Jan 22, 2026

2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

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2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

Interdisciplinary Programs Major, BA - Middle East Studies Concentration

Matt Buehler, Political Science, Chair

College Requirements

Arts and Sciences

Language Requirement

The Middle East Studies concentration requires three years of language study, and there are three options for completing this requirement.

Complete one of the three sequences:

Advanced Arabic
ARAB 121 - Elementary Arabic I 4 Credit Hours
ARAB 122 - Elementary Arabic II 4 Credit Hours
ARAB 221 - Intermediate Arabic I 4 Credit Hours
ARAB 222* - Intermediate Arabic II 4 Credit Hours
ARAB 331* - Culture and Daily Life in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 332* - Contemporary Issues and Current Events in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
or
Advanced Hebrew
HEBR 141 - Elementary Modern Hebrew I 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 142 - Elementary Modern Hebrew II 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 241 - Intermediate Modern Hebrew I 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 242* - Intermediate Modern Hebrew II 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 341* - Advanced Modern Hebrew I 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 342 - Advanced Modern Hebrew II 3 Credit Hours
or
One year of Intermediate (or higher) courses in one language plus one year of another listed language. At least one of the two languages must be Arabic or Modern Hebrew.

List A: Arabic

ARAB 121 - Elementary Arabic I 4 Credit Hours
ARAB 122 - Elementary Arabic II 4 Credit Hours

List B: French

FREN 211 - Intermediate French I 3 Credit Hours
FREN 212* - Intermediate French II 3 Credit Hours
FREN 217 - Honors: Intermediate French I 3 Credit Hours
FREN 218* - Honors: Intermediate French II 3 Credit Hours
FREN 333* - Intermediate Composition and Grammar 3 Credit Hours
FREN 334* - Intermediate Conversation and Phonetics 3 Credit Hours
FREN 353* - Introduction to Literary Analysis in French 3 Credit Hours

List C: Modern Hebrew

HEBR 141 - Elementary Modern Hebrew I 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 142 - Elementary Modern Hebrew II 3 Credit Hours

List D: Hebrew (biblical)

REST 221 - Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I 3 Credit Hours
REST 222* - Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II 3 Credit Hours

List E: Persian

ASST 261 - Intermediate Persian I 3 Credit Hours
ASST 262 - Intermediate Persian II 3 Credit Hours

List F: Spanish

SPAN 211 - Intermediate Spanish I 3 Credit Hours
SPAN 212* - Intermediate Spanish II 3 Credit Hours
SPAN 217 - Honors: Intermediate Spanish I 3 Credit Hours
SPAN 218* - Honors: Intermediate Spanish II 3 Credit Hours
SPAN 312* - Language in Context II 3 Credit Hours
SPAN 330 - Textual Analysis 3 Credit Hours

Concentration Requirements

Complete:

MEST 225* - Judaism, Christianity, Islam 3 Credit Hours

Select two courses:

MEST 366* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 600 – 1050 3 Credit Hours
MEST 369* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, ca. 1050 – 1500 3 Credit Hours
MEST 370 - History of the Middle East in Global Context 3 Credit Hours

Select five additional courses housed in at least two different departments:

ARAB 200* - Everything You Wanted to Know about the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 215* - Human Rights in the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 251* - Whole New Worlds: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Dystopia in the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 331* - Culture and Daily Life in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARAB 332* - Contemporary Issues and Current Events in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
ARTH 425 - Early Christian and Byzantine Art to 1350 3 Credit Hours
CLAS 302* - History of Greece I 3 Credit Hours
CLAS 306* - History of Greece II 3 Credit Hours
CLAS 345* - Greek and Roman Religion 3 Credit Hours
CLAS 436* - Cities and Sanctuaries of the Greek and Roman World 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 389* - Literature of the English Bible 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 200 - Israeli Culture Through Media 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 215 - Food Cultures of Israel 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 315* - Multicultural Mosaic: Exploring Voices in Israeli Society 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 320 - Linguistic Landscapes of Israel 3 Credit Hours
HEBR 321* - The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture 3 Credit Hours
HIEU 304* - History of the Early Roman Empire 3 Credit Hours
HIEU 305* - History of the Later Roman Empire 3 Credit Hours
HIEU 306* - History of Greece II 3 Credit Hours
HIME 350 - The Crusades and Medieval Muslim-Christian Relations 3 Credit Hours
HIME 382 - Archaeology of Ancient Israel 3 Credit Hours
HIME 383 - Ancient Jewish History 3 Credit Hours
HIME 384 - Studies in Middle East History 3 Credit Hours
HIME 400 - Archaeology and History of Mesopotamia 3 Credit Hours
HIME 484 - Studies in Middle East History 3 Credit Hours
HIME 486 - Studies in the Ancient Near East 3 Credit Hours
MEST 320 - Middle Eastern Film 3 Credit Hours
MEST 321* - The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture 3 Credit Hours
MEST 332* - Contemporary Issues and Current Events in the Arab World 3 Credit Hours
MEST 335* - Islam and the Body 3 Credit Hours
MEST 351 - Languages of the Middle East and North Africa 3 Credit Hours
MEST 366* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 600 – 1050 3 Credit Hours
MEST 369* - History of the Middle East and the Islamic World, ca. 1050 – 1500 3 Credit Hours
MEST 370 - History of the Middle East in Global Context 3 Credit Hours
MEST 415 - Topics in Arabic Literature, Language, History, and Culture 3 Credit Hours
MEST 425 - Early Christian and Byzantine Art to 1350 3 Credit Hours
MEST 432 - Introduction to Modern Arabic Literature 3 Credit Hours
MEST 463 - Contemporary Middle East Politics 3 Credit Hours
MEST 465 - Nuclear Politics of the Middle East: Conflict, Energy, and the Environment 3 Credit Hours
POLS 463 - Politics and Power in the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
POLS 465 - Nuclear Politics of the Middle East: Conflict, Energy, and the Environment 3 Credit Hours
REST 311* - Hebrew Bible/Old Testament 3 Credit Hours
REST 312* - Early Judaism 3 Credit Hours
REST 321* - New Testament and Christian Origins 3 Credit Hours
REST 322* - Martyrs and Monks: Christian History, 100-800 CE 3 Credit Hours
REST 332* - Introduction to Islam 3 Credit Hours
REST 339* - Islam in the Modern World 3 Credit Hours
REST 381* - Judaism 3 Credit Hours
REST 385 - Contemporary Jewish Thinkers 3 Credit Hours
REST 386* - Voices of the Holocaust 3 Credit Hours
REST 405* - Modern Jewish Studies 3 Credit Hours
REST 413* - Seminar in Early Judaism 3 Credit Hours
REST 423* - Seminar in Early Christianity 3 Credit Hours
REST 436* - Seminar in Islamic Studies 3 Credit Hours
* Meets Volunteer Core Requirements .