This is a collection of one page stories brought together in one document available for free download. Each page/story corresponds with a day of the week, although the stories themselves have no connection with one another. The stories include moral lessons. Each story is fully voweled.
This website hosts many examples of poetry from the jahiliyyah period to the present in an attempt to create a comprehensive diwan of Arabic poetry. Some poems have an audio component. Users can browse poetry by time period, by audio file, by author's name, or by custom search. The website is also in English and there are many poems that have been translated into English, although some poems that are on the website in English are not on the website in Arabic and vice versa. Users can submit poetry to the website via a submission system.
Al Wzzan is a website aimed at analyzing Arabic poetry. Users can type any verse into the search field, and the website will identify it's meter, or "bahar." Arabic poetry traditionally falls within one of fifteen different meters. The site also provides sample stanzas of poetry to demonstrate how the programs works.
Arab Culture through Literature and Film is a five unit high school curriculum that provides students with knowledge and tools toanalyze and understand the Arab world. The materials utilize a student-centered pedagogical approach that promotes critical thinking and respect and encourages engaged global citizenship. Through this curriculum, students will recognize shared themes across the region and gain a sense of the rich diversity inherent to the multidimensional cultures of the Arab world. Students will study life and culture in the Arab world and engage with primary sources including films, short stories, and poems. Exposing students to Arab voices and putting human faces on the Arab world will increase understanding and tolerance in the American classroom.
Across the Arab world, kinship and familial association are cornerstones of society and the experience of every individual. Though each kin group functions in a unique way, there is a pervasive pattern of reliance on family networks regardless of religion, gender, ethnicity, or class. This unit explores concepts and structures of family in Arab societies from a variety of angles. Students will explore Jordanian customs and consider the values behind them and their relation to family. They will also hear from gay and lesbian Middle Easterners who reflect on their concepts of family and its impact on their coming-out processes. Students will read select short stories and poems and watch Ajami, a film in which the plot is fueled by character reactions to their families' needs. In the final lesson of this unit, students will synthesize all of the lessons above to create an Arab kinship themed version of Chutes and Ladders that demonstrates the role of kinship in setting and realizing individual goals.
This curriculum understands gender and gender roles as social constructs that are built, defined, and fulfilled on an individual and societal level. These roles are both an outcome of and rationale for appearance, behavior, and interactions of individuals and groups. Such concepts of gendered behavior are impacted by various factors including one's age, geographic location, social class, religion, marital status, and ethnicity. In this unit, students explore the dynamics of gender in the Arab world and consider their varied manifestations, perhaps challenging traditional notions of gender in the region. Students will explore the nuances of gendered interactions in public and private space and the pressures that gender expectations may place on individuals in the region. By engaging with texts and stories from the region, students will consider how those traditional expectations are negotiated and contested in a variety of ways.
The Arab world is a large and diverse region that spans from Morocco in the west, through the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. It includes twenty-three countries and represents a wide range of customs, traditions, and cultures. This unit frames the region through the lens of cultural unity and diversity, a concept essential to this curriculum. The historical and cultural background provided in this unit serves as a foundation for students to identify and understand the nuances and complexities of the region. Additionally, students are introduced to the primary tool used for cultural analysis of the Arab world throughout the curriculum, the culture as an iceberg metaphor.
Though the Arab world is broadly defined by a shared Arab ethnicity, there are actually a variety of ethnic groups in the region, many of whom are indigenous to the land. Each of these ethnic groups, including the Amazigh, the Bedouin, the Nubians, and the Kurds, has a unique history and culture and often their own language as well. Since the early years of Arab expansion, these indigenous groups have negotiated their acceptance and integration into the dominant Arab culture, at times adopting elements of the culture and at other times, rejecting it. This unit introduces students to ethnic groups in the Arab world and guides them through an understanding of their lived experience as minorities in the region. Students will consider the challenges that face specific ethnicities and explore how these groups negotiate their collective identity and membership in the region. Students will study the activity of Amazigh activists, read Kurdish poetry, and watch a documentary about the Nubians. They'll end the unit by conducting independent research on an ethnic minority of their choosing.
Religion permeates through the cultures and societies of the Arab world, manifesting itself in diverse ways. Its presence is seen at an institutional level as well as in personal behaviors and interactions including dress, daily routines, and patterns of speech. Although religion is ubiquitous, the way individuals understand and practice their religion varies widely. Furthermore, while Islam is the predominant religion of the region, religious sentiment pervades broadly and a host of other religions are practiced throughout the region. This unit guides students through an understanding of religion in the Arab world within its own cultural context. It challenges students to consider the complexities of religion and religious expression in a region in which its presence is unavoidable. This unit exposes students to diverse religious practices and expressions of Islam and the relationships between religious practitioners in the region.
This blog is an initiative to celebrate and recognize Arab women writers, promote awareness of the breadth of their contributions to Arab and world culture, and create a focal point for information related to Arab women writers and their work. Information on books, generations of authors, a suggested reading list, references, upcoming events, and more is all available via the website. Books discussed have all been translated into English.
First published in the 19th century, the Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward William Lane remains one of the widely used resources for classical Arabic - English translation. Entries are based on the root system and are exhaustive, often including examples of the use of the word in classical poetry and other classical texts. This online version allows the scholar to utilize the 8 volume dictionary by searching the root via the Arabic letters on the left hand side of the page. The site shows scanned images from the corresponding pages of the print version of the lexicon.
This blog offers translations of Arabic songs into English. Arabic transcriptions of the song lyrics are also provided, as are the transliterated lyrics. Where possible, the song has been added to the website as well so that users can listen to the song as well as read along. Users can request new songs to be translated, submit their own translations, and leave comments. Users can also search the site or click on a singer's name to be given a list of their songs that have been translated on the site.
The Bedouins of ancient Arabia and Persia made poetry a conversational art form. Several poetic forms developed from the participatory nature of tribal poetry. Today in most Arabic cultures, you may still experience public storytelling and spontaneous poetry challenges in the streets. The art of turning a rhyme into sly verbal sparring is considered a mark of intelligence and a badge of honor. Students will learn about the origins and structure of Arabic Poetry.
This web site contains many short stories and texts in Arabic. Hundreds of writers from more than twenty different countries are currently participating in this project. To access the stories, the user chooses an author and then a text from among the titles that the author has provided for the site.
This page offers 186 different children's stories written in Arabic. Topics range from scientific matters such as how to build a telescope to literature and folktales, including Indian folktales. Stories must be viewed using Java and users must click on the link to view the resource and its title. Many contain images and other illustrations. The intended age level of the reader varies from story to story.
This course serves as an introduction to the pre-modern Islamic artistic traditions of the Mediterranean, Near East, and Central and South Asia. It surveys core Islamic beliefs, the basic characteristics of Islamic art and architecture, and art and architecture created under each dynasty and ruling party. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify the core beliefs of Islam, the major characteristics of Islamic art, and the major forms of Islamic architecture; identify major pre-modern Islamic works of art and monuments from the Middle East, Northern Africa, Spain, and South Asia; explain how the core beliefs of Islam contributed to the basic characteristics of Islamic art and architecture and the secular art works and architecture of the Islamic world; identify the succeeding dynasties that ruled the Islamic world; explain the important role that the patronage of art and architecture had played in definitions of kingship. (Art History 303)
This is a resource of pictures from all over the world. There are two main sections for Arabic; one for Arabic in general and one for Arabic in Oman. Each section of pictures includes categories and sub-categories of topics. An example include city life further broken down into buildings and places, city maps, religion, and street signs. A simple description of each picture is provided in both English and Arabic or whatever the target language might be of a particular country or region.
CultureTalk - Arab World features native speakers from across the Arabic-speaking world giving filmed interviews, in Arabic and sometimes English, on selected topics. Text-based translations and transcriptions are often provided as downloadable documents for most Arabic videos. The videos engage a number of region/country-specific topics, including cultural traditions, religion, politics, and sports.
Arabic Lessons is a section that includes thirty four short lessons. There are lessons about the alphabet, vowels, prepositions, particles, poetry, and many grammar topics. Some lessons are in the flash video format. The entire page is in Arabic.
This art history video discussion examines the "Mihrab" (prayer niche), 1354--55 (A.H. 755), just after the Ilkhanid period, Isfahan, Iran, polychrome glazed tiles, 135-1/16 x 113-11/16 inches / 343.1 x 288.7 cm (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).