This concentration studies the region extending from Morocco to Kazakhstan. Through an interdisciplinary approach, we acquaint students with the complex hopes and struggles that animate the diverse peoples and cultures of this vast territory. Students may take courses in disciplines such as anthropology, economics, religion, history, language and cultural studies, and international studies.
Requirements for the concentration:
The concentration consists of 15 credits, distributed as follows:
(1) Required courses for all international studies majors (three courses):
- INTS 300. Special Topics in International Studies
- One global course
- INTS 497: Senior exercise
(2) Language courses (four courses): All participants in the Middle East concentration must satisfactorily complete at least two years worth of language instruction in either Arabic or Hebrew. Students are able to study Farsi and Turkish through the SILP program. Language study beyond four courses can be counted as elective work; students are strongly encouraged to do so.
(3) Area courses (five courses)
- INTS 130. Daily Life in the Middle East
Four courses, one each from the following four general categories:
(i) Culture and Society
- AHIS 205. Survey of Islamic Art and Architecture
- ARAB 233-01 The Contemporary Arabic Novel
- ARAB 233-04 Introduction to Arab and Middle Eastern Cinemas
- JWST 220. Modern Israeli Literature and Jewish Heritage
- JWST 225. Modern Israeli Culture
- INTS 131. Modern Iran
- INTS 218. Women, Gender and Family in the Middle East
- INTS 235. Youth Culture in the Muslim World
- INTS 325. Anthropology of Islam
- RELG 253. Indian and Islamic Painting
(ii) History
- HIST 228. Islamic Civilization to 1517
- HIST 229. Middle East Since 1517
- HIST 318. Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern History
- HIST 334. Provinces of the Roman Empire
- HIST 336. Modern Jewish History
- HIST 374. Alexander the Great
- INTS 258. The Islamic City
- INTS 326. Baghdad in History
(iii) Politics
- INTS 212. Worldly Islam
- INTS 213. Politics in the World of Islam
- INTS 301. Arab Politics
- INTS 344. Political Dynamics in the Middle East
- JWST 206. Arab/Israeli Conflict
- POLS 380. War and Peace in the Middle East
(iv) Religion
- RELG 103. Readings in Biblical Hebrew
- RELG 109. The Jewish Tradition
- RELG 181. The Religion of Islam
- RELG 205. The Emergence of Judaism
- RELG 209. Religion in the Contemporary Middle East
- RELG 211. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
- RELG 280. Approaching the Quran
- RELG 284. Sufism, The Mystical Tradition of Islam
- RELG 307. Jewish Philosophy
- RELG 308. Jewish Mysticism
(4) Electives (three courses)—Electives include one course from the global list, and two additional courses on the Middle East (additional language courses are welcome as electives).