

This course explores the different ways to approach and situate a variety of contemporary American literary texts. Emphasis will be on key literary movements and developments and how they are contextualized socially, culturally and politically. Students will consider ideas of gender, race and nationhood through literary texts produced by a variety of groups such as women, and Black, Indigenous, and other People of Colour (BIPOC) to understand the issues that inform the creation of American texts today. When necessary, this course will also consider political speeches and other rhetoric. Students will learn about how the country’s self-perceptions, history, politics, and myth-makings all converge to enable a plethora of diverse creative expressions such as novels, poetry, plays, graphic novels and films. Finally, students will also look at issues and themes that appear in American writing from Islamic perspectives.

Historically, little distinction was made between songs and poems, as the latter were often performed to the accompaniment of music. However, both have developed into separate genres, with poetry seen as ‘high’ culture as opposed to popular music. This course re-establishes the connection between popular songs and poetry. Students have to draw on the terms and concepts learnt in ‘Reading Poetry’ to interpret the lyrics of contemporary songs. Lyrics of songs from a variety of musical genres, such as pop, rock and rap, will be analysed. Musical aspects are also considered to examine how the musical elements underscore, add to or subvert the meaning of the song lyrics.

Students of this course are exposed to a sign-oriented analysis of the English language systems: the course is largely analytical to derive core value meaning, semantic substance and the interplay of subsystems within the systems. The most important component of the course includes analyses of selected grammatical systems of the English language based on actual language use or authentic texts. Through this way, students will be made aware of the importance of analysing authentic texts (naturally occurring language) in order to discover how the system of a particular language works. Students will also be led to notice how language users deploy different linguistic features to convey their intended messages and that relying on the prescribed grammar rules in grammar books alone may not be enough in order to know how language users should communicate. Students are also trained to analyse grammatical features in texts of different genres and provide an explanation based on the distribution of the features. A semiotic (meaning-based) approach is used for all analytical activity in this course and by the end of the course, it is hoped that students will become more aware of the fact that language users are the creators of meaning and that the selection of the linguistic features depends on the intended messages or communicative goals of the language users.

This course examines the varieties of English used around the world (those used by native-speakers in Inner Circle countries as espoused by Braj Kachru (1985) in his Three Circles Model and new varieties spoken by non-native-speakers – EFL and ESL – in Outer and Extending Circles; or “standard” and “non-standard” varieties). The historical origins and geographical development of these World Englishes are also examined, focusing on their linguistic features (notably lexis, morphology, syntax and phonology). Where appropriate, some references will be made to Islamic perspective on the nature and value of English, its varieties and roles in today’s world particularly in the media. Focus is also given to the use of English as a lingua franca, the contributions and limitations of World Englishes in the modern world as well as the future influence and impact it may have on people all over the world.

Forensic linguistics is a subset of applied linguistics which sees the application of linguistic knowledge, methods, and insights to the forensic text of law, language, crime investigation, trial, and judicial procedure. Thus, it is also known as legal linguistics, or language and the law. In this course, students will be exposed to the basic principles of forensic linguistics as well as the types of texts common in this field such as suicide letters, ransom demands, social media and etc. A few famous cases which utilised forensic analysis will also be highlighted and discussed. The texts shall be dissected in terms of the text analysis, discourse analysis and forensic stylistics applied in them. Learners then shall replicate the method of analysis onto a few texts.

This course introduces students to fundamental concepts and analytical approaches of corpus linguistics in language analysis. The course covers understanding of concepts and principles approaches of corpus linguistics such as corpus-driven and corpus-based. The course also facilitates the students to use relevant corpus tools (web-based tools and computer-based tools) to analyze language patterns. The course enables the students to apply corpus linguistics methods and concepts with relevant issues and theories in relation to language analysis.

This course covers two significant periods in English literature: Romantic period (from 1780 to 1830) and Victorian Period (1830-1900). The first half of the course involves studying major literary works of Romanticism. For the Romantic period, this course is largely constructed around the key features of Romanticism by examining it in the wake of revolutions as well as developments within English literature. The second half of the course covers British literature and culture during Queen Victoria’s long reign, 1837 to 1901. This was a period that witnessed rapid social and cultural change, from the rise of industrial capitalism to the emancipation of women, and to the decline of Christianity. This course seeks to understand all these developments through a study of texts, both fictional and non- fictional, and other art forms that were produced and consumed during this period, studied for their reflective and transformative roles that they had in society. The literary works may vary depending on the faculty member teaching the course.

After the end of manifest colonialism, with significant influxes of Muslim populations into the west, diasporic Muslim communities have accepted the host lands as their homelands. The host society of the west is also a meeting ground for Muslims from various parts of the world; and interactions of different Muslim communities in the diaspora enrich their cultural literacy as well as their understanding of their religion. Importantly, Muslim experiences are now an integral part of western culture, and it may not be possible to understand contemporary Anglo-American or western way of life in its totality without appreciating the sensibilities and practices of diasporic Muslim communities. Muslim diasporic literature captures these multi-faceted human experiences. Given the importance of this literary tradition, this course surveys contemporary Muslim diasporic literature in English in order to introduce students to a new and vibrant literary tradition.

This course introduces students to speculative fiction (SF), an umbrella term for various non-naturalist genres and subgenres (e.g. science fiction, horror, alternate history, utopia, dystopia). The course will examine how the alternative worlds of SF provide a means of re-perceiving the world we live in, and how it has become an increasingly popular mode for social commentary, for exploring the boundaries of human and the "other," and for exploring radical alternatives to the present. We will consider several key literary and political theories through which we might understand SF estrangement and look at the literary strategies employed by SF writers over the years.

This course supports the objective of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the study of literature. Categorised under SDG4, this objective is to empower learners with the knowledge and value to address interconnected global challenges that we are currently facing all over the globe, which could broadly be divided into three main areas: environment, society and economy. These areas are represented among others by eco-criticism or environmentalism, critical disability studies as well as different types of literature that target the problem(s) that exist in societal structures, such as dystopian literature etc. The main objective of this course is to highlight the synergy between literature and sustainable development. Besides exploring the uses of the literary theories in studies on aspects of sustainable development in literature as mentioned before, this course will also address the economic and political functions of literature as an instrument of criticism of governments, policies and politicians as these entrench good governance.

In this course, students are introduced to the skill of analysing fictional and poetic works using major critical approaches such as postcolonialism and feminism. The course develops and strengthens the skills of writing, literary interpretation, and critical thinking that are needed in advanced literature courses and Final Year Projects. It builds on previous courses such as Introduction to Text, Theory and Criticism to fully develop the abilities of students in appreciating and examining important literary works from various genres.

This course is meant for those who are interested in expressing themselves creatively through writing. This course encourages students to think imaginatively as well as critically. The emphasis includes writing techniques, character development, plot development, points of view, different types of creative writing, and publication opportunities. The position of creative writing/thinking and freedom of expression in Islam is also explored in this course.

This course is about the study of style as a means of analysing works of literary texts and non-literary texts and their effect. Students will look into the distinctive styles of different writers and the elements of language. Non-fictional forms such as advertising, film scripts and non-printed forms such as book covers, images in advertising, film and multimodal texts will also be analysed. The highlight of this course is to analyse the written translations by many translators of the Holy Qur'an. The objective here is twofold: one is to get the students to analyse the different writing styles of these translators and second is for them to actually read the translation of the Holy Qur'an, find its meaning and see how they can relate to it.

In this course, students will be introduced to Islamic and Western philosophy of language and its origins. The course explores the nature of meaning, the usage and cognition of language, and the relationship between language and reality. In addition, the study of Epistemology, Semiotics, Logic, Psychology and Philosophy of Mind will also be referred to. Philosophy of language is concerned with the syntactic properties as well as the meaning and reference of linguistic expressions. General questions like the difference between artificial and human languages, the relationship between meaning and use and whether a speaker who knows and uses a language commits to any sort of worldview will be discussed in this course.

Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) is a way of carrying out social research with a focus on 'discourse' - on text in context and other semiotic forms. It picks up recent theories of 'discourse' in social sciences and humanities but pushes them towards what they generally lack in the hands of sociologists for instance, i.e., detailed language and linguistic/semiotic analysis. All approaches of CDS are in the tradition of critical social research -  so instead of focusing on purely academic or theoretical problems, it starts from prevailing social issues as questions of the relation between language, critique, power, and ideology remain salient. The aim of this course is three-fold: first is to introduce and discuss some of the most important theoretical concepts and methodological approaches in CDS related towards any social issues and/or domains in our societies; second to analyse some important genres in which relevant research by CDA has been performed; and third to convey critical knowledge back to the community as part of CDS emancipation agenda. In the seminars, we will explore different genres of spoken, written, visual or multimodal, online as well as offline texts and discourses relevant to different themes, which may include, among others, discourse on racism, discourse on refugees and migration, discourse on terrorism and advertising discourse.

This course introduces students to the theories and methods in the field of child language research. Tracing the language development from prelinguistic infancy to teenager, the course not only analyse the development from a single language perspective but also investigate the phenomenon of bilingualism and multilingualism among children from diverse backgrounds, most importantly Malaysian children from various ethnicities. The field of child language research has been dominated by the studies of English-speaking children and not much known about child language development from non-western perspectives. This course looks at recent development and research in the area, with a focus on the Malaysian local context. 

This course considers films as philosophical thought-experiments. Film here is presented as a way into philosophical discussion (as opposed to the approach that reads film as an aesthetic form shaped by theory). We will look at various philosophical topics and problems, and consider the different ways the medium of film presents these ideas. Philosophical issues presented through film may include (but are not restricted to): the philosophy of art, time travel, capitalism, ethics, and religion.

This course examines literary and non-literary writings by women from various periods and locations in the world to give students a good grounding in the tradition of women's writing. Historically, overlooked and dismissed in literary canons, women's writing has since gained prominence and visibility in contemporary literary studies. Students will read and discuss selected texts by women comprising various genres, and critically analyse the themes, motifs, and issues that appear in the texts using relevant and/or current critical approaches and perspectives.

This course explores the diversity and shared experiences of women in Asian societies through a comparative analysis of their representations in literary and cultural texts, from the mid-19th century to the present. Concepts of universal subordination, patriarchy, the categorisation of women in non-western societies as "the other," conflicting claims of "feminist emancipation," liberal feminism vs. third world feminism, are among topics to be discussed and critically evaluated. Focus will be on selected works by writers from South, Southeast, and East Asia. Selected films will also be featured to enhance knowledge and understanding of the representations and roles of Asian women in cultural texts.

This course surveys twentieth-century and contemporary British literature and covers genres like drama, poetry and prose. It is intended to familiarise students with major writers, works and movements of the period and to encourage and enable them to analyse literary texts in the context of their socio-cultural and historical settings and from Islamic perspectives.

This is a survey course to cover major theories on literature and criticism in Europe and in the Islamic world up to the 20th century. Selected works of writers, critics and philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Plotinus, Sir Philip Sidney, Joseph Addison, Edmund Burke, Samuel Johnson, William Wordsworth, Edgar Allen Poe, Matthew Arnold, Ferdinand de Saussure, Jacques Derrida, Sigmund Freud, Helene Cixous, Karl Marx, Edward Said, Jean Baudrillard and Lyotard.

This course surveys world literature in English and mainly includes literature by writers from countries other than Britain and the USA. Students will be exposed to select authors - which include those from Canada, Australia, Afghanistan, India, and the West Indies - who write in English as well as those translated into the English language. Students are to apply an Islamic approach to issues raised in the texts such as the development of national or cultural identity, struggles against colonisation and repression, gender roles and changing societies. Short stories and novels will be taught with an emphasis on understanding the way the genre (fiction) has been shaped or remade in response to particular historical and social contexts.