Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

专业详情

The major in Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations is an interdisciplinary liberal arts major. Students acquire language proficiency and skills in critical analysis in order to study the long-lived and rich civilizations of the Near East, ranging from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the medieval Near East and classical Islam, to contemporary civilization represented by modern Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish.

We study the Near East for its own intrinsic literary, historic, and artistic achievements as well as its cultural and historical legacies. In addition, close engagement with the written and visual traditions of this complex region expands our ability to decipher developments and challenges in our modern world. Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations majors go on to careers in government, public policy, international finance, and academia, and the major provides a strong foundation for post-graduate study in foreign service, law, medicine, and education. 

Languages offered by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations include Akkadian, Arabic, Armenian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Ottoman Turkish, Persian, Syriac, and Turkish. Students must complete a departmental placement examination before they can enroll in language courses offered by the department during a term, year, or summer abroad.

Requirements of the Major 

There are two pathways to the major. Each requires twelve term courses, one of which is the senior requirement (see below). Working with the director of undergraduate studies (DUS), students develop coherent programs of study in one of two concentrations.

Language and Civilization concentration This concentration is appropriate for students who wish to focus in depth on a particular language and/or civilization, such as ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia; the classical Near East or medieval Islam; or modern Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish. Richly contextualized through study of literature, religion, visual arts, archaeology, and political and social history, this pathway gives students the opportunity to explore Near Eastern civilization through in-depth study of languages and texts in their original languages.  

Requirements include: six term courses in one or two Near Eastern languages; one NELC Foundations course; four NELC electives, chosen in consultation with the DUS (no more than two may be counted from other departments/program); and the senior project (see below).

Languages, Civilization, and Culture concentration This concentration is appropriate for students who wish to study Near Eastern languages and civilizations more broadly. It provides students flexibility to study the Near East in its historical and cultural breadth, and to explore its rich and long-lived civilizations and cultures comparatively. Working with the DUS, students in this concentration take a range of classes and design their course of study in line with their interests, which might prioritize multiple languages or focus on Near Eastern literature, history, religion, art and archaeology, or philosophy.

Requirements include: four term courses in NELC languages; two NELC Foundations courses; five NELC electives, including one on the ancient Near East, one on the medieval Near East, and one on the modern Middle East, chosen in consultation with the DUS (no more than three may be counted from other departments/programs); and the senior essay (see below).

NELC majors are also encouraged to take related courses in other departments and programs to complement their interests and round out their intellectual formation. These typically include courses in Anthropology, Archaeology, Classics, History, History of Art, History of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Judaic Studies, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. Above all, complementary courses should be chosen according to the student’s interests, ideally in consultation with the DUS or other faculty advisor. Such courses, including Residential College Seminars, may be approved at the discretion of the DUS toward the electives requirement for the major if they include substantial Near Eastern content and are relevant to the student’s overall program of study.

Senior Requirement 

The senior requirement is an opportunity for students to design and execute an independent research project, bringing to bear the intellectual curiosity as well as philological and analytic skills the student has honed during their time at Yale. It is also a chance to be mentored by a Yale faculty member who serves as advisor to the project, which typically culminates in an essay of about 25–35 pages (one-semester project) or 35–55 pages (year-long project). Conversations about the senior project should begin with the DUS in the fall of junior year, especially if the student plans to undertake summer research travel.

In certain circumstances and only with advanced written agreement of the instructor and the DUS, a research paper for an upper-level seminar may be developed and expanded to satisfy the senior requirement. In such cases, the project should constitute work substantially beyond the requirements of the seminar paper.

Each year the DUS provides majors with resources, guidelines, and a list of deadlines for both the one-semester and year-long senior project.