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Bard College Catalogue 2009-2010
2009-2010
Middle Eastern Studies
http://middleeastern.bard.edu Faculty: Joel Perlmann (coordinator), Ismail Acar, Yuval Elmelech*, Mouannes Hojairi, Elizabeth M. Holt, Jeffrey Jurgens, Youssef Yacoubi*
* on sabbatical, spring 2010 Overview: The Middle Eastern Studies (MES) concentration promotes the intellectual exploration and analytic study of the historical and contemporary Middle East, from North Africa to Afghanistan, and from central Asia to Yemen. This geographical conception of the Middle East has its roots in the 19th century, when British strategic forces considered how to manage the decline of the Ottoman Empire in Turkish- and Arab-speaking regions and maintain influence in the Qajar Empire in Iran. Over the past two centuries, the term has been used to identify a vast region of diverse cultures, languages, histories, religions, and institutions. The main objective of MES is to meet the academic and professional needs of students interested in the histories, societies, and politics of the region. Topics might include refugee affairs, human rights, oil-industry politics, the rise of religious identity, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Students moderate into a primary divisional program along with MES. Electives incorporate disciplines such as anthropology, art history, literature, history, political studies, religious studies, and sociology. Requirements: Students concentrating in MES must meet the following requirements before Moderation: enroll in Narrating the Modern Middle East, a core course that provides a historical introduction to the regions major political, social, and cultural themes, and obtain one year of language proficiency in Arabic or Hebrew. At Moderation, usually held concurrently with the primary program, students must submit papers on past experience and projected work, as well as an academic paper about the Middle East written in one of their core or elective MES classes. At least one member of the Moderation board should be a faculty member affiliated with MES. After Moderation students must enroll in four other electives to broaden understanding of the region and its study, one of which should be a 300-level seminar that requires a substantial paper on some topic pertaining to the Middle East; and successfully complete a Senior Project that addresses aspects of the contemporary Middle East and incorporates themes that students have learned during their MES course work. While the two-semester Senior Project is based in a primary program, the Senior Project board must include at least one faculty member affiliated with MES. Courses: Core courses include: Arabic 101-102, Elementary Arabic; Hebrew 101-102, Beginning Hebrew; Religion 160, Narrating the Modern Middle East.
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