ARAB 017. Arabic Unfiltered: Identity, Language, and Digital Culture

This course explores the intersection of language and culture across the contemporary Arabic digital media landscape. Students listen closely to a diverse group of Arab voices, seeking to understand how they express themselves-through YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, and social media broadly-as they share perspectives, participate in public conversations, and negotiate the contours of Arab identity today.

Students engage with Arabic as a living and dynamic language, not limited by the restrictions of formal linguistic conventions, discovering how today’s speakers use language to entertain, to amuse, and to signal belonging. Through an exploration of authentic online content across a variety of digital genres, students develop their ability to interpret Arabic across different registers and contexts, gaining insight into how Arabic speakers draw on different language varieties: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), regional dialects, other languages, and hybrid forms.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of ARAB 003 and permission of the instructor.
Humanities.
1
Fall 2026. Cozzens.
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/arabic

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