Main Page

Table of Contents

General Information

Undergraduate Studies

• Admissions
• Academic Requirements & Regulations
• Student Finances
• Student Life
• The Core Curriculum
• Fields of Undergraduate Study: Academic Degrees & Course Listings
• Language Institutes
• Study Abroad and Summer Session

Graduate Studies

Research

Continuing Education & Training Programs

Appendix: Personnel & Enrollment

• Bachelor of Arts
   

School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Acting Director: Abdel Aziz Ezz ElArab

Middle East Studies is an interdisciplinary program. Its policy is set by an advisory committee to the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, consisting of representatives of the departments of: Arabic Studies, Economics, Political Science,  Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Egyptology, and the Arabic Language Institute.  Middle East Studies courses are taught by faculty members from Anthropology, Arabic Studies, Economics, History, Management, Political Science, and Sociology. Through intensive study of the region's history, culture, and current issues, students gain a comprehensive understanding of the modern Middle East.

See faculty listings under departmental descriptions.

Bachelor of Arts

A total of 120 credits is required for the bachelor's degree in Middle East Studies:

Core Curriculum (40 credits)

Non-Arabic speaking students must take six hours of colloquial or literary Arabic.

Concentration Requirements (54 credits)

ANTH 312 Ethnography of the Middle East & North Africa ARBS 207 Survey of Classical Arabic Literature     OR   337 Classical Arabic Literature in Translation   208 Survey of Modern Arabic Literature     OR   338 Modern Arabic Literature in Translation ARBS/POLS 353 Muslim Political Thought ARBS/HIST/MEHT 343 Arab-Islamic Civilization in the Classical Age,  600-945 A.D.   344 Arab-Islamic Civilization in the Middle Period, 945-1380 A.D.   345 Islamic Civilization, 1380-1800 A.D.   355 History of the Middle East, 1700-1900 A.D. HIST/MEHT 356 History of the Middle East in the Twentieth Century ARBS/HIST/MEHT 454 Modern Movements in Islam ECON 239 Economic History of the Modern Middle East POLS 308 Comparative Politics of the Middle East

 

Six additional courses in one of the following fields, selected in consultation with a designated MEST faculty adviser: anthropology, economics, political science, or sociology. NOTE: at least two courses in this group must be at the 400 level, preferably seminars. The list of eligible courses is available from the Arabic Studies Department.

Collateral Requirements (24 credits)

ANTH 202 Cultural Anthropology ECON 201-202 Introduction to Economics I and II HIST 204 The Rise of Modern Civilization HIST 205 Contemporary World Civilization     OR HIST/POLS 206 Global Politics in the Twentieth Century POLS 201 Introduction to Political Science     and either POLS 322 Comparative Government and Politics: Developed Systems     OR POLS 323 Comparative Government and Politics: Developing Systems     OR POLS 324 Comparative Government and Politics in Contemporary Eastern Europe and Russia SOC 201 Introduction to Sociology

 

Electives (5 credits).