Middle Eastern Studies
Academic Program Introduction
Middle Eastern studies explores the many facets of Middle Eastern and North African civilizations. These include the languages, literature, history, religion, art, societies, and politics of the region, as well as its diaspora.
Majors learn modern standard Arabic. The program encourages, but does not require, students to study abroad in the Middle East, North Africa, or another Arabic-speaking region.
Learning goals
Demonstrate knowledge of the histories, ecologies, social, politics, cultures, religious traditions, and communities of the Middle East and North Africa.
Develop an in-depth field of study in a particular field, such as modern Arabic literature, Islamic studies, women and gender, Iranian studies, or history of the Muslim world.
Programs of study
Middle Eastern studies major and minor
Students may explore anthropology, art, history, literature, political science, religion, and women’s and gender studies.
Course Highlights
From The Blue Caftan to Harraga: North African Film & Fiction As Inclusive Spaces of Representation
MES312
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Intertwined with the political history of the modern Middle East are the dramatic cultural and social changes that have shaped how many Middle Easterners live their lives and imagine their futures. This course explores the historical contexts of the changing constructions of femininity and masculinity in different Middle Eastern settings from World War I to the present. Such contexts include nationalist and Islamist movements; economic, ecological, and demographic change; changing conceptions of modernity and tradition, individual and family, and public and private space; and state violence and civil war. Primary sources will focus on the self-representations of Middle Eastern men and women as they engaged with what they considered the major issues of their times. (HIST 293 and MES 293 are cross-listed courses.)
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Cities in the Islamic World
REL261
An exploration of urban forms and culture in Muslim societies from Islamic late antiquity to the present. The course examines and critiques concepts of 'the Arab city' and ‘the Islamic city' while focusing on elements of continuity and change in particular cities, such as Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, Istanbul, Isfahan, Samarqand, Lucknow and Lahore. Topics include migration, settlement, and the construction of new cities; conversion; the emergence of ‘holy cities' as centres for pilgrimage, religious education and Islamic legal scholarship; sacred space and architecture; religious diversity in urban environments; the impact of colonialism; post-colonial developments; modern and contemporary environmental issues; renewal and preservation. (MES 261 and REL 261 are cross-listed courses.)
Research highlights
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In “Tongues of Eve: The Politics of Language in Postcolonial Algerian Literature,” an honors thesis, Molly Hoyer ’18 compares the work of two prominent Algerian novelists: Ahlam Mosteghanemi, who writes in Arabic, and Assia Djebar, who wrote in French. Hoyer double majored in Middle Eastern studies and comparative literary studies.
Opportunities
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Arabic Cluster
In the Arabic Cluster, students live together, communicate in Arabic, and participate in Arabic cultural activities. A Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant from an Arabic-speaking country also lives in the Arabic Cluster and helps arrange cultural events and programming.
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Our newsletter
Published annually, our newsletter features recent or upcoming classes, students’ first-hand accounts of Wintersession in Morocco and semesters abroad, interviews with faculty, and more.
Middle Eastern Studies Program
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481