MES4110 – Readings of Middle Eastern Texts
Course content
Consisting of a series of guided reading seminars, this course introduces students to a selection of original language source materials in Arabic, Persian, or Turkish. Students will engage with excerpts from texts of significant cultural, historical, literary, and/or political importance from the Middle East. Students will be assigned to subgroups based on their language specialisation. They are expected to read, interpret and discuss source material in context, and demonstrate their ability to present and analyse the source material in written form.?
Learning outcome
After completing this course, you will have gained
increased familiarity with primary source materials from the Middle East
improved proficiency in reading and interpreting texts in a Middle Eastern language
critical analysis skills for contextualizing and discussing source materials
ability to present and analyze source materials in written form.?
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
This course is only available for students admitted to the programme option Middle East Studies.
Each student must choose one language seminar group according to his or her language specialization (Arabic, Persian or Turkish). This is done in StudentWeb when signing up for the course in August.
Teaching
Teaching:?
Format: Weekly 2-hour seminars over a 10-week period?
Instruction Method: Interactive sessions focused on reading, analyzing, and discussing texts?
Language: Both English and the focus language may be used for communication in class?
Participation: Active participation and thorough preparation for each seminar are essential requirements?
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Compulsory activities:
- 9 mandatory submissions due before class meetings; at least 6 of these must be preliminarily approved by the instructor based on formal criteria, and at least 3 of them must receive final approval with regard to content.
Detailed submission guidelines will be provided in class at the beginning of the semester.?
All compulsory activities must be approved to qualify for the exam. It is your responsibility to verify that you have obtained approval for all compulsory activities.?
Approval of the compulsory?activities are only valid for the current semester. If you retake the course, you must submit new papers in the semester in which you are taking the exam.
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Absence from compulsory activities:
It is important that you familiarize yourself with the rules regarding absence from compulsory activities, to prevent being excluded from teaching and losing your eligibility to take the exam.
More information on compulsory activities at the University of Oslo:?
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Access to teaching:
A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.?
Examination
4-hour school exam.
The exam consists of a written analysis and contextualisation of a randomly selected text from the course readings.?
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You must submit the exam in Inspera - see guides for digital exams.?
You are personally responsible for familiarizing yourself with the requirements and deadlines for the exam.?
All compulsory activities must be completed and approved in order to take the exam.?
You can find more information about the exam on the semester page of the course.?
Language of examination
Assignment specifications are given in English. Students may write their submissions in English, Norwegian, Danish or Swedish.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.?
Resit an examination
The course offers a resit examination for students who fail the original exam.
It is also possible to take a postponed exam in this course if you are sick on the day of the exam,?withdraw during the exam due to illness, or have other valid absences during the regular exam. You must apply to take the postponed exam and provide documentation dated the same day as the exam.
Students who submit a blank exam, withdraw during the exam, or?do not attend the exam without a valid reason are not entitled to a resit or postponed examination.?
The resit examination and the postponed exam?will be held on the same day. This means that you only have one opportunity to retake the exam during the semester in which you are taking the course. If you are unable to take the postponed exam or fail the re-examination, you will need to retake the exam the next time the subject is offered.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.