Objectives

The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) concentration is an interdisciplinary curriculum sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies in conjunction with the faculty from several other departments. It is designed to provide a strong foundation in Middle Eastern Studies with a specialized knowledge of Islam. The concentration requires students to take elective courses from the departments represented by the faculty committee. Key contributing departments, in addition to Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, include politics, history, economics, sociology, African and Afro-American studies, and anthropology. With a solid training in language, political theory and praxis, history, economics, sociology, and anthropology, the concentration is especially appropriate for students wishing to pursue graduate work, particularly in the field of Middle Eastern Studies, or for those who wish to pursue careers dealing directly or indirectly with the Middle East.

How to Become a Concentrator or Program Member

The student who wishes to concentrate in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, must take the core course in Islamic civilizations (IMES 104a) and at least two full years of a Middle Eastern language. The two years of language may be comprised of either two years of Arabic or, alternatively, one year of Arabic and one year of another Middle Eastern language such as Persian, Turkish, or Hebrew. Students who are fluent in Arabic, Persian, or Turkish may be exempted from the language requirements for a concentration in IMES upon approval by the chair of IMES. In addition, with the goal of achieving a balanced understanding of the overall field of study, the student must take two courses in the classical period and two courses in the modern as well as three courses to be chosen from the wide intellectual variety of elective courses. One of the three elective courses may be Arabic 40, which also counts as part of the two years of language requirements. Study in the Middle East for a term or a year is encouraged. As a culmination of the student's education, he or she is encouraged to write a senior thesis with emphasis on some aspects of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.

Committee

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Politics)

(Sociology)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Classical Studies)

(African and Afro-American Studies)

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

(Romance and Comparative Literature)

Requirements for the Concentration

A. Either four semesters of Arabic (usually ARBC 10a, 20b, 30a, and 40b) or two semesters of Arabic and two semesters of another Middle Eastern language such as Persian, Turkish, or Hebrew. Students who are fluent in Arabic, Persian, or Turkish may be exempted from the language requirements upon approval by the chair of IMES.

B. Core course: IMES 104a (Islam: Civilization and Institutions).

C. Two courses pertaining to the classical period (e.g., ARBC 103a, 103b (Formerly NEJS 103a, 103b), NEJS 144a, 147a).

D. Two courses pertaining to the modern period (e.g., HIST 184a, NEJS 143b, 145b, 146b, 147b, 148a, 157a, 161b, 195b, 197b, 209a, 235a, SOC 157a).

E. Three additional courses from the list of electives below.

Requirements for the Program

A. Two semesters of a Middle Eastern language.

B. Core course: IMES 104a (Islam: Civilization and Institutions).

C. At least one course pertaining to the classical period from the following electives: ARBC 103a and b (Formerly NEJS 103a and b), 144a, 147a.

D. At least one course pertaining to the modern period from the following electives: HIST 184a, NEJS 143b, 145b, 147b, 148a, 157a, 161b, 195b, 197b, SOC 157a.

E. Two additional courses from the list of electives below.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

Usually offered every year.

Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

[ nw hum ]

Provides a disciplined study of Islamic civilization from its origins to the current state of affairs. Approaches the study from a humanities perspective and topics covered will include the Qur'an, tradition, law, theology, politics, Islam and other religions, modern developments, women in Islam, Islam and Middle-Eastern politics, and Islam in America. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the fall of 2001.

Mr. Mohammed

Elective Courses

The following courses are approved for the program. Not all are given in any one year. Please consult the Course Schedule each semester.

Economics of Third World Hunger

Economy and Society in Africa

Third World Ideologies

Political Economy of the Third World

Africa in World Politics

Comparative Politics of North Africa

World Religions

Tradition and the Contemporary Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa

Selected Topics in Comparative Religion: Seminal Works in the Study of Religion

Advanced Literary Arabic

Economics of the Middle East

Introduction to the Economics of Development

The Civilization of the Early Middle Ages

The Civilization of the High and Late Middle Ages

The Crusades and the Expansion of Medieval Europe

Nineteenth-Century Europe: Nationalism, Imperialism, Socialism (1850-1919)

Evolution of the International System, 1815 to the Present

Europe since 1945

World War II

Comparative Grammar of Semitic Languages

Near Eastern Law: Source, Sense, and Society

Biblical Ritual and Cult

The New Testament: A Historical Introduction

Shi'ism and Political Protest in the Middle East

Jews in the World of Islam

The Making of the Modern Middle East

The Destruction of the Ottoman Empire, 1800-1923

The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1800

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

Radical Islam

History of the State of Israel since 1948

The Monument and the City

Modern Jewish History to 1880

Modern Jewish History, 1880-1948

Political Cultures of the Middle East

History and Memory in the Middle East

Social History of the Middle East

The Politics of Revolution: State Violence and Popular Insurgency in the Third World

War and Possibilities of Peace

Sociology of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation

Women Leaders and Transformation in Developing Countries

Environmental Sociology

The Woman's Voice in the Muslim World