A Study Plan for the BA in English Language and Literature

The Department of English Language and Literature

A Message from the Chairman
Welcome to the website of The Department of English Language and Literature, one of the main departments in The Arabic Open Academy. We offer programmers leading to the BA degree in English Language and Literature and to the MA degree in English Linguistics, English Literature and Translation. Our faculty members are widely recognized for their scholarly excellence, friendliness and dedication to serving the Iraqi, Arab and International community. They are well known for their excellence in teaching and for their extensive expertise in the areas of English Linguistics, English Literature and Translation. They have taught throughout the Arab World: in the Arab Gulf States, Jordan, Libya, Algeria besides their home country, Iraq. This diversity of backgrounds and experience is one of our important sources of enrichment. We exert our utmost to provide each of our students with the attention s/he needs to be able to excel and to become an independent researcher. Each of our students is assigned an academic tutor with whom s/he works closely throughout the period of her/his study. The courses we offer fall into four separate, but interdependent areas: English language skills, English literature, linguistics, and translation.
In our efforts to meet the challenge of modern educational requirements, we have modified our study plan, and re-oriented it towards providing a high standard of education to our students. New courses have been introduced, and many others re-focused. All have been re-prescribed with the aim of achieving the overall objectives of the Department. In consonance with this modified study plan, the Department has adopted student-centred teaching outlook, and fostered individualized instruction approaches. You are invited to explore our homepage for comprehensive information about our department, degree programs, degree requirements, course descriptions, and faculty member profiles.

Objectives
The Department pays close attention to both languages: Arabic and English especially when it comes to translation. Faculty members and students are urged to utilize both languages as a medium of instruction and learning. Every possible effort is made to benefit from our heritage to improve our social and intellectual environment. The Department fulfils its mission through offering specialized academic programs oriented towards the community. These programs reflect the needs and ambitions of our students both at home and in exile taking into consideration the academic developments in similar programs at the international level. Our objective is to serve our homeland and to contribute, through these programs, to the development of human knowledge.

Head of the Department

A Study Plan for the BA in English Language and Literature

General Requirements:

  1. This plan conforms to the general frame of the program for the Undergraduate Studies. Holders of an accredited High school Certificate are admitted to the Program.
  2. Students should complete 120 credit hours.

Special Requirements:

Passing an exam in the English Language

First Year
The Academy Requirements
Students select two of the following courses

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours
13101  Civil Society and Democracy  3
13102  Psychology  3
13103  Political Thought  3
13104  Philosophy  3
Total  6

The Department Requirements
Fall Semester: student register for the following three courses

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours
13201  Communication Skills  3
13202  English Grammar (1)  3
13203  Reading Comprehension  3
Total  9

Spring Semester

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours
13204  Language Skills  3
13205  English Grammar (2)  3
13206  English Phonetics  3
13207  English Composition  3
13208  Vocabulary Building  3
Total  15

Second Year
Fall Semester Spring Semester

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13209  Syntax 1  3  13214  Research Paper Writing 3
13210  Introduction to English Literature  3  13215  History of the English Language 3
13211  Morphology and Lexical Studies  3  13216  Advanced Reading 3
13212  Conversational English  3  13217  Translation Principles 3
13213  English Phonology  3  13218  20th Century English Literature 3
Total  15 15

Third Year
Fall Semester Spring Semester

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
12219  Syntax 2  3  13224  World literature in English 3
13220  Mass Media Translation  3  13225  Debating 3
13221  English Language Teaching  3  13226  English Language Testing 3
13222  19th C English Literature  3  13227  Introduction to Linguistics 3
13223  Advanced Writing  3  13228  Translation of Business and Legal Texts 3
Total  15 15

Fourth Year
Fall Semester Spring Semester

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13229  Discourse Analysis  3  13234  Graduation Project 3
13230  The Modern Novel  3  13235  Special Topic in Linguistics 3
13231  Literary Criticism  3  13236  16th C English Literature 3
13232  18th C English Literature  3  13237  17th C English Literature 3
13233  Special Topic in Literature  3  13238  Drama: Shakespeare and the Renaissance 3
Total  15 15

The Faculty of Graduate Studies
A Study Plan for the Master in Translation

General Requirements:

  1. This plan conforms to the general frame of the program for the Graduate Studies
  2. Areas of Specialty for Admission to this Program:
    Holders of a Bachelor Degree in:

    1. English Language and Literature
    2. Translation

Special Requirements:

Passing two exams in translation from Arabic into English and vice versa
The courses are divided into obligatory and elective:

Obligatory Courses
Fall Semester Spring Semester

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13301  Research Methodology  3  13305  Semantics and Pragmatics 3
13302  English Syntax  3  13306  Stylistics 3
13303  Contrastive Text Analysis  3  13307  Technical Translation 3
13304  Theories of Translation  3  13308  Simultaneous and Consecutive Translation 3
Total 24

Elective Courses

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13309  Literary Translation  3  13312  Lexicology and Dictionaries 3
13310  Translation of Legal Texts  3  13313  Mass Media Translation 3
13311  Translation of Political and Diplomatic Texts  3  13314  Translation Strategies 3
Total 18

Master Degree Requirements: accomplishing 33 credit hours as follows:

  1. Non-Thesis Track:
    1. Covering the 24 credit hours of the obligatory courses
    2. Taking 9 credit hours from the elective courses
    3. A Comprehensive exam (12315)
  2. Thesis Track
    1. completing 18 credit hours from the obligatory courses
    2. Taking 6 credit hours from the elective courses
    3. A thesis: 9 credit hours (12316)

A Study Plan for the Master in Linguistics

General Requirements:

  1. This plan conforms to the general frame of the program for the Graduate Studies
  2. Areas of Specialty for Admission to this Program:
    Holders of a Bachelor Degree in:

    1. English Language and Literature
    2. Translation
    3. Linguistics

Special Requirements:

Passing a proficiency exam in the English Language
The courses are divided into obligatory and elective:

Obligatory Courses
Fall Semester Spring Semester

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13317  Research Methodology  3  13321  Semantics and Pragmatics 3
13318  Advanced Syntax  3  13322  Stylistics 3
13319  Contrastive Linguistics  3  13323  Psycholinguistics 3
13320  Discourse Analysis and Text Linguistics  3  13324  Advanced Phonetics and Phonology 3
Total 24

Elective Courses

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13325  Historical Linguistics  3  13328  English Morphology 3
13326  Sociolinguistics  3  13329  Pragmatics 3
13327  First and Second Language Acquisition  3  13330  Lexicology and Lexicography 3
Total 15

Master Degree Requirements: accomplishing 33 credit hours as follows:

  1. Non-Thesis Track:
    1. covering the 24 credit hours of the obligatory courses
    2. taking 9 credit hours from the elective courses
    3. A Comprehensive exam (12331)
  2. Thesis Track
    1. covering 18 credit hours from the obligatory courses
    2. taking 6 credit hours from the elective courses
    3. A thesis: 9 credit hours (12332)

A Study Plan for the Master in English Literature

General Requirements:

  1. This plan conforms to the general frame of the program for the Graduate Studies
  2. Areas of Specialty for Admission to this Program:
    Holders of a Bachelor Degree in the English Language and Literature

Special Requirements:
Passing a proficiency exam in the English Language

The courses are divided into obligatory and elective:

Obligatory Courses
Fall Semester Spring Semester

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13333  Research Methodology  3  13337  World Literature 3
13334  English Novel  3  13338  Literary Criticism in the 20th C 3
13335  English Drama  3  13339  Literary Theory 3
13336  Modern English and American Poetry  3  13340  Comparative Literature 3
Total 24

Elective Courses

Course Number  Course Name  Credit Hours  Course Number  Course Name
13341  Middle English  3  13344  Modern Critics 3
13342  Contrastive Textology  3  13345  Modern Trends in Drama 3
13343  Modernism and Postmodernism in English Literature  3  13346  Modern English and American Novel 3
Total 18

Master Degree Requirements:

accomplishing 33 credit hours as follows:

  1. Non-Thesis Track:
    1. covering the 24 credit hours of the obligatory courses
    2. taking 9 credit hours from the elective courses
    3. A Comprehensive exam (13347)
  2. Thesis Track
    1. covering 18 credit hours from the obligatory courses
    2. taking 6 credit hours from the elective courses
    3. A thesis: 9 credit hours (13348