Middle Eastern Studies Minor

This is an archived copy of the 2023-2024 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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Overview

The cross-disciplinary Middle Eastern Studies Minor is designed for students who seek to explore the cultures, languages, history, society, politics, international relations, economics, technology, and environment of the Middle East, including the Arab world, North Africa, Turkey, and Iran.  The Middle Eastern Studies Minor’s courses provide the background and training for students whose major fields of study might include Anthropology, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Political Science, and World Languages and Cultures. The minor should be of special interest to students with interests in graduate studies or career interests in international business, education, translation, law, diplomacy, intelligence, the military, national security, non-governmental organizations, and/or international organizations.

Student Learning Outcomes

After completing the minor in Middle Eastern Studies, students will demonstrate:

  • some proficiency in oral and written Arabic with an ability to comprehend authentic Arabic texts
  • knowledge of the history of the Middle East from classical to modern times
  • knowledge of the geographic features of the Middle East and of the major political boundaries, alliances, and power struggles that characterize the contemporary Middle East
  • an understanding of cultural diversity issues in the Middle East in the context of the prevalent political, social, and cultural institutions and structures

The minor in Middle Eastern Studies requires 15 credit hours

Required course work in core courses (9 credits total)

HIST 435History of the Modern Middle East3
POL S 350Politics of the Middle East3
RELIG 358Islam3

At least 6 additional credits of elective courses from the following list (this list may change/be updated as new elective courses become available)

ARABC 201Intermediate Arabic I4
ARABC 202Intermediate Arabic II4
ARABC 375Arab Culture3
ART H 384Art of Islam3
ECON 496Economics International Travel Course1-3
HIST 331History of the Islamic World to 18003
RELIG 242History of Christianity: Early to Medieval3
RELIG 359The Quran3
WLC 370BTopics in World Languages and Cultures in English Translation: Middle East3

Language co-requisite: All students pursuing the minor in Middle Eastern Studies must complete and receive a passing grade in:

ARABC 101 Elementary Arabic I and ARABC 102 Elementary Arabic II [completion of the beginning level of other languages spoken in the Middle East (e.g. Hebrew, Farsi, Kurdish, Turkish, Pashto, etc.) will be accepted in lieu of beginner Arabic upon petition to the program Directors]