Modern Middle East Studies

Course offerings on the Middle East at Penn are rich and multidisciplinary. All are taught by world-renowned scholars in their field with exemplary records of teaching and publishing some of the most innovative research on the Middle East and Islam. Both undergraduates and graduate students can take courses on a wide range of subjects – from Iranian Film to Islamic Law to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Independent study, intensive language instruction, country surveys, and research-focused seminars compliment the many introductory courses offered.

A New Major and Minor at Penn « more info »

Courses Suitable for the New Major and Minor in Modern Middle East Studies (provisional)

Check the Registrar's website for course availability. Click here for next semester's courses that can be applied to the major/minor. If you have questions about a course that does not appear on the grid, contact mehmetd@sas.upenn.edu.

For selected syllabi, please click here.

Anthropology

ANTH 100 ~ Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan (Topics In Anthropology and the Modern World; NELC 281)

Arabic

ARAB 031-036 ~ Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced Intermediate MSA
ARAB 037-038 ~ Selected Readings in Arabic Literature
ARAB 039 ~ Colloquial Arabic (Dialect varies by semester, in the past has included Egyptian, Moroccan, and Levantine)
ARAB 331 ~ Advanced Spoken Standard Arabic.
ARAB 333 ~ Reading the Qur'an in Arabic
ARAB 433 ~ Arabic Readings in the Social Sciences and the Media
ARAB 435 ~ Readings in Islamics (NELC 435)
ARAB 436 ~ Introduction to Classical Arabic Texts.

Art History

ARTH 217 ~ Introduction to the Visual Culture of the Islamic World
ARTH 417 ~ Later Islamic Art & Architecture

Hebrew

HEBR 051-054 ~ Elementary & Intermediate Modern Hebrew
HEBR 059 ~ Advanced Modern Hebrew: Reading and Composition 
HEBR 455 ~ Post-Baccalaureate Hebrew Texts 
HEBR 259 ~ Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature
HEBR 359 ~ Modern Hebrew Literature
HEBR 552 ~ Advanced Hebrew: Reading and Comprehension

History

HIST 081 ~ History of the Middle East since 1800 (NELC 031)
HIST 084 ~ (Topics in the Middle East in the 20th Century)
HIST 106 ~ Images of Islam & the Middle East (Freshman Seminar in World History after 1800)
HIST 166 ~ Arab-Israeli Conflict in Literature and Film (CINE 166)
HIST 206 ~ Sex and Power in the Middle East (Majors’ Seminar in World History after 1800)
HIST 232 ~ History of the U.S. and the Middle East
HIST 317 ~ Islam & the West
HIST 371 ~ Africa and the Middle East (NELC 334)
HIST 550 ~ Zionist Founders & Sabra Children (Topics in Jewish History)

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

NELC 036 ~ The Middle East Through Many Lenses (Freshman Seminar; CINE 036)
NELC 037 ~ The People of Modern Egypt (Freshman Seminar)
NELC 038 ~ Journeys in Arabic Narrative
NELC 102 ~ Introduction to the Middle East (HIST 023)
NELC 104 ~ Jerusalem through the Ages
NELC 115 ~ Youth Culture in Iran (CINE 115)
NELC 118 ~ Iranian Cinema: Gender, Politics, & Religion
NELC 119 ~ Middle Eastern Cinema: Law and Society
NELC 132 ~ Origins of Islamic Political Thought
NELC 134 ~ Getting Crusaded
NELC 139 ~ Modern Egypt
NELC 159 ~ (Topics in Israeli Literature and Film in Translation)
NELC 201 ~ Modern Mideast Literatures in Translation
NELC 212 ~ Fiction of Modern Iran
NELC 233 ~ The Arabic Literary Heritage
NELC 235 ~ Food in the Islamic Middle East
NELC 239 ~ Migration and the Middle East
NELC 234 ~ The Mongol Experience
NELC 238 ~ Classical Islamic Law
NELC 286 ~ Israeli Collective Memory
NELC 331 ~ Iraq, Egypt & Algeria
NELC 332 ~ North Africa: History, Culture, Society
NELC 334 ~ Africa and the Middle East (HIST371)
NELC 335 ~ Muslims, Christians, Jews
NELC 336 ~ Nationalism and Communal Identity in the Middle East
NELC 434 ~ Arabic Literature & Theory
NELC 435 ~ Readings in Islamic Studies (ARAB 435)
NELC 437 ~ Islamic Intellectual Tradition
NELC 633 ~ (Topics in Arabic Literature in the Belles-Lettres)
NELC 638 ~ Approaches to Islamic Law

Persian

PERS 011-16 ~ Elementary, Intermediate & Advanced Persian
PERS 017 ~ Persian Reading and Writing for Fluent Speakers
PERS 018 ~ Advanced Persian in the Media
PERS 019 ~ Persian for Heritage Speakers II
PERS 111-114 ~ Elementary and Intermediate Pashtu

Political Science

PSCI 211 ~ Politics in the Contemporary Middle East
PSCI 253 ~ International Politics in the Middle East // The Arab-Israeli Conflict
PSCI 275 ~ Muslim Political Thought
PSCI 598 ~ Politics of Contemporary Iraq and Sudan (Topics in Political Science)

Religion

RELS 100 ~ Islamic Civilization
RELS 140 ~ Intro to the Qur'an
RELS 143 ~ Intro to Islam
RELS 146 ~ Islam in the Modern World
RELS 245 ~ Muhammad Through the Ages
RELS 246 ~ Islamic Mysticism
RELS 247 ~ Islamic Ethics
RELS 2xx ~ Women and Islamic Constructions of Gender
RELS 485 ~ Sufism
RELS 545 ~ Sufi Texts / Hadith / The Qur’an (Topics in Islamic Religion)

South Asian Studies

SAST 169 ~ Transnational Islam and the Indian Ocean
SAST 260 ~ Modern History of Afghanistan and Pakistan (HIST 384)
SAST 367 ~ Central Asia and South Asia in World History (NELC 387)
SAST 369 ~ Islam and the Cultural Politics of Nations
SAST 383 ~ Global War on Terror

Turkish

TURK 021-026 ~ Elementary, Intermediate & Advanced Turkish
TURK 121-122 ~ Advanced Turkish Culture and Media
TURK 228 ~ Structure of Turkish
TURK 229 ~ Ottoman Turkish I