Registration Guide: Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages & Literatures

As your first course, you should enroll in CAS XL 100 Leaving Home: Explorations in World Literature (offered fall semesters only). This seminar is required of all majors within the department of World Languages & Literatures. XL 100 explores topics like growing up. Moving to the big city. Wisdom quest. Immigration. Tourism. How have the world’s great literatures portrayed and shaped these experiences? How have literary works themselves found new worlds through translation and adaptation?

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If you are registering in the spring semester, when XL 100 is not offered, you can instead take a course of interest. This should be a course that interests you – perhaps based on subjects you’ve enjoyed in the past or a new subject you’re excited to try for the first time! If you’re not sure where to start, you can review ourRegistration Instructions for tips on browsing by topic or Hub requirement.

You are required to take a Middle Eastern or South Asian language upper-level course.

To begin, choose a language to study.

• If you’re new to your language, you’ll start with the first-semester level (e.g. LY 111 Arabic 1, LN 111 Hindi-Urdu 1, etc.).
• If you have advanced credit (such as AP or IB scores), you can use these credit guides to determine what level to register for.
• If you have previously studied a Middle Eastern or South Asian language and do not have any advanced credit, you will need to take a placement test to determine what level to start with (for instance, LY 112 Arabic 2, LZ 211 Modern Persian 3, etc.). You can find more information regarding placement tests here.

Course of Interest: Select a course that interests you – perhaps based on subjects you’ve enjoyed in the past or a new subject you’re excited to try for the first time! If you’re not sure where to start, you can review our Registration Instructions for tips on browsing by topic or Hub requirement.

Your fourth course should be a writing course:

• If you did not apply to BU with a TOEFL/IELTS score, you can take either:
  • CAS WR 120 First-Year Writing Seminar. Each section of WR 120 focuses on a specific topic/theme, so you should register for a section that pairs with your interests.
  • CAS CC 101 Core Humanities 1: Ancient Worlds: (offered Fall only): An interdisciplinary study of the origins of civilization, from Mesopotamia and the Hebrew Bible to the development of Greek civilization through Homer, Greek tragedy, and the philosophy of Plato. You should enroll in CAS CC 101 if you are considering the Core Curriculum. This course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, First-Year Writing Seminar, Creativity/Innovation.

• If you applied to BU with a TOEFL/IELTS score, you should take the Multilingual Writer Placement (instructions will be sent via email) before you register for a writing course. The writing placement is a suggestion, but it will help you make an informed decision about the most appropriate level for you. Depending on what level WR course you register for, you will fulfill the following Hub requirements:
  • CAS WR 111 Academic Writing for ESL Students 1 – fulfills The Individual in Community Hub
  • CAS WR 112 Academic Writing for ESL Students 2 – fulfills Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy Hub
  • CAS WR 120 First-Year Writing Seminar – fulfills First-Year Writing Seminar Hub (If you place into WR 120, you are welcome to take CC 101 Core Humanities 1 instead to fulfill your FYW Hub.)

First-Year Seminar: FY 101 (1 unit) – Optional

FY101 is a one-unit, low stress, non-academic class that serves as a semester-long introduction to BU and college life. FY101 helps you get a head start on making connections at BU. Each section is taught by a student peer mentor and a staff instructor.

• FY101 classes are small and are for new students only, so they provide a great way to get to know other first-years!
• Your peer mentor and instructor will provide resources to create a more successful and meaningful college experience and help you get ahead in your first semester here.
• FY101 includes free, optional trips around Boston.
• There are specialty sections based on major and identity (e.g., Undeclared, Natural Sciences, First Generation, etc ) so be sure to choose the one that’s right for you!

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First-Year Career Development Seminar: FY 102 (offered spring only, 1 unit) – Optional

FY102 will help first-year students get started on utilizing the Career Development Cycle to maximize their time at BU. During this course, students will create a plan of action towards choosing a major, creating a resume, finding an internship, and preparing for a career they will love. Seminars are offered in various fields of interest and include guest speakers from different industries.

If you are interested in the Core Curriculum, we recommend one of the following courses in place of a language course/course of interest. (Talk to your advisor to discuss these adjustments in more detail!)

• CAS CC 111: Core Natural Science 1: Origins—of the Big Bang, Earth, Life and Humanity (offered fall only): The origins of the physical world, a scientific parallel to CC 101. Explores how the fields of astronomy, earth science, biology, and anthropology help us to understand our place in the cosmos from a scientific perspective. Topics include the Big Bang, evolution of the stars and earth, evolution of life, and the origins of human life and society. Assignments include computer-based and experimental laboratory work as well as team-based investigation and original research. 
  • This course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I, Teamwork/Collaboration.
  • This course will fulfill the CAS Natural Sciences Laboratory requirement. 
    
• CAS CC 212: Core Natural Science 2: Reality, Science, and the Modern World (offered spring only): Studies the paradigm-shifting scientific theories of quantum theory and relativity that created a new world view and forced the 20th century into a new understanding of our relation to reality. Students parallel these theories with current debates about science, such as those concerning climate change and the phenomenon of “junk science.” Considers the role of science in the modern world, how we know what we know, the roles of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and chaos theory, and the nature of truth in a 21st century context.
  • This course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following Hub areas:  Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking.
  • This course will fulfill the CAS Natural Sciences Laboratory requirement. 

If you are interested in the humanities-based Core courses, we encourage you to consider CAS CC 101 (see the ‘Writing Course’ drop-down above).

**PLEASE NOTE: Students in the Core Program who are interested in majors within the natural sciences (Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Neuroscience, Physics, etc.) and are taking at least one laboratory course this semester should NOT enroll in CAS CC 111 or 212.

Find out more about the Core Curriculum, the Hub, and registration here.