Prospects of the Development of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Digital Age

The paper considers the key trends and prospects of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the context of information globalization of society. The dynamics of qualitative changes in the humanities in general and Arabic Studies in particular is traced with the reference to its historical context. The study analyses the compliance of the applied research methods with the challenges of the modern time on the example of a number of scholar areas such as dialectology, description of arabographic manuscripts and application of digital technologies in education. It also suggests solutions aimed at optimizing and increase the efficiency of research processes through the use of digital technologies. The development of interdisciplinary studies is discussed in the historical perspective; besides that, it provides specific examples of current researches of this kind as well as trends of the development in the humanities are identified. Special attention is paid to the changes of educational paradigm, meaning both the evolution of digital competence of students and the application of digital resources, including e-learning. The SPbU experience is presented as an example of successful interdisciplinary projects, and, namely, the results of joint projects implemented by Arabists and mathematicians. When specifying the development prospects for the Arabic studies the authors highlight the importance of the optimal balance of the traditional classical approach and innovative solutions for scholar and educational tasks. The authors also underline the significance of an interdisciplinary approaches and digital methods, which open new opportunities to conduct scholar researches and make it possible to face the challenges that are brought along by socio-political changes in society on the stage of its transition to the information-driven development.