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Middle East Studies / Arabic (BA)

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Variable Credit Min

62

Variable Credit Max

70

Major Academic Plan

Title

Critical Reasoning

Learning Outcome

Demonstrate rigorous deductive and inductive reasoning in assessing arguments and evidence

Title

Analytical and Persuasive Writing

Learning Outcome

Write clearly logically and persuasively in both short and long formats

Title

Oral Communication

Learning Outcome

Verbally present clear logical and persuasive arguments and engage in effective dialogues with others

Title

Research Design and Practice

Learning Outcome

Use appropriate disciplinary methods to answer relevant questions through effective research design and original research

Title

International and Regional Understanding

Learning Outcome

Understand the historical literary religious geographic social and political contexts of the modern Middle East and its relationship to other world regions

Title

Arabic Language Comprehension

Learning Outcome

Understand contemporary written and oral Arabic language sources at the ACTFL advanced level

Title

Arabic Language Communication

Learning Outcome

Speak and write Arabic at the ACTFL advanced level

Title

Cultural Proficiency and Appreciation

Learning Outcome

Effectively navigate the cultures of the Middle East with curiosity empathy and respect

Title

Professional Preparation

Learning Outcome

Demonstrate skills of resilience collaboration and leadership in preparation for a future career

Program Requirements

Students should take courses in this approximate sequence: (1) language prerequisites; (2) core major curriculum; (3) track requirements in "History and Culture" or "Social Sciences"; (4) Arabic study abroad; (5) track electives; and (6) senior seminar.

Note: Students with a second major in Arabic language cannot double count the same upper-division Arabic courses for both the double major and for MESA elective credit.

Requirement 1 — Complete 2 Courses

Complete the following language prerequisite courses or equivalent.

course - 1st-Year Arabic 4.0

course - 1st-Year Arabic 4.0

Requirement 2 — Complete 5 Courses

Complete the following core curriculum:

course - 2nd-Year Arabic 4.0

course - Intermediate Arabic 4.0

course - Intro to Middle East Studies 3.0

course - Intro to Religion of Islam 3.0

course - Professional Development 1.0

Requirement 3 — Complete 5 Courses

Complete the one-semester Study Abroad program in the Arab world, which includes the following Arabic language courses:

course - 2nd-Year Conversation - You may take once 2.0

course - Adv Modern Standard Arabic 4.0

course - Newspaper Arabic 4.0

course - 3rd-Year Conversation - You may take once 1.0v

course - Spoken Arabic - Egyptian 4.0

Requirement 4 — Complete 1 Course

Complete a senior seminar in Middle Eastern Studies. (Note: This course should be taken after returning from the semester abroad. Choose a senior seminar section on a topic appropriate to your track specialization when available.)

course - Sr Sem in Middle East Studies 3.0

Requirement 5 — Complete 1 of 2 Options

Choose and complete one of the following disciplinary tracks:

Option 5.1 — Complete 5 Requirements

History and Culture track:

Requirement 5.1.1 — Complete 4 Courses

course - Modern Arabic Literature - You may take once 2.0

course - M E Hist to 1800 3.0

course - M E Hist from 1800 3.0

course - Intro to Humanities of Islam 3.0

Requirement 5.1.2 — Complete 2 Courses

course - KC Lecture Series - You may take once 1.0

course - International Studies Seminar - You may take once 1.0v

Requirement 5.1.3 — Complete 1 of 3 Courses

course - Ethnographic Research Design 3.0

course - Historian's Craft 3.0

course - Adv Wrtg in Comp Arts & Hum 3.0

Requirement 5.1.4 — Complete 1 of 2 Courses

course - Modern Arab Lit in Translation 3.0

course - Med Arab Lit Trans 3.0

Requirement 5.1.5 — Complete 10 hours

course - Peoples of the Middle East 3.0

course - Archaeology of Islam 3.0

course - Modern Arab Lit in Translation 3.0

course - Med Arab Lit Trans 3.0

course - Arabic Lang Teaching Methods 3.0

course - Adv Formal Arabic Conversation - You may take once 1.0v

course - Advanced Spoken Arabic - You may take once 2.0

course - Modern Arabic Literature - You may take 2 times 2.0

course - Classical Arabic Texts - You may take 2 times 2.0

course - Arab Women Authors 2.0

course - Directed Studies in Arabic - You may take once 1.0v

course - Middle East 3.0

course - 2nd-Year Modern Hebrew 1 4.0

course - Jewsh Hist 70AD-Pr 3.0

course - The Mediterranean 3.0

course - Crusades 3.0

course - Islam in Africa 3.0

course - Special Topics - You may take once 0.5v

course - Model Arab Lg Prep - You may take once 0.5v

course - Academic Internship - You may take up to 3.0 credit hours 0.5v

course - Interpretation of Lit & Arts 3.0

course - Intro to Sociolinguistics 3.0

course - The Qur'an in English 3.0

course - Islam in Contemporary Society 3.0

course - Middle Eastern Field Studies 1.0

course - Academic Internship - You may take up to 3.0 credit hours 1.0v

MESA 451 - Figure of Muhammad - This course is no longer available.

course - Topics in Middle East Studies - You may take once 0.5v

course - Second-Year Persian 4.0

course - Middle East Politics 3.0

course - Intrntl Relatns of Middle East 3.0

course - Islam and Politics 3.0

course - Arab-Palestn-Israeli Conflct 3.0

course - Second-Year Turkish 4.0

Note 1: Arab 361 and 362 can only be taken for elective credit if they are not used to satisfy the core track credit requirement.

Note 2: Arab 424R and 425R can each be taken up to two times with different content, including in fulfilling the core track requirement.

Note 3: Students can receive no more than 3 total internship credit hours to satisfy this requirement.

Note 4: Students with a second major in Arabic Language cannot double count the same upper-division Arabic courses for both the double major and for MESA elective credit.

Option 5.2 — Complete 5 Requirements

Social Sciences track:

Requirement 5.2.1 — Complete 5 Courses

course - Econ Principles & Problems 3.0

course - Middle East 3.0

course - M E Hist from 1800 3.0

course - Political Inquiry 4.0

course - Middle East Politics 3.0

Requirement 5.2.2 — Complete 2 Courses

course - KC Lecture Series - You may take once 1.0

course - International Studies Seminar - You may take once 1.0v

Requirement 5.2.3 — Complete 1 of 4 Courses

course - Comparative Governmnt&Politics 3.0

course - Intro International Politics 3.0

course - Principles of Comprtv Politics 3.0

course - Principles of Intl Relations 3.0

Requirement 5.2.4 — Complete 2 hours

course - Adv Formal Arabic Conversation - You may take once 1.0v

course - Advanced Spoken Arabic - You may take once 2.0

course - Current Events in Arabic - You may take once 2.0

course - Modern Arabic Literature - You may take 2 times 2.0

course - Arab Women Authors 2.0

course - Directed Studies in Arabic - You may take once 1.0v

Requirement 5.2.5 — Complete 6 hours

course - Peoples of the Middle East 3.0

course - Econ Development & Growth 3.0

course - Political Geography 3.0

course - 2nd-Year Modern Hebrew 1 4.0

course - M E Hist to 1800 3.0

course - Islam in Africa 3.0

course - Model Arab Lg Prep - You may take once 0.5v

course - Academic Internship - You may take up to 3.0 credit hours 0.5v

course - Intro to Humanities of Islam 3.0

course - Intro to Sociolinguistics 3.0

course - The Qur'an in English 3.0

course - Islam in Contemporary Society 3.0

course - Middle Eastern Field Studies 1.0

course - Academic Internship - You may take up to 3.0 credit hours 1.0v

course - Topics in Middle East Studies - You may take once 0.5v

course - Second-Year Persian 4.0

course - Statistical Analysis 4.0

course - Comparative Political Econ 3.0

course - Topics in Comparative Politics - You may take up to 3.0 credit hours 1.0v

course - US Foreign Policy 3.0

course - National Security Affairs 3.0

course - International Conflict 3.0

course - Intrntl Relatns of Middle East 3.0

course - Political Econ of Development 3.0

course - Islam and Politics 3.0

course - Intrnl Political Econ of Women 3.0

course - Human Rights 3.0

course - Arab-Palestn-Israeli Conflct 3.0

course - Civil Wars & Ethnic Violence 3.0

course - Terrorism 3.0

course - Soc of International Develpmnt 3.0

course - World Populations 3.0

course - Soc of Gender 3.0

course - Second-Year Turkish 4.0

Note 1: Students can receive no more than 3 total internship credit hours to satisfy this requirement.

Note 2: Relevant POLI 359R courses can be taken for credit with permission.

Note 3: POLI 300 is strongly recommended for those pursuing careers involving research or analysis.

Note 4: Only one course of either Turkish or Persian will count.