Arabic in Context 2 (ARBC30001)

This subject is the Capstone subject in the Arabic Studies major of the Bachelor of Arts. It will give students majoring in Arabic Studies the opportunity to draw together the threads of their undergraduate Arabic studies into a distinctive and culminating combined disciplinary and cohort experience before graduating. The subject aims to consolidate, integrate and extend the content and skills acquisition components of the Arabic Major studies, and will prompt students to apply those skills and knowledge in the capstone experience, thus serving as a bridge between the undergraduate experience and the next stage of study or work. The subject offers to students the opportunity to integrate their knowledge of Arabic language and Arab society and culture, and apply this to new topics and challenges. Cohort experience will be strengthened by students conducting, in teams, independent research (academic inquiry projects) involving critical inquiry into challenging and complex scenarios, in the framework of university-led discovery projects. Students will have the freedom to devise their own research topics, and to plan, design and execute their research projects. In the process, students will need to exercise creativity in examining, problematising, critiquing and considering novel, creative approaches to contemporary issues in the Arab World. The experience will culminate in a final oral presentation of students' projects and the research outcomes in an event open to all students of the Arabic Studies Program, the Asia Institute and the University of Melbourne as a whole. The oral presentation will provide a platform for disseminating findings, as well as the framework for celebrating students' achievements.