The courses listed below are provided by the JHU Public Course Search. This listing provides a snapshot of immediately available courses and may not be complete.
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
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Introduction to the Middle East AS.100.118 (01)
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Room: Krieger 170; Greenhouse 113
Status: Closed
Seats Available: 2/12
PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL, HIST-MIDEST
AS.100.118 (02)
Introduction to the Middle East
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Krieger 170; Gilman 400
Fall 2025
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
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Introduction to the Middle East AS.100.118 (02)
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Room: Krieger 170; Gilman 400
Status: Closed
Seats Available: 11/12
PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL, HIST-MIDEST
AS.100.118 (03)
Introduction to the Middle East
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Krieger 170; Gilman 77
Fall 2025
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
×
Introduction to the Middle East AS.100.118 (03)
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Room: Krieger 170; Gilman 77
Status: Closed
Seats Available: 7/12
PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL, HIST-MIDEST
AS.100.118 (04)
Introduction to the Middle East
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Krieger 170; Gilman 10
Fall 2025
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
×
Introduction to the Middle East AS.100.118 (04)
Where is the Middle East? What is it exactly in the Middle of? What, if anything, defines it, and who gets to do the defining? This introductory course poses such questions. Whilst promising no easy answers, it will nevertheless introduce students who have no prior knowledge of the Middle East to the region. Emphasis will be placed on the history, geography, languages, religions, and culture of the pre-modern and modern Middle East. Students will also be exposed to different methods and approaches to the academic study of the region. The course, while at the introductory level, is reading and writing intensive.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Room: Krieger 170; Gilman 10
Status: Closed
Seats Available: 9/12
PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL, HIST-MIDEST
AS.130.364 (01)
Archaeology of Arabia
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Harrower, Michael James
Gilman 130G
Fall 2025
This course examines the archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula from the earliest Paleolithic in the region (ca. 1.5 million years ago) through the first millennium of the Islamic era (ca. AD 1600). We will review basic geology and environmental conditions, examine the development of animal herding and crop cultivating lifeways, and study the rise of ancient complex societies and civilizations.
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Archaeology of Arabia AS.130.364 (01)
This course examines the archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula from the earliest Paleolithic in the region (ca. 1.5 million years ago) through the first millennium of the Islamic era (ca. AD 1600). We will review basic geology and environmental conditions, examine the development of animal herding and crop cultivating lifeways, and study the rise of ancient complex societies and civilizations.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
Room: Gilman 130G
Status: Closed
Seats Available: 12/20
PosTag(s): ARCH-ARCH, ARCH-RELATE
AS.130.368 (01)
Nomads and Empires: Water in the Ancient Near East
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Harrower, Michael James
Fall 2025
Water and its histories reveal deep similarities and pivotal differences among human societies that are critical to understanding the human past and our future. Environments are often defined by water availability and periodicity, water is a frequent theme of religious traditions and a common point of political conflict. The hydraulic hypothesis, one of the longest-standing potential explanations for the rise of the world’s earliest civilizations, claims that organizational requirements of large-scale irrigation spawned ancient political hierarchies and cities. Archaeologists now know irrigation was not the only factor responsible for the origins of ancient states, but water management was important to agriculture in every region of ancient state formation. This course explores economic and social histories of water in the ancient Near East. It examines water’s diverse roles in ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Levantine and South Arabian agriculture, politics, ritual and religion, including water’s interconnected significance in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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Nomads and Empires: Water in the Ancient Near East AS.130.368 (01)
Water and its histories reveal deep similarities and pivotal differences among human societies that are critical to understanding the human past and our future. Environments are often defined by water availability and periodicity, water is a frequent theme of religious traditions and a common point of political conflict. The hydraulic hypothesis, one of the longest-standing potential explanations for the rise of the world’s earliest civilizations, claims that organizational requirements of large-scale irrigation spawned ancient political hierarchies and cities. Archaeologists now know irrigation was not the only factor responsible for the origins of ancient states, but water management was important to agriculture in every region of ancient state formation. This course explores economic and social histories of water in the ancient Near East. It examines water’s diverse roles in ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Levantine and South Arabian agriculture, politics, ritual and religion, including water’s interconnected significance in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
Room:
Status: Canceled
Seats Available: 25/25
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.375.115 (01)
First Year Arabic
MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM, TTh 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Jafire, Sana
Krieger 300; Krieger 300
Fall 2025
Introductory course in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Presents basic grammatical structures and a basic vocabulary. Through oral-aural drill in classroom, tapes in Language Laboratory, and reading/writing exercises, students attain a basic level of competence on which they can build in subsequent years of study.
No Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory
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First Year Arabic AS.375.115 (01)
Introductory course in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Presents basic grammatical structures and a basic vocabulary. Through oral-aural drill in classroom, tapes in Language Laboratory, and reading/writing exercises, students attain a basic level of competence on which they can build in subsequent years of study.
No Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory
Designed to bring students up to competency level required for third/fourth year Arabic. Students will consolidate and expand their mastery of the four basic skills acquired in AS.375.115-116. More authentic material--written, audio, and visual--will be used, and culture will be further expanded on as a fifth skill. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.115-116 or equivalent.
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Second Year Arabic AS.375.215 (01)
Designed to bring students up to competency level required for third/fourth year Arabic. Students will consolidate and expand their mastery of the four basic skills acquired in AS.375.115-116. More authentic material--written, audio, and visual--will be used, and culture will be further expanded on as a fifth skill. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.115-116 or equivalent.
Designed to enhance students' ability to read, discuss, and write about various topics covered in traditional and contemporary Arabic texts. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.216 or equivalent.
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Third Year Arabic AS.375.301 (01)
Designed to enhance students' ability to read, discuss, and write about various topics covered in traditional and contemporary Arabic texts. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.216 or equivalent.
Days/Times: MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Jafire, Sana
Room: Krieger 517
Status: Closed
Seats Available: 10/12
PosTag(s): ISLM-ISLMST
AS.375.401 (01)
Fourth Year Arabic
TTh 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Jafire, Sana
Krieger 521
Fall 2025
This is an introductory course to different periods of the Arabic literature. Selections of famous Arabic poetry and short prose works are the substance of the course.
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Fourth Year Arabic AS.375.401 (01)
This is an introductory course to different periods of the Arabic literature. Selections of famous Arabic poetry and short prose works are the substance of the course.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Jafire, Sana
Room: Krieger 521
Status: Closed
Seats Available: 9/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.304 (01)
Are We What We Eat?: Food, Ethics, and Religion
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Kim, Sujung
Mergenthaler 426
Spring 2026
From Buddhist almsgiving and Christian fasting to Islamic halal laws and contemporary movements toward vegetarianism and veganism, this course examines how certain food practices articulate broader concerns about purity, taboo, hierarchy, sacrifice, ecology, and embodiment. Drawing on a wide range of religious texts, ethnographic case studies, and critical theory, students will engage with questions of religious identity and ethics to better understand the complex entanglement of food and morality in religious life.
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Are We What We Eat?: Food, Ethics, and Religion AS.070.304 (01)
From Buddhist almsgiving and Christian fasting to Islamic halal laws and contemporary movements toward vegetarianism and veganism, this course examines how certain food practices articulate broader concerns about purity, taboo, hierarchy, sacrifice, ecology, and embodiment. Drawing on a wide range of religious texts, ethnographic case studies, and critical theory, students will engage with questions of religious identity and ethics to better understand the complex entanglement of food and morality in religious life.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Kim, Sujung
Room: Mergenthaler 426
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/18
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.100.327 (01)
The Islamic Age of Empires: The Ottomans, the Mughals, and the Safavids
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Hodson 303
Spring 2026
In this course, we will survey the political, social, intellectual, and cultural history of the three Islamic early modern gunpowder empires that ranged from “the Balkans to Bengal”: The Ottomans (1300-1922), the Safavids (1501-1736), and the Mughals (1526-1858).
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The Islamic Age of Empires: The Ottomans, the Mughals, and the Safavids AS.100.327 (01)
In this course, we will survey the political, social, intellectual, and cultural history of the three Islamic early modern gunpowder empires that ranged from “the Balkans to Bengal”: The Ottomans (1300-1922), the Safavids (1501-1736), and the Mughals (1526-1858).
Saints, Saviors, and Sovereigns in the Early Modern World
Th 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Gilman 377
Spring 2026
This reading intensive seminar will explore the myriad ways in which questions of sovereignty and the sacred were joined together across the early modern world. Emphasis will be placed on sacred and universal modes of kingship, saintly cults, and messianic movements amongst the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and South Asia.
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Saints, Saviors, and Sovereigns in the Early Modern World AS.100.428 (01)
This reading intensive seminar will explore the myriad ways in which questions of sovereignty and the sacred were joined together across the early modern world. Emphasis will be placed on sacred and universal modes of kingship, saintly cults, and messianic movements amongst the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and South Asia.
Days/Times: Th 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Noor, Rao Mohsin Ali
Room: Gilman 377
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): HIST-ASIA, HIST-MIDEST, HIST-EUROPE
AS.194.230 (01)
African-Americans and the Development of Islam in America
Th 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Fanusie, Fatimah
Gilman 134
Spring 2026
Muslims have been a part of the American fabric since its inception. A key thread in that fabric has been the experiences of enslaved Africans and their descendants, some of whom were Muslims, and who not only added to the dynamism of the American environment, but eventually helped shape American culture, religion, and politics. The history of Islam in America is intertwined with the creation and evolution of African American identity. Contemporary Islam in America cannot be understood without this framing. This course will provide a historical lens for understanding Islam, not as an external faith to the country, but as an internal development of American religion. This course will explicate the history of early Islamic movements in the United States and the subsequent experiences of African-Americans who converted to Islam during the first half of the twentieth century. We will cover the spiritual growth of African American Muslims, their institutional presence, and their enduring impact on American culture writ large and African-American religion and culture more specifically.
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African-Americans and the Development of Islam in America AS.194.230 (01)
Muslims have been a part of the American fabric since its inception. A key thread in that fabric has been the experiences of enslaved Africans and their descendants, some of whom were Muslims, and who not only added to the dynamism of the American environment, but eventually helped shape American culture, religion, and politics. The history of Islam in America is intertwined with the creation and evolution of African American identity. Contemporary Islam in America cannot be understood without this framing. This course will provide a historical lens for understanding Islam, not as an external faith to the country, but as an internal development of American religion. This course will explicate the history of early Islamic movements in the United States and the subsequent experiences of African-Americans who converted to Islam during the first half of the twentieth century. We will cover the spiritual growth of African American Muslims, their institutional presence, and their enduring impact on American culture writ large and African-American religion and culture more specifically.
Days/Times: Th 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Instructor: Fanusie, Fatimah
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15
PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL
AS.310.331 (01)
Islam in Asia
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Henning, Stefan
Gilman 17
Spring 2026
You will learn about the efforts of ordinary, non-elite Muslims to shape the relation between their communities and the state as well as to (where applicable) the non-Muslim majority through collective organizing over the last forty years. We will read and discuss books by anthropologists, historians, and sociologists studying Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
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Islam in Asia AS.310.331 (01)
You will learn about the efforts of ordinary, non-elite Muslims to shape the relation between their communities and the state as well as to (where applicable) the non-Muslim majority through collective organizing over the last forty years. We will read and discuss books by anthropologists, historians, and sociologists studying Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Henning, Stefan
Room: Gilman 17
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15
PosTag(s): CES-ELECT, INST-CP, ISLM-ISLMST
AS.375.116 (01)
First Year Arabic II
MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM, TTh 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Jafire, Sana
Krieger Laverty; Maryland 202
Spring 2026
Continuation of AS.375.115. Introductory course in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Presents basic grammatical structures and a basic vocabulary. Through oral-aural drill in classroom, tapes in Language Laboratory, and reading/writing exercises, students attain a basic level of competence on which they can build in subsequent years of study. May not be taken Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory
×
First Year Arabic II AS.375.116 (01)
Continuation of AS.375.115. Introductory course in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Presents basic grammatical structures and a basic vocabulary. Through oral-aural drill in classroom, tapes in Language Laboratory, and reading/writing exercises, students attain a basic level of competence on which they can build in subsequent years of study. May not be taken Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory
Continuation of AS.375.215. Designed to bring students up to competency level required for third/fourth year Arabic. Students will consolidate and expand their mastery of the four basic skills acquired in AS.375.115-116. More authentic material--written, audio, and visual--will be used, and culture will be further expanded on as a fifth skill. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.215 or permission required.
×
Second Year Arabic II AS.375.216 (01)
Continuation of AS.375.215. Designed to bring students up to competency level required for third/fourth year Arabic. Students will consolidate and expand their mastery of the four basic skills acquired in AS.375.115-116. More authentic material--written, audio, and visual--will be used, and culture will be further expanded on as a fifth skill. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.215 or permission required.
This is an introductory course to different periods of the Arabic literature. Selections of famous Arabic poetry and short prose works are the substance of the course. Continuation of AS.375.401. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.302 or equivalent.
×
Fourth Year Arabic II AS.375.402 (01)
This is an introductory course to different periods of the Arabic literature. Selections of famous Arabic poetry and short prose works are the substance of the course. Continuation of AS.375.401. Recommended Course Background: AS.375.302 or equivalent.