Proposed Interdisciplinary Minor in Middle East Studies
At the conclusion of the grant period in 2009, we anticipate that an Interdisciplinary Minor in Middle East Studies will be housed in the College of Arts and Humanities in collaboration with the College of Social Sciences. Faculty members with expertise in some area related to Middle East Studies are spread out among half a dozen departments in the Arts and Humanities and the Social Sciences and even some in the Craig School of Business.
Existing Courses
There already exist some courses at the university that could fulfill minor requirements. These are:
Economics 183—Political Economy of the Middle East— A survey of historical, social, cultural, political, and economic development in the Middle East.
English 250 T—Asian Literature and Western Orientalism—Emphasizes reading, appreciation, examination and exploration of Eurocentric and American interpretations of some great works of Asian literature, while developing an understanding of their historical and cultural contexts. Asian literature includes Southwest Asian (Middle Eastern, Arabic & Persian), South Asian (Indian, Sanskrit & English), and East Asian (Chinese).
Social Sciences 150 T—Islamic Civilization—An overview of history, politics, culture, and the arts relevant to Islamic heritage.
Anthroplogy 135—Muslim Communities in the Middle East—Survey of both rural and urban Muslim cultures and societies in the Middle East with an emphasis on a variety of lived experiences of Islam, gender and ethnic relations and their impact on the West.
History 107—Modern Middle East—Analysis of Middle Eastern history since Muhammad, with emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries.
Philosophy 165 T—Islam—Multidisciplinary and comparative introduction to Islam. An examination of how four particular issues have been interpreted over time: scripture, hijab, jihad, and education from anthropological, sociological, and comparative religious perspectives.
Social Sciences 159 T—Women in Islam—Explores the social and cultural roles of women and girls in Muslim cultural contexts, the sources of Islamic authority on gender issues, and contemporary cultural controversies concerning work, modesty practices, marriage and family life, social leadership, legal status, religious traditions, Muslim women’s rights movements and political activism.
Proposed Curricular Elements of the Minor in Middle East Studies
The university's curricular guidelines for minors require a minimum of 12 units, six of which should be upper division. However, all minors offered in the College of Arts and
Humanities fall within a range of 18 to 24 units. We envision a similar unit structure for the Interdisciplinary Middle East Studies Minor.