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The Middle East is a complex cultural region with three major religious traditions, great geographical diversity, and a long and varied history. The concentration is designed to provide students the possibility of pursuing a comprehensive and comparative study of the region with appreciation for its variety of cultural interactions and influences. Several approaches to the study of the region are possible: social science, religious studies, humanities, history, or a combination of these. All students are expected to obtain a broad knowledge of the region and to choose a focus that involves a comparative study of Middle Eastern entities (including cultures, societies, or states).
Language
Basic competence in a Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Egyptian, Hebrew, Hindi-Urdu, Persian, or Turkish) is required for the concentration. The requirement may be met through successfully passing a course in the given language at the intermediate level at Brown or another institution. Students wishing to fulfill this requirement on the basis of study elsewhere than Brown are required to pass a competency test administered by an authorized Brown faculty member. Elementary and intermediate language courses may not be counted toward the concentration requirements, but advanced language courses may be counted toward the required courses in the humanities track or as elective courses.
Course Requirements:
In addition to the language requirement, students are expected to complete nine courses as follows:
a. One course in anthropology of the Middle East.
b. One course in Middle East history.
c. Two courses in the major religious traditions of the Middle East—Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Two of these three traditions must be covered in the two courses.
2. Three courses all in one of two tracks: social sciences or humanities.
One of the courses is required to be a seminar, independent study, or tutorial on a topic with a comparative approach to the Middle East. This requirement may be fulfilled as part of the undergraduate honors thesis preparation or as part of the preparation of a capstone project. In general, students are encouraged to select courses that will help them achieve a comprehensive and comparative view of the Middle East.
Capstone Project
All concentrators are required to complete a capstone project. Students undertake the project in conjunction with one or more faculty members with interests in the Middle East. The project may take the form of an undergraduate honors thesis, an independent study project, or with permission, an enhanced final project for a regularly scheduled course.
Concentration Colloquium
All concentrators are required to attend the annual concentration colloquium at which students who have completed a capstone project make a presentation related to that project. The colloquium is held during spring semester.
Honors
Students may graduate with honors in Middle East Studies by increasing the number of courses in the concentration to ten and completing an undergraduate honors thesis under the supervision of a principal advisor and one additional reader drawn from the Middle East Studies faculty. Up to two of the ten course credits may be devoted to the preparation of the honors thesis.
Study Away from Brown:
Up to two courses taken at educational institutions other than Brown or up to four courses taken through Brown-sponsored study abroad programs in the Middle East may be credited toward the concentration upon approval of the concentration advisors.
Concentration Advisors:
The following faculty members constitute the Middle East Studies Concentration Advisory Committee: Professors Akarli (History), Bensmaia (French Studies), Christoff (Center for Language Studies), Colla (Comparative Literature), Hamdy (Anthropology), Hassan (University Library), Jacobson (Judaic Studies), Soulaimani (Center for Language Studies), and Straughn (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World).
Students choose one of these faculty members as a primary concentration advisor. All concentration proposals are subject to the review of the Middle East Studies Concentration Advisory Committee. Students are therefore expected to submit their concentration proposals no later than two weeks before the end of the preregistration period in their sophomore year.
Page last updated in April, 2007.