OLET2123: Semester 1, 2025

Overview

What should future professionals with a global outlook know about the Arab World? Who are the Arabs? What is Islam? What are some key social and political debates in the Arab World? This unit answers these questions and others. It promotes a cross-cultural vision underpinned by a more critical and nuanced understanding of the region and its people.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Arabic Languages and Cultures
Credit points	2
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Nadia Selim, nadia.selim@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Online task	Online Multiple Choice Quiz 1 Online MCQ	10%	Week 03 Due date: 16 Mar 2025 at 23:59 Closing date: 16 Mar 2025	#earlyfeedbacktask: 150 word-equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Online Multiple Choice Quiz 2 Online MCQ	10%	Week 06 Due date: 06 Apr 2025 at 23:59	150 word-equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Online Multiple Choice Quiz 3 Online MCQ	10%	Week 09 Due date: 04 May 2025 at 23:59	150 word-equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Multimodal Research Presentation Recorded presentation with submitted work.	60%	Week 12 Due date: 25 May 2025 at 23:59	900 word-equivalent (about 6 minutes)
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Online Multiple Choice Quiz 4 Online MCQ	10%	Week 13 Due date: 01 Jun 2025 at 23:59	150 word-equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = AI allowed ? = early feedback task ?

Early feedback task

This unit includes an early feedback task, designed to give you feedback prior to the census date for this unit. Details are provided in the Canvas site and your result will be recorded in your Marks page. It is important that you actively engage with this task so that the University can support you to be successful in this unit.

Assessment summary

Additional notes about Assessments:

Detailed information for each assessment can be found in the Canvas site for this unit.

Hurdle Task:

In order to satisfy the requirements for this OLE and receive an SR result, you must attempt all assessments. You may attempt the quizzes multiple times: the highest mark is the one that will be used for your final result. You must also attempt and obtain a 50% mark or above on any hurdle task (look for the icon on your outline).

Use of Artificial Intelligence

In the presentation assessment ethical use of automated writing tools and artificial intelligence (AI) is permitted for the following purposes:

Understanding your assessment: You may use AI to help you understand the requirements of your assessment. You cannot use it to generate your submission.
Searching and summarising literature: You may use AI tools such as elicit.org, perplexity.ai, and researchrabbit.ai to find and summarise research articles. The generated summary should not be included in the submission. You need to incorporate the scholarship yourself into your submission.
Creating media for the assessment: You may use AI tools such as DALL-E, MidJourney, Stable Diffusion, Adobe Firefly, and other image generative AI to generate images that you use as part of your submission.
Editing assistance: You may use automated writing or AI tools such as Grammarly, Notion AI, ChatGPT, etc. to provide feedback about the readability of your work in terms of spelling, grammar and expression. You cannot use generative AI tools to generate content.
Please adhere to the following guidelines:
- Do not enter confidential, personal, copyrighted or otherwise sensitive information into any AI tool.
- If you use these tools, you must be aware of their limitations, biases, and propensity for fabrication.
- Do not rely on the accuracy of outputs. You remain responsible for your work. This means you must independently verify and edit AI-generated content to ensure the integrity, accuracy, and suitability of the output.
Failure to declare the use of AI tools is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and may result in penalties, which can include a “Fail” for the assessment.
Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission, must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to reference and acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.
You are advised to keep copies of the prompts you provided and AI outputs as evidence of your research and writing process. This allows you to produce an accurate acknowledgement of AI use when you submit your work. This can be requested by the unit coordinator if there is any uncertainty about the originality of your work.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2021 (Schedule 1).

Unit mark descriptors: SR/FR

Satisfied Requirements

No mark

To be awarded in units of study where student achievement is measured as a pass or fail only without a mark to students who, in their performance in assessment tasks, demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars established by the faculty.

No included in WAM

To count as Pass

Record on external transcript

Failed Requirements

No mark

To be awarded in units of study where student achievement is measured either as Satisfied Requirements or Failed Requirements only, without a mark to students who, in their performance in assessment tasks, fail to demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard established by the faculty.

No included in WAM

To count as Fail

Recorded on external transcript

For more information, see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Except for supervised exams or in-semester tests, you may use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessments unless expressly prohibited by your unit coordinator.

For exams and in-semester tests, the use of AI and automated writing tools is not allowed unless expressly permitted in the assessment instructions.

The icons in the assessment table above indicate whether AI is allowed – whether full AI, or only some AI (the latter is referred to as “AI restricted”). If no icon is shown, AI use is not permitted at all for the task. Refer to Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks for this unit.

Your final submission must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of automated writing tools or generative AI, and any material generated that you include in your final submission must be properly referenced. You may be required to submit generative AI inputs and outputs that you used during your assessment process, or drafts of your original work. Inappropriate use of generative AI is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

The Current Students website provides information on artificial intelligence in assessments. For help on how to correctly acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the  AI in Education Canvas site.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity	Learning outcomes
Weekly	N/A	Online class (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: This is an online unit. There are no attendance requirements.
Lecture recording: All lectures are recorded and will be available online for the duration of the semester.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 2 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 40-50 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand the historical, cultural, social, and political diversity of the Arab World, along with some of its changes, debates, and complexities
LO2. critically reflect on how the region and its diverse people are represented in Western academia, the arts, and mass media, and evaluate sources for independent learning and research of the Arab World
LO3. cultivate an understanding of self and others and cultural competence for engaging with Arabic speakers
LO4. develop analytical researched arguments and communicate them in multimodal texts

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The dates of assessments were updated to reflect the 2024 S2 calendar.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

This unit of study outline was last modified on 17 Feb 2025.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Additional notes about Assessments:

Hurdle Task:

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

OLET2123: Understanding the Arab World

Semester 1, 2025 [Online] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Additional notes about Assessments:

Hurdle Task:

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect