As students enter the room, a Middle Eastern song popular in the \u201990s is playing on YouTube and the teacher is writing on the board\u2014from right to left.<\/p>\n
This is Furman\u2019s first Arabic class, focusing on Shami, the dialect spoken in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n
Jedidiah Anderson, a visiting assistant professor, said the language component adds a rich dimension to Furman\u2019s Middle East and Islamic Studies minor. While the course focuses on written and spoken language, it also feeds an understanding and appreciation of Arabic culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them to not think of the Arab world as an \u2018other,\u2019\u201d Anderson said. \u201cI want them to understand there is a culture, that people have hopes and dreams just like they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
As with any language, students are starting with the basics: the alphabet, common concepts and phrases, and an introduction to the culture.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
Nicole Hartley \u201921 takes notes during her Arabic class.<\/p><\/div>\n
Anderson taught at Wofford College before coming to Furman. He learned Arabic in the Army\u2019s Defense Language Institute, then worked as a document translator and eventually an interpreter in Iraq. He earned a master\u2019s degree from the American University of Beirut before completing his doctoral degree at Indiana University.<\/p>\n
The early weeks of the new class were devoted to learning the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet. By the end of the first year, Anderson said his students should be able to navigate basic conversation and correctly read words that they haven\u2019t encountered before.<\/p>\n
This first semester the class has 14 students, plus Akan Malici, professor of politics and international affairs, who is auditing. He\u2019s enthusiastic about what the language class will add to his own teaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you understand Arabic, you become a better teacher of the Middle East,\u201d Malici said. \u201cInevitably, when you translate, the depth of the meaning can get lost and is getting lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson said some of his students are members of the Reserve Officer\u2019s Training Corps, some are Muslim, some plan to work in non-governmental organizations in the Arab world. And some are simply curious.<\/p>\n
Frazier Beall, \u201920 is majoring in computer science and political science with plans to pursue a career in intelligence. She\u2019s taken French and Spanish in the past, but Arabic is new level of difficulty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are definitely challenges we don\u2019t experience in English,\u201d she said. \u201cIt keeps me on my toes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alfons Teipen, chair of the Middle East and Islamic Studies interdisciplinary minor, said language was the next logical step for the program, which already includes history, religion and political science.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to understand a culture, a civilization, a society\u2014if you want to fully understand\u2014language is absolutely essential,\u201d Teipen said.<\/p>\n
The Arabic class is technically a one-year experiment, with the position funded through the religion department as a replacement for a professor on sabbatical. Teipen said he\u2019ll continue to pursue other funding options and hopes to see the Arabic offerings grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I have very convincing arguments that the language and Middle Eastern studies fits squarely in The Furman Advantage<\/a>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nFurman promises every student a transformative education that produces intellectual, personal and professional growth and that opens doors for discovery.<\/p>\n
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