Courses of Study:
Minor
Major (B.A.)

Program website: http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/interdepartmental/Islamic/

Objectives

The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) major 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 major 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 major 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 Major or Program Member (Minor)

Students who wish to major in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies must take the core course in Islamic civilization (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 major 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

Avigdor Levy, Chair
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Tzvi Abusch
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Gordon Fellman
(Sociology)

Kanan Makiya
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Leonard Muellner
(Classical Studies)

Yitzhak Nakash
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Wellington Nyangoni
(African and Afro-American Studies)

Franck Salameh
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Requirements for the Major

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., NEJS 143b, 145b, 146b, 147b, 148a, 157a, 161b, 197b, 209a, 235a, SOC 157a, WMNS 195b (formerly NEJS 195b).

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

Requirements for the Minor

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: 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

IMES 98a Independent Study
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

IMES 98b Independent Study
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

IMES 99d Senior Research
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

IMES 104a Islam: Civilization and Institutions
[ 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. 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. Last offered in the fall of 2001.
Mr. Mohammed

Cross-Listed Courses

NEJS 129a
Biblical Narratives in the Qur'an

NEJS 185a
Topics in Israeli Social History

NEJS 196a
Marriage, Divorce, and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law

NEJS 217b
The Question of Palestine

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.

AAAS 60a
Economics of Third World Hunger

AAAS 80a
Economy and Society in Africa

AAAS 123a
Third World Ideologies

AAAS 126b
Political Economy of the Third World

AAAS 163b
Africa in World Politics

AAAS 175a
Comparative Politics of North Africa

ANTH 80a
World Religions

ANTH 133a
Tradition and the Contemporary Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa

ANTH 154b
Selected Topics in Comparative Religion: Seminal Works in the Study of Religion

ARBC 103a and b
(formerly NEJS 103a and b)
Advanced Literary Arabic

ECON 122b
Economics of the Middle East

ECON 175a
Introduction to the Economics of Development

HIST 110a
The Civilization of the Early Middle Ages

HIST 110b
The Civilization of the High and Late Middle Ages

HIST 112b
The Crusades and the Expansion of Medieval Europe

HIST 134b
Nineteenth-Century Europe: Nationalism, Imperialism, Socialism (1850-1919)

HIST 137a
Evolution of the International System, 1815 to the Present

HIST 142b
Europe Since 1945

HIST 148b
Central Asia in Modern Times

HIST 186a
World War II

NEJS 108b
Comparative Grammar of Semitic Languages

NEJS 110a
Introduction to the Qur'an

NEJS 113b
Near Eastern Law: Source, Sense, and Society

NEJS 114b
Biblical Ritual and Cult

NEJS 130a
The New Testament: A Historical Introduction

NEJS 143b
Shi'ism and Political Protest in the Middle East

NEJS 144a
Jews in the World of Islam

NEJS 145b
The Making of the Modern Middle East

NEJS 146b
The Destruction of the Ottoman Empire, 1800-1923

NEJS 147a
The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1800

NEJS 147b
The Arab-Israeli Conflict

NEJS 148a
Radical Islam

NEJS 157a
History of the State of Israel Since 1948

NEJS 161b
The Monument and the City

NEJS 166a
Modern Jewish History to 1880

NEJS 166b
Modern Jewish History, 1880-1948

NEJS 185a
Topics in Israeli Social History

NEJS 197b
Political Cultures of the Middle East

NEJS 209a
History and Memory in the Middle East

NEJS 235a
Social History of the Middle East

NEJS 240b
Nationalism and Religion in the Middle East

NEJS 245b
States and Minorities in the Middle East

POL 128a
The Politics of Revolution: State Violence and Popular Insurgency in the Third World

SOC 119a
War and Possibilities of Peace

SOC 157a
Sociology of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation

SOC 171a
Women Leaders and Transformation in Developing Countries

SOC 175b
Environmental Sociology

WMNS 195b
The Woman's Voice in the Muslim World