Arabic Cultural Studies in Granada
Spring 2025 Semester - Early Start Granada

About the Program

Drawing on Granada’s unique multicultural history and southern European location, this program examines the city's Islamic legacy, established during 800 years of Muslim rule. Activities and excursions bring lessons learned in class to life, from a guided visit to the Albayzín neighborhood, to strolling the stunning grounds of the Alhambra at sunset, to taking a field trip to Morocco. Improve your language skills in Spanish and Arabic language courses (taught in Spanish) and choose from a range of electives that bring Andalusian and Islamic culture and history to life, offered in English or Spanish. You may choose to jump start your Spanish language ability with our Early Start option.

Program Notes

Program Structure

Students at an advanced Spanish level or lower enroll in 2 Spanish language courses and 2-3 elective courses (taught in English and/or Spanish); students above this level enroll in 1 Spanish language course and 3-4 elective courses (taught in Spanish). If you are at a high-advanced Spanish level, you may opt to take integrated courses with Spaniards.

Courses meet for a total of 45 contact hours/12-15 credits. You may earn 12-15 credits (up to 225 contact hours); if you choose the Early Start option, you may earn 16-20 credits (up to 305 contact hours).

Classes meet on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday; during the intensive language portion of the program, classes meet Monday-Friday. Active learning components required by your courses may be scheduled on Fridays.

Early Start: The Early Start course runs for 4 weeks/80 contacts hours in Fall and 3 weeks/60 contact hours in Spring; it’s designed to help you adjust to the university setting and prepare you for your courses. If you participate in the Early Start course you may earn an additional 4-5 semester credits (up to 80 contact hours).

Prior to departure, you will select your preferred courses. You'll take a language placement exam after you arrive in Granada. You will be enrolled into courses based on their availability. It is in your best interest to have multiple alternative courses approved by your home university prior to your departure due to course availabilities. To ensure that you receive credit for the language level you place into, have your home school pre-approve courses at several levels before you leave for Spain. Please consult with your academic advisor at your home university on credit pre-approval guidelines.

Excursions

Get out and explore! Excursions are offered for most semester, year, and summer programs*. Semester students are typically offered between two to three excursions and summer study students are typically offered between one to two excursions. You'll receive a calendar of excursions during orientation; here are a few day and overnight excursions we've offered in the past.

Morocco

---

Deepen your understanding of Granada’s Arabic legacy by exploring three northern Moroccan cities: Tangier, Tetouan, and Chefchaouen. You’ll take a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier, where you’ll enjoy cous-cous at a women’s association, explore the souk (market) and old medina (old district), and ride camels. With a long, complex history, Tangier’s beauty and diverse culture has inspired artists and writers like Delacroix, Matisse, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, and Tangier native Mohamed Choukri. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the city also served as a global center for espionage and smuggling.

Next, you’ll tour Chefchaouen in the Rif Mountains. Founded by Moorish exiles from Spain, this city boasts blue-rinsed houses and buildings, a tradition left over from the Jewish population that once called Chefchaouen home.

Finally, we’ll visit the Martil Valley. Set among a string of orchards with the stunning Rif Mountains in the distance, you’ll find that the city of Tetouan deserves its reputation as a visual treasure. With its rich culture and history, Tetouan’s medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site that features a mix of mosques, shops, tanneries, and houses, all painted white with green doors and windows.

Seville

---

Your visit to Seville starts at the Reales Alcazares, a palace built by Arabs in the 14th century. You’ll explore the Barrio de Santa Cruz, once a Jewish neighborhood, before touring Seville’s cathedral, the world’s third largest and (allegedly) the final resting place of Christopher Columbus. Spend your free time relaxing at the Parque de Maria Luisa and the Plaza de España, one of the city’s most popular spots, with its fountains and mini-canals filled with rowboats. Take a stroll to the bank of the Gualdalquivir River to see the Tower of Gold and La Maestranza, one of the oldest bullrings in the world.

Ronda

---

Ronda is a pueblo blanco (whitewashed town) sitting on the Tajo de Ronda, a 500-foot-deep gorge that divides the town. Here you’ll find monuments from the Roman, Arab, and Christian periods, like the hammam (Arab baths built in the 13th century), the Puente Nuevo (a stunning bridge that connects the old and the new towns), and one of Spain’s oldest and most beautiful bullrings. Authors Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles spent time in Ronda and wrote about its beauty and traditions.

Cordoba

---

Cordoba was the capital of the Islamic caliphate in the Middle Ages. Once Europe’s most populous city and the intellectual center of the Western world, Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived peacefully together in Cordoba, and many philosophers, scientists, and artists emerged from the city. An understanding of Cordoba's cultural background enriches your exploration of its monuments, like the world-famous mosque with a cathedral built in the middle, known for its breathtaking rows of arches and columns. Enjoy a walk through the maze-like streets of the old Jewish quarter, filled with balconies decorated with colorful flowers, whitewashed patios, artisans’ workshops, and a synagogue dating to 1315.