Middle East Studies

专业介绍

The concentration in Middle East Studies (MES) seeks to build a strong, interdisciplinary understanding of historical and contemporary issues within the Middle East, broadly defined.

Requirements are intentionally flexible to accommodate the focused interests of students in understanding the diverse dynamics, histories, and societies of this region. A variety of courses from departments across the University, addressing subjects from antiquity to the present day, expose students to methods and materials of different disciplines and help them build a framework for understanding the Middle East in historical and contemporary context. Concentration requirements are structured around four major cornerstones: language, foundational knowledge and methods, multidisciplinary area studies, and research.

Student Goals

Students in this concentration will:

• Develop competency in at least one modern Middle Eastern language (such as Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, or Turkish)
• Understand basic dynamics of the region in the modern and pre-modern periods
• Become familiar with approaches to studying the Middle East and some major problems and questions that have characterized academic inquiry into the region
• Become acquainted with different disciplinary approaches to studying the Middle East, as well as multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary models for its study
• Produce a work of original research focused on the Middle East that draws on their experience in the concentration in terms of knowledge, skills, and approaches