AMES_Area concentrations/Middle East concentration

East Asia

Middle East

Middle East concentration

South/Southeast Asia

Global Studies

Worksheets/
Approved Courses

MIDDLE EAST CONCENTRATION

Middle Eastern Studies

Middle Eastern Studies is defined both by geography and by culture. The majority of its inhabitants are Muslim, but Christians and Jews have also played important roles in shaping Middle Eastern societies. The region has been the setting for major developments that have affected the course of human history; and, in the twentieth century, the discovery of oil has guaranteed its continuing importance to international affairs and the world economy. The AMES concentration in Middle Eastern Studies offers insight into the region from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Consequently, there are many possibilities for concentrations that go beyond current courses and faculty staffing and could include Independent or Off-Campus study. Students should work closely with an adviser in the area of their interest. The Middle East faculty strongly encourages the sustained study of at least one relevant Middle Eastern language.

Middle East Track

Ten courses
Six of the ten courses, including the culminating experience, must be non-language courses, and each student establishes his or her core concentration.

Middle East courses should be chosen from the list of approved courses below.

AMES 85 (Independent Research)
An independent study focused on a Middle East topic may be pursued under the direction of a member of the faculty with Middle East specialization. No more than two may count toward the concentration.

One course must be the culminating experience, which may be satisfied through one of the following:
AMES 91 or, by petition to the AMES Chair, an advanced seminar from another department or program
AMES 86 (Advanced Independent Research)
AMES 87 (Honors Thesis)

Faculty offering Middle East courses:

APPROVED MIDDLE EAST COURSES

AMES

5 Thought and Change in the Middle East and Central Asia (identical to Anthropology 27)
6 Islam: An Anthropological Approach (identical to Anthropology 19)
8 Introduction to Islam (identical to Religion 8)
14 The Eye of the Beholder: Introduction to the Islamic World (identical to History 5.2)
15 Modern Islam (identical to Religion 16)
17 Introduction to Hebraic and Israeli Culture (identical to Hebrew 10 and Jewish Studies 16)
19 Writing Gender in Islamic Space (identical to WGST 49)
33 Discovering an Islamic City (Fez FSP)
40 Topics in Interregional Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
54 Arabic as a Cultural System (Fez FSP)

Anthropology

15 Political Anthropology (with Middle Eastern Studies faculty and topics)
19 Islam: An Anthropological Approach
23 The Civilization of the Ancient Near East
24 The Civilization of Ancient Egypt
27 Thought and Change in the Middle East and Central Asia

Art History

20 The Art of Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East

Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures

AMELL

17 Discourse, Culture and Identity in Asia and the Middle East (identical to Linguistics 50)
18 Language and Society in Asia and the Middle East

Arabic

10 Introduction to Arab Culture
11 Special Topics in Arabic Studies (FSP)
21, 22, 23 Intermediate Arabic
24 Formal Spoken Arabic
31, 32 Intermediate Modern Arabic
41, 42, 43 Advanced Arabic
59 Independent Advanced Study in Arabic Language and Literature
61 Topics in Modern Arabic Literature and Culture
62 Topics in Classical Arabic Literature and Culture
63 Themes in Arabic Literature and Culture
81 Topics in Arabic Literature and Culture

Hebrew

10 Introduction to Hebraic and Israeli Culture
21, 22, 23 Intermediate Modern Hebrew
31, 32, 33 Advanced Modern Hebrew
51 The Hebrew of the Bible
59 Independent Advanced Study in Hebrew Language and Literature
61 Topics in Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture
62 Topics in Classical Hebrew Literature and Culture
63 Themes in Hebrew Literature and Culture
81 Topics in Hebrew Literature and Culture

College Course

4 Crusades and Jihad: The Mediterranean Experience
10 The Silk Road (AMES 40 in 2009-2011)

Comparative Literature

53 Middle Eastern Literature

Film and Media Studies

42 North African Cinema

Geography

41 Gender, Space and Islam
48 Geographies of the Middle East

Government

20 Development in the Emerging Economies (with written work on the Middle East)
40 Political Economy of the Arab Gulf States
46 Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
47 The Arab-Israeli Conflict
81.03 Economic Growth and Reform in the Emerging Economies (with written work on the Middle East)
81.05 The Political Economy of Development in the Middle East and North Africa
84.15 State-Building, Oil, and Islam in the Arab Gulf States
84.23 Politics of Peace in the Middle East

History

5.2 The Eye of the Beholder: Introduction to the Islamic World
68 History of North Africa from the Arrival of Islam to the Present
69 Islam in Africa
70 Topics in Middle East History
71 Social History of the Contemporary Middle East
89 The Arab World in the Twentieth Century
95 The Mongols
96 Nationalism, Religion, and Identity in the Contemporary Middle East

Jewish Studies

6 Introduction to Judaism (identical to Religion 6)
10 History and Culture of the Jews: The Classical Period
15 Cities of the Biblical World: An Archaeological Approach
16 Introduction to Hebraic and Israeli Culture (identical to Hebrew 10)
50 Archaeology of Israel
56 The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Middle Eastern Literature and Film
81 Middle Eastern Memoirs

Music

4 Global Sounds (with Middle Eastern Studies faculty and topics)
45 Ethnomusicology (with Middle Eastern Studies faculty and topics)

Religion

4 Religion of Israel: The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
6 Introduction to Judaism
8 Introduction to Islam
16 Modern Islam
21 Judaism in Late Antiquity: The Rabbinic Revolution
23 Jewish Mysticism
25 Islamic Mysticism (Sufism)
27 The Qur'an and the Prophet
33 Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Age of the Crusades
57 Monarch to Messiah: The Kingship of God in the Hebrew Bible

Sociology

22 The Sociology of International Development (with written work on the Middle East)
23 Social Movements (with written work on the Middle East)
25 Democracy and Democratization in Developing Countries (with written work on the Middle East)
49 Social Origins and Outcomes of Islamic Fundamentalism

Women's and Gender Studies

37 Gender, Space and Islam (identical to Geography 41)
49 Writing Gender in Islamic Space

Middle East worksheet(PDF)
Middle East approved courses(PDF )

Administrator, Gerard Bohlen
Last Modified August 16, 2009