Middle East and Islamic Studies

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

Muhamad Ali, Ph.D.Director Department Office, INTS 2018 (951)827-5111; muhamad.ali@ucr.edu

Committee in Charge

Muhamad Ali, Chair (Religious Studies) Sahin Acikgoz (Religious Studies) Reza Aslan (Creative Writing) Sherine Hafez (Gender & Sexuality Studies) Erith Jaffe-Berg (Theatre, Film, and Digital

Production) Ruhi Khan (Media and Cultural Studies) Kyle Khelaf (Comp Lit & Lang) Laila Lalami (Creative Writing) Benjamin Liu (Hispanic Studies) Fatima Quraishi (History of Art) Jeff Sacks (Comp Lit & Lang) Fariba Zarinebaf (History) Daryle Williams, Dean, ex officio

The Middle East and Islamic Studies major is designed to provide undergraduate students with a broad understanding of Middle Eastern and Islamic societies and cultures. The program offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Middle East and Islamic traditions with focuses on religion, history, gender and sexuality, literature, art, and popular discourses and practices, 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 and national non-governmental organizations, journalism, and the art, as well as for those who 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 (48 units):

• 1. Language requirement: 4 courses (16

units) Students are required to fulfill the language requirement by taking 4 classes in a language in MEIS (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Urdu, Malay/ Indonesian) 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, Bogaziçi University in Istanbul) or in other UC campuses (UCLA, Irvine) upon the approval of MEIS director.

• 2. Senior Research (4 units): Students must

take MEIS 199 or HIST 197 with MEIS content (taken senior year with the prior approval of the instructor and MEIS Director as the MEIS Director should be able to review the content to ensure that it fits the major)

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

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

I. Survey courses: AHS 013, ARLC 155/CPLT 155/ MEIS 155/RLST 157, HIST 030, RLST 111, HIST 121, HIST 122, HIST 124

II. Specialized courses: AHS 125, ANTH 169/

GBST 169, GSST 162/ RLST 162, HIST 125, HIST 126

• 4. Select 4 from the elective courses

(16 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/SEAS 136, ANTH 140I, ANTH 188/ GSST 151, ANTH 189/ GSST 168, ANTH 109

Art History AHS 126

Asian Studies AST 167/CPLT 167/SEAS 167

Comparative Ancient Civilizations CPAC 121/CLA 121/POSC 121

Economics ECON 170E

Gender and Sexuality Studies ANTH 109/ GSST 109, ANTH 188/ GSST 151, ANTH 189/ GSST 168, GSST 162/ RLST 162, GSST 169

Global Studies GBST 191

Hispanic Studies SPN 193

History HISE 160, HIST 111, HIST 125, HIST 126, HIST 128

Media and Cultural Studies MCS 172

Religious Studies RLST 112, RLST 113, RLST 116, RLST 121, RLST 130, RLST 148, RLST 150, RLST 151, GSST 162/ RLST 162

Theatre, Film and Digital Production TFDP 177

The Middle East and Islamic Studies minor offers a broad course of interdisciplinary and theoretically informed study. Students draw upon the range of materials covered in departments including Religious Studies, History, Anthropology, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Creative Writing, Hispanic Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Theater, Film, and Digital Production, Comparative Literature and Languages, and Art History. Students grain critical knowledge of the texts, histories, practices, and institutions of the Middle East and Islamic traditions in diverse, multilingual, and global contexts.

• 1. Select 2 from the required courses (8 units)

AHS 013, AHS 125, ANTH 189/GSST 168, ANTH 169/GBST 169, ARLC 155/CPLT 155/ MEIS 155/RLST 157, GSST 162/RLST 162, HIST 030, HIST 121, HIST 122, HIST 124, HIST 125, HIST 126, HIST 128, RLST 111

• 2. Select 4 from the elective courses (16 units)

• a) Arabic Literatures

ARBC 105

• b) 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

• c) Anthropology

ANTH 136/SEAS 136, ANTH 140-I

• d) Asian Studies

AST 167/CPLT 167/SEAS 167

• e) Comparative Literature

CPLT 153

• f) Gender and Sexuality Studies

GSST 151/ANTH 188, GSST 162/RLST 162, GSST 169

• g) History

HISE 117, HISE 160, HISE 112, HISE 116, HISE 118, HIST 128, HIST 137

• h) Religious Studies

RLST 112, RLST 113, RLST 116, RLST 126/ HIST 127, RLST 148, RLST 150/SEAS 150, RLST 151, RLST 155

• i) Theatre, Film and Digital Production

TFDP 177

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.