Minor Requirements

Students minoring in Middle East Studies must complete 24 credits, of which 20 must be intermediate- or upper-level course credits. These credits must be distributed in the following manner.

• I. Required Course
  • REL 36/Introduction to Islam (4)
• II. At least four credits (4) in a modern Middle Eastern language.
  Minors not already fluent in a Middle Eastern language should choose one language course from the following:
  • ARBC 1/Elementary Modern Standard Arabic (4)
  • MHEBW 1/Elementary Modern Hebrew (4)
• III. Four elective courses (16 credits) with a Middle East focus from at least two of the following three areas:
  • A. Humanities
    • HIST 65/History of the Islamic Middle East, 600-1800 (4)
    • HIST 66/History of the Modern Middle East (4)
    • HUM 16/Islam and the West (4)
    • REL 13/Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (4)
    • REL 27/Eastern Christianity I (4)
    • REL 37/Introduction to the Qur'an (4)
    • REL 46/The Sufi Path: Studies in Islamic Mysticism (4)
    • REL 47/Religion and Politics: The Challenge of Islamic Revivalism (4)
    • REL 48/Religion and Society in Modern Egypt (4)
    • REL 145/Seminar in Islamic Studies (4)
    • REL 169/Religions of the Ancient Near East (4)
  • B. Social Sciences
    • ANTH 39/Regional Archaeology [when topic applies] (4)
    • ANTH 135/Selected Topics in Cultural Anthropology [when topic applies] (4)
    • PSCI 110/Middle East Politics (4)
    • Econ 29/Selected Topics in Economics [when topic applies] (4)
    • PSCI 116/Foreign Policies of the Middle East (4)
  • C. Language & Literature
    • ARBC 20/Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I (4)
    • ARBC 30/Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic II (4)
    • FREN 120/Class, Ethnicity, and Culture (4)
    • FREN 111/Selected Topics in French: Francophone Literature [when appropriate] (in English) (2-4)
    • FREN 112/Selected Topics in French: Francophone Literature [when appropriate] (in French) (2-4)
    • MEST 10/Middle East Literatures in Translation (in English) (4)
    • MHEBW 20/Elementary Modern Hebrew II (4)
    • MHEBW 30/Intermediate Modern Hebrew (4)

With the approval of the Director of the program in Middle East Studies, students may count towards their minor other appropriate intermediate- and upper-level courses, with a primary focus on the Middle East, which may be offered from time to time.

In fulfilling their requirements for the minor, students may also substitute one of their four elective courses for one course from the following list of courses which, while not focusing primarily on the Middle East, contain a significant Middle East component:

• HIST 70/Modern Jewish History (4)
• JWST 12/The Jewish Experience: An Introduction to Judaism (4)
• REL 39/Studies in Mysticism (4)
• REL 41/Sects and Cults in Modern Judaism (4)
• REL 112/Seminar in Jewish Studies (4)

Students seriously contemplating future graduate or professional work related to the Middle East are strongly encouraged to begin study of Arabic as early as possible and to supplement their study of the language through intensive summer language programs recommended by the director of the Middle East Studies program.

Off Campus Programs

The semester program in Eritrea, "Development, Nation-Building, and Gender in Eritrea," offers a variety of courses which may count towards the minor when topic applies.