Area Courses
HSTCMP 290 Topics in Comparative/Global History
Instructor: TUNA BASIBEK
TTh | 2:30 – 4:20 | CDH 101
5 credits (SSc) | 21483
Course Description
Examines special topics in history.
JSIS 287 A Special Topics in Middle Eastern Studies/MELC 270 Diversity and Global Turks
Instructor: Talant Mawkanuli
TTh | 12:30 – 2:20 | SAV 130
5 credits (SSc) | SLN: 15576, 16980
Course Description
Explores the history of the Turks as a distinctive cultural and linguistic community set against a global backdrop, diversity of Turkic societies, and their interactions with peoples and cultures across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Examines constructions of Turkicness through relationships of power, and inequalities of the marginalized groups in colonial and postcolonial contexts, from historical and contemporary perspectives.
JSIS 287 B Special Topics in Middle Eastern Studies
Instructor: TUNA BASIBEK
TTh | 2:30 – 4:20 | CDH 101
5 credits (SSc) | SLN: 21494
Course Description
Covers current and historical issues across the Middle East. Topics vary.
JSIS A 349 Migration and Multiculturalism in the Mediterranean/JSIS A 494 Senior Seminar
Instructor: Nektaria Klapaki
MW | 10:30 – 12:20 | THO 134
5 credits (SSc, W) | SLN: 15604, 15620
Course Description
Examines multiculturalism and migration in the Mediterranean. Focuses on immigrant communities of Greek diaspora in multicultural cities of Smyrna in nineteenth century Ottoman Empire, and of Alexandria in twentieth century Egypt. Considers how immigration to contemporary Greece transformed an ethnically homogeneous, mono-cultural Greek society into an increasingly multicultural one.
HSTAFM 278 Modern North Africa
Instructor: Kyle Haddad-Fonda
MW | 2:30 – 4:20 | BNS 117
5 credits (DIV, SSc) | SLN: 15104
Course Description
History of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya since the seventeenth century. Includes imperialism and local responses, development of national identities, the evolving role of Islam in politics and society, experiences of religious and ethnic minorities, impact of and on French culture, North African diaspora communities, and connections with the rest of Africa and the Middle East.
HSTAFM 463 Modern Persian Gulf
Instructor: Arbella Bet-Shlimon
TTh | 12:30 – 2:20 | ROOM
5 credits (DIV, SSc) | SLN: 15105
Course Description
Introduction to the histories of Arabian Peninsula states, Iraq, Iran, and their linkages since the eighteenth century. Topics to be covered include imperialism and its legacies, political economy of oil, governmental structures and political transitions, identify formation, political ideologies, urbanization, and relations with the broader Middle East and Indian Ocean.
JSIS A 546 Reading Seminar on Middle East Studies
Instructor: Liora R. Halperin
M | 3:30 – 5:20 | SAV 157
2 credits | SLN: 15623
Course Description
Middle Eastern historiography, Islamic law, Islamic theology, relations between the Middle East and the world economy, political structures, social movements in the Middle East.
JSIS B 406/POL S 432 Political Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism
Instructor: Cabeiri Debergh Robinson
MW | 12:30 – 2:20 | RAI 109
5 credits (SSc, W) | 15660, 18884
Course Description
Study of resurgence, since mid-1970s, of political Islam and what has come to be called Islamic fundamentalism, especially in the Middle East. Topics include the nature and variety of political Islam today, causes and implications of the current resurgence, and comparison with previous resurgences.
RELIG 211/MELC 230 Introduction to Muslim Beliefs and Practices
Instructor: Lillian McCabe
MW | 10:30 – 12:20 | SAV 156
5 credits (A&H, SSc) | 19381, 16979
Course Description
Examines the origins and development of central beliefs in various Muslim traditions; such as monotheism, prophecy, divine judgment, and predestination. Looks at ritual and socio-cultural practices in Muslim societies in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
MELC 196 Introductory Studies in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures
Instructor: Khalid A Ahmed
TTh | 12:30 – 1:20 | SAV 138
2 credits (SSc) | SLN: 16978
Course Description
Offered occasionally by visitors or resident faculty. Content varies.
MELC 307/JEW ST 317 From Israelites to Jews: the First Six Centuries BCE
Instructor: Kathryn McConaughy Medill
MW | 3:30 – 4:50 | HRC 145
3 credits (SSc, A&H) | SLN: 16983, 15555
Course Description
Traces the Israelites, from the Babylonian destruction of the Jerusalemite Temple (586 BCE) to events following the destruction of the second Temple (first century CE). Focuses on primary historical and literary sources as well as archaeological and artistic evidence. No knowledge of Hebrew or the Bible required.
MELC 310 Jewish Literature: Foundations and Re-imaginings/GLITS 311 B/ENGL 312 Jewish Literature: Biblical to Modern
Instructor: Naomi B Sokoloff
TTh | 11:30 – 1:20 | SAV 137
5 credits (A&H, DIV) | SLN: 16984, 13958, 15554
Course Description
Overview of 3000 years of literary creativity. Considers multiple genres, including Bible, Midrash, medieval poetry, Hasidic tale, modern fiction, TV satire, and popular music lyrics, with emphasis on how later literature reinterprets and re-imagines earlier texts. Explores diversity in Jewish writing, focusing on Jews as minority and diaspora communities as well as on centers and margins within Jewish cultures.
MELC 313/ARCHY 313 Ancient Technologies of the Near East
Instructor: Stephanie Selover
MW | 1:30- 3:20 PM | DEN 403
5 credits (SSc) | SLN: 16985, 10423
Course Description
Introduction to ancient pyrotechnic technologies. Covers the laboratory methods used by modern archaeologists to study ancient ceramics, glass and metals, the methodologies behind the creation of these materials, and the invention of these technologies in the Near East, with brief comparisons with China and the New World.
MELC 331/MELC 531 A Thousand and One Nights/GLITS 311 Literature Across Times
Instructor: Terri DeYoung
Hybrid TTh | 4:00 – 5:20 | DEN 113
5 credits (A&H, W) | SLN: 16986, 16998, 14834
Course Description
Examines the major story cycles of the Thousand-and-One-Nights collection in their social and historical contexts.
MELC 334/MELC 534 Culture of the Arab World
Instructor: Hussein M. Elkhafaifi
Hybrid W | 1:30 – 3:20 | DEN 212
5 credits (DIV, SSc, A&H) | SLN: 16987, 16999
Course Description
Surveys the linguistic, geographical, historical, social, religious, and cultural aspects of the modern Arab world and its connections to the Arab-American community. Focuses on the Arabic language, the Arab family, the role of the past, and social change in marginalized communities as a lingering outcome of colonial times. Highlights racial bias and awareness of multicultural issues that reveal current power inequalities across the Arab world.
MELC 340/MELC 596 Translation Studies: Gulliver’s Travels Among Muslims and Jews/RELIG 490 Special Topics in Comparative Religion
Instructor: Canan Bolel
MW | 1:30 – 3:20 | SAV 130
5 credits (A&H) | SLN: 16988, 17004
Course Description
Approaches the nineteenth-century endeavor of translating European classics into non-European languages through prisms of translation studies and cultural history by focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Through a close reading of Gulliver’s Travels, the original text and translations, focuses on themes of adaptation and rewriting while investigating how the original text was reinvented in local languages.
MELC 352/MELC 552 Wisdom Literature in the Bible and the Ancient Near East/GLITS 313 Literature Across Places
Instructor: Kathryn McConaughy Medill
MW | 10:30 – 12:20 | MGH 254
5 credits (A&H) | SLN: 16989, 17000, 14839
Course Description
Draws on sources from Sumer, Egypt, Babylon, Syria, Hatti, and Israel. Highlights how conception of wisdom and wisdom literature genres varied and developed across the ancient Near East. Answers questions such as: What does it mean to be wise? How do people convey what they think wisdom is in stories, proverbs, and instructions?
MELC 371/MELC 571 Love and Empire: Cultural History of the Ottoman Empire through Literature\GLITS 314 Literature Across Genres/Modes
Instructor: Selim S. Kuru
MW | 1:30 – 3:20 | SMI 311
3-5 credits (SSc, A&H, W) | SLN: 16992, 17002, 14842
Course Description
Approaches Ottoman literature through translations and scholarly articles in English. Evaluates this particular literary tradition as an imperial production, through an analysis and critical reading of course materials.
Language Courses
ARAB 103 / ARAB 513: Elementary Arabic
Instructor: Khalil Ahmed
MTWThF | 9:30-10:20 a.m. | MLR 316
MW | 10:30-11:20 a.m. | SMI 311
F | 10:30 – 11:20 a.m | SMI 311
5 credits | SLN: 10335, 10336, 10343, 10344
Course Description
Develops the four communicative language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Stresses communication skills and emphasizes the links between language and culture, using mainly Modern Standard Arabic, with exposure to Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. Third in a sequence of three.
ARAB 203 / ARAB 523: Intermediate Arabic
Instructor: Amina Moujtahid
MWF | 9:30-10:50 a.m. | LOW 202
5 credits (A&H) | SLN: 10337, 10345
Course Description
Explores aspects of Arab culture and emphasizes all skills of language acquisition: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students also learn more about Arab society in general and about features of Arab culture that influence the use of the language in daily life. Focuses on developing communication skills. Third in a sequence of three.
ARAB 303 / ARAB 533: Third Year Arabic
Instructor: Amina Moujtahid
MWF |11:00 – 12:20 | SAV 162
5 credits (A&H) | SLN: 10338, 10346
Course Description
Helps students acquire an advanced proficiency in Arabic by focusing on developing all four skills of language acquisition: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Explores topics related to Arabic culture, Arabic society, Arabic music and arts, and Arabic literature.
MODHEB 103 Elementary Modern Hebrew
Instructor: Hadar Khazzam-Horovitz
MW | 9:30 – 11:20 | SWS B012
5 credits | SLN: 17142
Course Description
Modern Israeli Hebrew. Core vocabulary, grammar, conversational text, and oral and written communication. Excerpts from modern Hebrew prose and poetry. Third in a sequence of three.
MODHEB 203 Intermediate Modern Hebrew
Instructor: Hadar Khazzam-Horovitz
TTh | 9:30 – 11:20 | SWS B012
5 credits (A&H) | SLN: 17143
Course Description
Readings of selected texts in modern Hebrew with continuing emphasis on grammar, syntax, composition, and conversation. Third in a sequence of three.
PRSAN 103/PRSAN 513 Elementary Persian
Instructor: Elham Monfaredi
MW | 11:30 – 1:20 | THO 234
5 credits | SLN: 18927, 18932
Course Description
Conversation, pronunciation, and graded reading. Persian alphabet and basic sentence constructions. Offers rudimentary conversational and reading ability with a vocabulary of about two thousand words. Third in a sequence of three.
PRSAN 203/PRSAN 523 A Intermediate Persian
Instructor: Elham Monfaredi
MW | 9:30 – 11:20 | SMI 109
5 credits (A&H) | SLN: 18928, 18933
Course Description
Reading of simple texts with emphasis on reading and writing, conversation skills, grammar, and syntax. Builds a vocabulary of standard Persian in preparation for advanced reading and comprehension of literary texts. Third in a sequence of three.
TKISH 103/TKISH 513 Elementary Turkish
Instructor: Melike Yucel Koc
MW | 10:30 – 12:20 | SAV 155
5 credits | SLN: 20782, 20786
Course Description
Introduction to modern Turkish. Pronunciation and conversation, grammar and composition, graded reading. Latin characters used throughout. Third in a sequence of three.
TKISH 203/TKISH 523 Intermediate Turkish
Instructor: Melike Yucel Koc
TTh | 10:30 – 12:20 | THO 235
5 credits (A&H) | SLN: 20783, 20787
Course Description
Introduction to modern Turkish literature. Third in a sequence of three.
