Middle Eastern Studies Minor
A well-balanced minor in Middle Eastern Studies (MES) will enrich the undergraduate experience for students and should prove beneficial for graduate study and professional careers.
Minor Requirements
The Middle Eastern Studies minor is interdisciplinary and requires a total of 18 credits of coursework in history, political science, and theology/religious studies.
Required Courses
| HI 236 | History of the Arab World I: From Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire | 3 |
| or | |
| HI 238 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| | |
| PO 314 | Middle East Politics | 3 |
| TRS 161 | Islam | 3 |
| Capstone Course for Student's Major | 2-3 |
The student's major capstone/thesis course will be counted for the minor. Students will need to discuss the Middle Eastern focus topic with the director of the minor.
Two additional from the following suggested courses:
| AB 101 | Beginning Arabic I | 3 |
| AB 102 | Beginning Arabic II | 3 |
| | |
| HI 236 | History of the Arab World I: From Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire | 3 |
| or | |
| HI 238 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| | |
| HI 239 | Women in the Middle East | 3 |
| PO 243 | Terrorism and Political Violence | 3 |
| PO 317 | African Politics | 3 |
| PO 324 | Islamic Political Movements | |
| TRS 162 | Judaism | 3 |
| TRS 164 | Ancient Religions & Cults | 3 |
| TRS 174 | Women in World Religions | 3 |
Students interested in the minor should schedule accordingly. Courses in Arabic are offered occasionally. Substitutions may be approved by the minor program director. Special topics involving the Middle East, if and when offered under History, Political Science, or Theology & Religious Studies, can be used as substitutes for a required course only if the required course is not available within the student’s four-year course of study.
Track I
| HI 236 | History of the Arab World I: From Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire | 3 |
| or | |
| HI 238 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| PO 314 | Middle East Politics | 3 |
| TRS 161 | Islam | 3 |
Track II
The second track consists of the following required courses:
| AB 101 | Beginning Arabic I | 3 |
| | |
| HI 236 | History of the Arab World I: From Muhammad to the Ottoman Empire | 3 |
| or | |
| HI 238 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| | |
| PO 314 | Middle East Politics | 3 |
| TRS 161 | Islam | 3 |
The capstone is the culmination of the MES minor and is developed as an independent study upon consultation with the director of the MES program. The student is expected to study a specific interdisciplinary MES topic with an identified mentor in any one of the several disciplines integrated into the MES minor. The completion of the capstone is usually a formal research paper, written under the supervision of the course mentor.