Arab Crossroads Studies (BA)

Program Description

Arab Crossroads Studies takes advantage of Abu Dhabi’s geographical location in the Arabian Peninsula, at the crossroads of the three continents of the Eastern hemisphere: Africa, Asia, and Europe. It uses this location to think through the broader interactions of the Arab world with the surrounding regions, and as an invitation to investigate the historical and contemporary religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity of the Arabic-speaking world. In doing so, it provides a portal for the global NYU community to study and engage with the social, cultural and intellectual diversity of the Arab world and its neighbors.

The historical, sociopolitical, and cultural interactions among these regions have opened engaging domains of study in both the humanities and social sciences. One example of these interactions can be seen in the Gulf, where the flow of people, ideas, and commodities has resulted in cosmopolitan and culturally hybrid setting for many centuries. The historical archives testify to this richness, which can also be gleaned from the artistic, architectural and musical developments, the variety of spoken languages, and the diversity of people who now live in the Gulf region. Similar sites of intense interaction can be found in the Levant, Central Asia, West and East Africa, as well as South Asia, and ACS courses consider regions such as these particularly productive for studying the Arab world’s diversity. Yet ACS courses move beyond geographic descriptions to consider thematic approaches to the Arab world’s diversity that consider more specific religious, historical, political, anthropological, literary and artistic topics.

Study Away

The study away pathway can be found on the NYUAD Student Portal at students.nyuad.nyu.edu/pathways. Students with questions should contact the Office of Global Education. Only one elective can be taken during J-term and it is strongly recommended that not more than two non-language courses be taken while studying away.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply. 

Program Requirements

Arab Crossroads Electives

Arabic Language Proficiency Courses

Alternatively, students may take a proficiency exam to satisfy this non-credit requirement.

Sample Plan of Study

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the major in Arab Crossroads Studies at NYU Abu Dhabi, students are expected to be able to:

1. Identify the cultural, social, economic, political, philosophical, and religious forces that have shaped and continue to shape the intersection of the Arab and Islamic worlds;
2. Demonstrate a familiarity with historical and contemporary cultural and philosophical approaches to the study of the Arab world and neighboring regions while being attentive to the multiple transnational connections, circuits, and crossroads that have shaped them;
3. Understand the ways in which the field of Arab Crossroads Studies draws upon and contributes to other scholarly disciplines;
4. Develop arguments in which they reassess and, where necessary, revise conventional scholarly and popular understandings of the region, while continually questioning and justifying their own methodological assumptions and practices;
5. Conduct advanced research, including fieldwork, master the use of primary and secondary sources, library resources, and relevant new technologies as appropriate;
6. Create strong scholarly arguments drawing on appropriate sources, literature, and evidence;
7. Display competence in Modern Standard Arabic in reading, writing, and oral comprehension;
8. Demonstrate expertise in a particular approach to Arab Crossroads Studies resulting in the production of a senior capstone project;
9. Compete effectively for places at elite doctoral programs in the United States and around the world in Middle Eastern Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, History, Arabic Literature, and Comparative Literature, and with additional coursework in the social sciences, in Sociology or Political Science;
10. Bring a solid background in knowledge of the Arab world and Arabic to job opportunities in policy-making, journalism, diplomacy, consulting, and finance.

Policies

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

NYU Abu Dhabi Policies

A full list of relevant policies can be found on NYU Abu Dhabi's undergraduate academic policies page.