This course introduces students to film analysis and criticism through the history and theory of global cinema. We consider various artistic, social, and cultural movements that have impacted cinema worldwide, focusing on the historical, socio-political, and international contexts of film production, circulation, and reception. Particular attention will be paid to transnational, diasporic, postcolonial, and regional contexts. Through research and intellectual inquiry, this course develops critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and cultural analysis. Students will strengthen their written, visual, and oral communication abilities through presentations, group projects, and creative applications of visual and cinematic design.

This course introduces moral reasoning within the Islamic tradition, tracing its evolution from discipline-centered to interdisciplinary approaches. Students explore principles and priorities of moral reasoning, considering goal-oriented and value-oriented ethics. The course also examines contemporary perspectives, emphasizing the context of the ethicist and reconfiguration of sources for determining what is good and bad. Through analysis and practical exercises, students learn to evaluate and present arguments, supporting viable options in case studies. Designed to equip undergraduates with essential moral reasoning skills, it prepares them to engage with ethical dilemmas across contexts. 

Data Methods for Digital Humanities introduces students to the fundamental techniques of data collection and annotation in the context of digital humanities research. Participants will learn how to gather and prepare data for analysis using popular tools such as Voyant and Ant Conc. The course will cover various methods for collecting data from digital sources, cleaning and preprocessing text, and annotating data for specific research objectives. Students will gain hands-on experience working with these tools to analyze and visualize patterns in textual data. 

This course focuses on Museums located in the Middle East and North Africa as sites for cultural, historical and political memory, where art and visual culture are exhibited, archived, and stored. Historically, museums have been closely linked to national identity as they are shaped by people’s cultural and artistic production. The course activities will include visits to the multiple museums in Doha as case studies for the display of art and visual culture such as paintings, sculptures, murals, and much more. The syllabus will draw upon theories and concepts in art history and the archiving of visual culture at museums.

This course focuses on contemporary cinema and musical culture in the Arab world specifically in their representation of the timely and much debated topics of Travel, Migration and Dislocation from the homeland. The course will include feature and documentary films, songs, and lyrics by Arab artists who live in the Arab world and the diaspora. The aim is to engage students with cinematic and musical works which have challenged the Western stereotypical images of migrants from the Arab world and have depicted a more realistic and humane visual illustration of migration and dislocation.