Middle East Studies Minor

Director: Allen Hibbard, Department of English

The interdisciplinary minor in Middle East Studies (one dimension of the MTSU Middle East Center mission) provides students with opportunities to become better acquainted with the Middle East, a region of the world that increasingly has become a major force in international affairs. Students have opportunities to learn about the history of the Middle East from the distant past to the present in addition to the people, culture, geography, language, art, music, and economics of the region. This coherent set of courses provides a foundation for students wishing to do graduate work in Middle East Studies or pursue careers with businesses, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), and other organizations with operations in the Middle East.

The minor requires 18 semester hours within an interdisciplinary structure. All students pursuing the minor are required to take 9 hours from the core and 9 hours from the general electives.

Interdisciplinary Minors

Interdisciplinary minors require the student to complete a minimum of 15 to 21 hours from a list of specific courses. Unless otherwise noted, a student may take no more than 6 hours of courses from a single department until he or she surpasses the required minimum number of hours necessary for completing the minor. Exceptions to this rule may be found within the discussions of several of the minors. In most cases, a student is also limited to just 3 hours of credit toward the minor in the same department or discipline in which he or she is taking a major. Except for the Paralegal Studies minor, no course may be counted both for major and minor credit. Students must fulfill all departmental prerequisites for any course within an interdisciplinary minor. In some cases, advisors may approve course substitutions within these program requirements.

Required Courses (9 hours)

MES 2100 - Introduction to Middle East Studies 3 credit hours

Select two from the following:

Two courses (6 hours) in Middle East languages. Languages such as Farsi, Turkish, and Pashto may also be considered for transfer credit with approval from minor advisor. Currently, the following are offered at MTSU:

ARAB 1010 - Elementary Arabic I 3 credit hours
ARAB 1020 - Elementary Arabic II 3 credit hours
ARAB 2010 - Intermediate Arabic I 3 credit hours
ARAB 2020 - Intermediate Arabic II 3 credit hours
HEBR 1010 - Elementary Hebrew I 3 credit hours
HEBR 1020 - Elementary Hebrew II 3 credit hours
HEBR 2010 - Intermediate Hebrew I 3 credit hours
HEBR 2020 - Intermediate Hebrew II 3 credit hours
KURD 1010 - Elementary Kurdish I 3 credit hours
KURD 1020 - Elementary Kurdish II 3 credit hours
KURD 2010 - Intermediate Kurdish I 3 credit hours
KURD 2020 - Intermediate Kurdish II 3 credit hours

Guided Electives (9 hours)

EMC 4810 - Global Comparative Media Systems 3 credit hours
GEOG 4500 - Geography of the Middle East and North Africa 3 credit hours
HIST 3070 - Topics in World History 3 credit hours (France and the Middle East)
HIST 3080 - Topics in Modern Middle East History 3 credit hours
HIST 4420 - The Medieval Mediterranean World 3 credit hours
HIST 4440 - The Middle East 3 credit hours
HUM 3600 - Israeli Cinema 3 credit hours
HUM 4000 - Women of the Middle East: Representations and Perceptions 3 credit hours
MES 2030 - Literature of the Middle East 3 credit hours
MES 3100 - Special Topics in Middle East Studies 3 credit hours
MUHL 4140 - Music of the Middle East 3 credit hours
PS 4190 - Middle East Politics 3 credit hours
PS 4690 - International Relations of the Middle East 3 credit hours
RS 4050 - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam 3 credit hours
UH 4600 - Senior Interdisciplinary Seminar 3 credit hours (Contemporary Middle East Culture)

NOTE:

No more than two courses (6 hours) of electives may be taken in any ONE discipline.