NU to offer Arabic minor in fall 2023

Activism encourages MENA Languages to create new minor

By KAAVYA BUTANEY daily senior staffer @kaavya_butaney

The Middle East and North African Languages program will launch an Arabic minor this upcoming Fall Quarter, the result of years of effort from students and the Arabic language faculty. The program currently does not offer majors or minors for any MENA languages, including Arabic and Persian.

In Winter Quarter 2022, the Middle East and North Africa Student Association and Arabic language students sent a letter to Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Dean Adrian Randolph requesting the school create an Arabic language minor. In total, 48 students who signed the letter said they would enroll in the minor.

According to Arabic language Prof. Ragy Ibrahim Mikhaeel, student support for the movement made the difference in creating the minor. Arabic language classes from Spring Quarter 2022 and onward can be counted toward the minor, Mikhaeel said.

MENA languages program chair and German language Prof. Franziska Lys said when she assumed the chair position in Fall 2018, she wanted to gather feedback to understand whether students were satisfied with the program.

In Spring 2019, Lys conducted an informal survey that asked 31 students whether they would enroll in an Arabic minor. About 83% of student respondents said they would be interested.

“I really wanted to recognize students’ accomplishments because Arabic is not an easy language to learn,” Lys said.

“For students who really go through a minor, I think they need some type of recognition of the special efforts they made in learning this language.”

» See ARABIC , page 6