The Necessity of Arabic Language Classes

Why Arabic?

When I committed to Amherst College, I was prepared to be a political science major, concentrating my studies in the Middle East. I wanted to build on my limited high school knowledge of the region and my family connections to better understand its complexity, its people, and roots of the conflicts which permeate its nations. After making progress during the past three semesters, I am no longer on track to fulfill my academic goals. 

My stepdad spent much of his childhood in Tunis, Tunisia. He shares stories with me about his experience growing up there and moving from Tunis to Paris to West Lafayette, Indiana. His upbringing inspired me to take Arabic during my first semester at Amherst, a decision which seemed even more obvious given my interest in political science, international relations, and Middle Eastern studies. Being able to communicate with folks in a different region effectively is crucial — how else can we accumulate knowledge about communities other than our own?

Even though Arabic is an incredibly difficult language to learn for native English speakers, my Arabic course quickly became my favorite class.  Since my freshman year, I have not only studied grammar, tense, and sentence structure, but I have also learned about the diverse dialects spoken in different parts of the Middle East and how the language is influenced by cultural, economic, architectural, and social differences. This holistic approach to learning allowed me to temporarily look past Amherst’s lack of a Middle Eastern studies department.

Amherst’s unique appeal — the open curriculum — allows students to come in with an academic interest and explore it without class restrictions or lack of prior experience. This is what Arabic did for me — it allowed me to learn more about my family while simultaneously empowering me to explore my intellectual curiosities. 

Two weeks ago, the college made the decision to discontinue Arabic language course offerings. This came as a shock to students, faculty, and other community members. 

Even if the discontinuation of this language is temporary and plans to implement a new program are underway, this temporary discontinuation is worrying. Studying a foreign language requires constant learning — it is not something students can pick up, take a break from for two years and then return to at the same level. Few options remain for students wanting to continuously study Arabic: Classes continue to be offered at Smith College and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Students from Amherst, including myself, will likely continue their Arabic studies at one of these institutions. The problem is inconsistency. My freshman year class has moved forward as a group, picking up from the lesson we left off on last semester and going over concepts which didn’t stick from Arabic 101. Moving our education to a different institution disrupts our learning progress. 

Amherst in Context

On a broader scale, learning a new language can be extremely beneficial; it provides increased creativity, stronger communication skills, better academic performance, and more. However, learning a language remains off the nation's priority list, and evidently off of Amherst’s as well. Nationally, there is a trend away from continuing foreign language classes in higher education and specifically, teaching Arabic is under scrutiny. 

In a time when the simple act of studying the language, history, and culture of the Middle East has become a political act, it is shameful for the college to follow this trend of censorship that is plaguing higher education today. Institutions like Harvard University, targeted by the Trump administration in its attempt to limit what it believes is antisemitism in universities, have already defunded Middle Eastern programs to avoid government attacks. By cutting Arabic language classes, the college makes clear that they are only willing to amplify certain voices, ideologies, and students. 

Amherst's discontinuation of Arabic, despite claims that the decision is not political, fails to stand up to the college’s promise of diverse educational opportunities. As a leading liberal arts college, proud of its resistance to intellectual suppression and its specialized class offerings, Amherst needs to build up departments that offer crucial and diverse courses — like Asian languages and civilizations — instead of simply getting rid of them.

Many NESCAC schools, including Williams College, Bowdoin College, Wesleyan University, offer Arabic courses, and even have thriving Middle Eastern studies departments. Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world — our competing colleges recognize this fact and respond by offering classes centered around the Middle East. These offerings attract students interested in, born in, or who have a connection to these nations. Amherst's lack of these contributions could very likely push students like the ones described away, harming the cultural and academic diversity of the Amherst student body — something that the college boasts as one of its defining features.

The Limits to Amherst’s Definition of Democracy

Amherst recently adopted a historic resolution on democracy, pledging to stand up for educational freedom and democratic thinking without discrimination. This means supporting students by providing a diverse environment for them to learn and grow in. Learning Arabic enables Amherst students to interact with communities from the Arabic-speaking world. Cutting Arabic language courses forces all Amherst students to question who the college defines as worthy of our commitment, attention, and support.

W.E.B. DuBois said that “the single greatest source of growth and development is the experience of difference, discrepancy, anomaly,” and “the free and uncensored play of ideas and opinions and arguments and positions is central to the fabric of a liberal arts education.” This is the experience I signed up for when I decided to attend Amherst, and therefore I am deeply disappointed in the decision to cut the Arabic program. Getting rid of our ability to communicate with diverse groups of people, especially in a growing autocratic state, erodes democratic practices and discredits the college's stated goals. If Amherst wants to continue to be known as a place where different views, identities, and interests are not only respected, but embraced, cutting the Arabic language program can only be seen as a step in the opposite direction. 

Looking forward, in order to meet its commitment to democratic and diverse educational opportunities as well as respond to global developments, Amherst College should consider designing a department for Middle Eastern studies. This region requires attention and dedication in the form of a department just as America, Europe, and Latin America enjoy at Amherst and at many peer institutions now. The Middle East is distinct from Asia as a whole, full of cultures, languages, and societies different from those of its Eastern neighbors. However, the subject is often erased from curriculum or deemed a conflict-ridden region, thus dedicating time spent studying aspects other than Middle Eastern tensions pointless. I recognize that building a department will take time, so, in the meantime, the college needs to offer more classes about the region — not just in the political science and history departments, but in the economics, architecture, art, music, and language departments. Some Amherst courses involve a case study or unit on Middle Eastern culture, but that isn’t enough. The only way the college can make good on its promise of a diverse educational experience for every single student is to dedicate specific courses centered on Middle Eastern studies.