Middle East and Islamic Studies

Subject abbreviation: MEIS College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Muhamad Ali, Ph.D.,Chair Department Office, 3017 CHASS INTN (951)827-5111; muhamad.ali@ucr.edu

Committee in Charge Muhamad Ali (Religious Studies) Sherine Hafez (Women’s Studies) Erith Jaffe-Berg (Theatre) Ruhi Khan (Media and Cultural Studies) Benjamin Liu (Hispanic Studies) Susan Ossman (Anthropology) Jeff Sacks (Comparative Literature & Foreign Languages) Stephen E. Cullenberg, Ph.D. Dean, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, ex officio

Administered through the Interdisciplinary Studies Office, the Middle East and Islamic Studies major is designed to provide undergraduate students with a broad understanding of the history, politics and culture of the Middle East and Islamic traditions. The program offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Middle East and Islamic traditions with focuses on gender, history, literature, popular discourses and politics, which canvass from North Africa to Southeast Asia.

The multidisciplinary nature of the program prepares students for a critical understanding of current issues and further study in a number of academic fields at the graduate level. The major is useful to students planning careers in politics and government, business, education, international organizations, journalism, and the art, as well as for those who simply desire a better understanding of the Middle East, Islam and Islamic cultures.

See Undergraduate Studies section.

See College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Colleges and Programs section.

The major requirements for the B.A. in Middle East and Islamic Studies are as follows: – (60 units of required courses):

• 1. Language requirement: 6 courses (24 units)

Students are required to fulfill the language requirement by taking 6 classes in a language in MEIS (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Urdu) or pass the proficiency requirement by taking a test administered by the department. Currently UCR offers only Arabic but students can take language classes either abroad (i.e. AUC in Cairo, Boğaziçi University in Istanbul) or in other UC campuses (UCLA, Irvine) upon the approval of MEIS director.

• 2. MEIS Senior Seminar, One (4 units) taught

by MEIS faculty preceded by a gateway or upper division course on the same topic.

• 3. Required courses: 3 courses (12 units) (at

least one should be taken from area I and one from area II)

I. Survey courses:

ARLC 001, RLST 111, RLST 113, HIST 121, HIST 124

II. Specialized courses

POSC 156, WMST 168, GBST/ANTH 169

• 4. Select five from the elective courses – (20

units of elective courses)

Arabic Literatures and Cultures

ARLC 120, ARLC 151/CPLT 151/MEIS 151, ARLC 152/CPLT 152, ARLC 154/CPLT 154/PHIL 128, ARLC 156/CPLT 156/MEIS 156/RLST 156, ARLC 158/CPLT 158/MEIS 158/RLST 158

Anthropology

ANTH 136, ANTH 140I

Asian Studies

AST 167/CPLT 167

Comparative Ancient Civilizations

CPAC 121/CLA 121/POSC 121

Creative Writing

CWPA 256

Economics

ECON 170E

Global Studies

GBST 191

History

HIST 030, HIST 111, HIST 125, HIST 126

Middle East and Islamic Studies

MEIS 199

Media and Cultural Studies

MCS 172

Political Science

POSC 107, POSC 120, POSC 133, POSC 152

Religious Studies

RLST 116, RLST 121, RLST 130 Women’s Studies

WMST 151, WMST 109/ANTH 109, WMST/RLST 162

The minor in Middle East and Islamic Studies offers a broad course of interdisciplinary and theoretically informed study. Students draw upon the range of materials covered in departments including Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, Hispanic Studies, History, Media and Cultural Studies, Religious Studies, Theatre, Political Science, and Women’s Studies, as they gain critical knowledge of the texts, practices, institutions, and histories of the Middle East and Islamic traditions in diverse, multilingual, and global contexts. The study of at least one language, which pertains to students’ areas of interest, is strongly encouraged but not required.

• 1. Select two from the required courses (8

units)

GBST 169/ANTH 169, HIST 121, POSC 156, RLST 111, RLST 113, WMST 168

• 2. Select four from the elective courses (16

units)

• a) Arabic Literatures and Cultures

ARLC 120, ARLC 151/CPLT 151/MEIS 151, ARLC 152/CPLT 152, ARLC 154/ CPLT 154/PHIL 128, ARLC 156/CPLT 156/MEIS 156/RLST 156

• b) Anthropology

ANTH 136, ANTH 1401

• c) Asian Studies

AST 167/CPLT 167

• d) Comparative Literature

CPLT 153

• e) History

HIST 124, HIST 125, HIST 126

• f) Middle East and Islamic Studies

MEIS 199

g Political Science POSC 107, POSC 120, POSC 133, POSC 152

h Religious Studies RLST 116, RLST 124K, RLST 149, RLST 150, RLST 151, RLST 155/PHIL 155

• j) Women’s Studies

WMST 151, WMST 162/RLST 162

See Minors under the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in the Colleges and Programs section of this catalog for additional information on minors.