The Center, in conjunction with Columbia’s Office of Global Programs, is holding the sixth offering of the annual Arabic language program and the second offering of the Columbia MENA Summer Program in May-August 2015. The programs are run by Taoufik Ben-Amor, Gordon Gray Jr. Senior Lecturer in Arabic Studies, and Madeleine Dobie, Associate Professor of French, who leads the cultural seminar.
The nine-week intensive summer programs offer a multi-faceted introduction to the languages, culture, and history of the Middle East and North Africa. During the first part of the Columbia MENA Summer Program, students spend time in Amman learning Arabic and attending seminars that examine the interrelatedness of the Mashrek and the Maghreb through various disciplines.
The second part of the program takes place in Paris, whereby students continue to study Arabic and examine various themes. They are given the opportunity to learn Mashreki dialect in Amman and Maghrebi Darija in Paris. Both programs have attracted 30 Columbia and non-Columbia undergraduate and graduate students, with 13 of them traveling onto Paris.