Requirements

The Middle East and South Asia studies minor provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to engage in a multidisciplinary study of the history, politics, literature, peoples, and cultures of the Middle East and South Asia. To fulfill the minor, students must complete eighteen hours from an approved list of courses. Students may count no more than 10 hours from any of the foreign language offerings toward the minor.

Approved Courses

Recently approved courses are listed below. The program coordinator maintains a more complete and up-to-date list of all approved elective courses. Please refer to the undergraduate bulletin for course descriptions.

Affiliated Faculty

Michaelle Browers, Political Science, browerm@wfu.edu
Neil DeVotta, Political Science, devottn@wfu.edu
Andrew Ettin, English, ettinav@wfu.edu

Steven Folmar, Anthropology, folmarsj@wfu.edu
Sandya Hewamanne, Anthropology, hewamask@wfu.edu
Kenneth Hoglund, Religion, hoglund@wfu.edu
Fred Horton, Religion, horton@wfu.edu
Hank Kennedy (program coordinator), Political Science, ckennedy@wfu.edu
Darlene May, Arabic, maydr@wfu.edu
Ellen Miller, Anthropology, millerer@wfu.edu
Anandra Mitra, Communication, ananda@wfu.edu
M. Rais Rahman, History, rahmanmr@wfu.edu
Tanisha Ramachandran, Religion, ramacht@wfu.edu
Nelly van Doorn-Harder, Religion, vandoopa@wfu.edu
Neal Walls, Divinity School, wallsnh@wfu.edu
Jarrod Whitaker, Religion, whitakjl@wfu.edu
Charles Wilkins, History, wilkincl@wfu.edu
Fulbright Scholar, Hatim Al-Lahabi, Arabic, allaha9@wfu.edu

Study Abroad Programs

Morocco

Each summer Wake Forest University runs a study abroad program based at the Arabic Language Institute in Fes, Morocco (ALIF). Students take 6 credit hours in Arabic (beginning, intermediate, or advanced) or French (intermediate only) and a 3 credit hour course in English that draws upon topics relevant to some aspect of Morocco, but varies according to the WFU faculty member directing that particular summer. Students also participate in a homestay with a Moroccan family, weekend excursions, and an end of program country tour. Click here for more information.  Click here to apply online.

India

In the summer of 2010, WFU will launch a six week program that focuses on Culture & Communication and is based in Calcutta and Delhi, India. The program explores the ways in which Indian cultural practices have developed into a hybridized format with elements that sustain some of the traditional components of Indian culture that have been synthesized with global cultural trends. Includes excursions to Ladakh in the Himalayan region and the "Golden Triangle" that is made up of Agra the site of the Taj Mahal, Jaipur, and Delhi. Click here to apply online.

Events of Interest

2009

November 12. "The Play of Reasons: Islam Within and Beyond Itself."  A lecture by Dr. Youssef Yacoubi, Arabic and Comparative Literature, Bard College.  4:30pm on Thursday in the Annenberg Forum, 111 Carswell. Flyer.

October 28.  Informational session for students interested in WFU's summer study abroad opportunity in Morocco.  5:30pm on Wednesday in Tribble C316. Flyer.

October 7.  Public lecture by Dr. Kimberly Katz, associate professor of history, Towson University, on "Life, Work and Girls in Palestine: The Diary of Samir 'Amir."  Greene Hall, room 145, 4:30pm. Flyer.

September 30. Reception for faculty and students with an interest in Middle East and South Asia Studies.  Lobby of Tribble Hall at 4pm. Flyer.

March 30. Dr. Patrica Crone, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Islamic History at The Institute for Advanced Study, will present a Forrest W. Clonts Lecture on "Transmission Without a Paper Trail: Prophets as Impostors in Antiquity, Islam and Medieval Europe." 6pm in the Annenberg Forum (Carswell Hall).

March 24. "Lost Boys Rebuilding Southern Sudan." Documentary and panel discussion featuring Lost Boys from Sudan. 11:00am in Pugh Auditorium (Benson).

March 24. "Jihad for Love." Documentary followed by question and answer session with the film's director, Parvez Sharma. 6:00 pm in Green Hall, room 162.

March 19. Prof. Hank Kennedy (political science) will speak on Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of the Great Decisions lecture series.  7:00pm in Scales Fine Arts Center, room A102.

February 26. Dr. David Ricci (visiting professor in political science) will present a lecture on "Dilemmas of the War in Gaza." 7pm in DeTamble Auditorium (Tribble Hall).

February 25. Anna Rubino, author of Queen of the Oil Club, will present a lecture on "How a Female Journalist Challenged Power--and Succeeded." 4:30pm in DeTamble Auditorium (Tribble Hall).

February 23. Dr. Chitralekh Zutshi will present a lecture on "Re-Visioning Kashmir as a Borderland in South Asian History."  6pm in DeTamble Auditorium (Tribble Hall).

February 19. "Encounter Point."  Documentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Followed by a panel discussion.  In Pugh Auditorium at 7:00pm.

2008

December 1. Dr. Nelly van Doorn-Harder (Valparaiso University) will speak on “Fighting for Women’s Human Rights: Muslim Women in Indonesia.” 3:30pm in 302 Wingate Hall. Sponsored by the Religion Department.

November 23. Professor Ron Geaves (Liverpool Hope University) will present a lecture on “Islam at Home in the English Speaking World: A Report from the United Kingdom.” 2pm in Wait Supported by the Fund for Ethics, Leadership, and Civic Responsibility under a grant from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation to Wake Forest University through the Office of the Provost.

November 6. Dr. Darlene May (Arabic) will present a lecture on“Women and Islam” at 7:00 p.m. in Scales 102. Sponsored by WFU Muslim Students’ Association and the Chaplain’s Office. Flyer

October 30.  Informational session on Wake Forest's study abroad program in Morocco.  5pm in Tribble C316.  More information here.

October 22. Professor Akhram Khater of North Carolina State University will speak on “Becoming 'Syrian' in America: A Global Geography of Ethnicity and Nation.” 6:00pm in Scales Fine Arts Center (Room 102).

October 8. Reception for Middle East and South Asia Studies faculty and students. 4-5pm, Tribble Hall Foyer.  More information here.

October 7.  Showing and panel discussion of "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet." Sponsored by the Muslim Students Association.  DeTamble auditorium. 7:30 pm.  More information here.

September 2. Professor Manachem Hofnung, "Cours and Terror: Democratic Governance and State Security.  4:30pm in Tribble C-316. Flyer

April 22.  Prince Among Slaves.  Showing of this award-winning film, followed by a lecture by the Dr. Sylviane Diouf , director of the Shomburg-Mellon Humanities Institute in New York.  7pm in Scales Fine Arts Center Auditorium.  Flyer.

April 16:Charles Kurzman of the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill will speak on “The Challenges of Radical Islam.” 5:00pm in Detamble Auditorium (Tribble Hall).  Sponsored by the Departments of Political Science, Sociology, Religion, and History. Flyer.

April 15: Paradise Now (2005), 7:00pm in Detamble Auditorium, Tribble Hall. Arabic film showing followed by discussion led by Hank Kennedy (Political Science) and Tom Brister (Political Science). Flyer

March 18: Charles Wilkins of Wake Forest’s Department of History will speak on “Slavery and Household Formation in Ottoman Aleppo, 1640-1700.” 4:30pm in Tribble A209.  Sponsored by Medieval Studies.

March 4-5: Interfaith Feminisms—Jewish, Christian and Muslim Perspectives, featuring Mary C. Boys, Susannah Heschel, Yvonne Haddad, and Hibba Abugidieri. Phyllis Trible Lecture Series. Information at http://divinity.wfu.edu/trible-lectures.html

March 3: Khairi Abaza of the University of London and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy will speak on “The Arab World: No Stability Without Reform.” 7:00 pm, Annenberg Forum (Carswell 111).  Sponsored by the Communication Department.

February 19: Where is Iraq (2004), 7:00pm in Detamble Auditorium, Tribble Hall. Arabic film showing followed by a discussion led by Sarah Lischer (Political Science) and Charles Wilkins (History). Flyer

 February 14: Eileen Joy of Southern Illinois University will speak on "The Old English Wonders of the East and the 2002 Gujarat, India, Massacre," 4:30pm in Tribble A209. Sponsored by Medieval Studies.

January 24: Daniel Ellsberg, "Iraq & Iran: The Need for New Pentagon Papers," 7:00pm in Brendle Recital Hall

2007

November 7: "What is the role of religion in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?"  Panel discussion featuring Ken Hoglund (Religion), Hank Kennedy (Political Science) and Charles Wilkins (History).  6-7pm in Benson 410.

October 29: Vali Nasr.  Lecture by an Iranian-American expert in contemporary Middle Eastern affairs, Islam and politics, 7:00 pm at Wait Chapel.

September 29: Indian classical music concert featuring Pritam Bhattacharjee accompanied by Prithwiraj Bhattacharjee on Tabla (sponsored the Indo-US Cultural Association in association with Wake Forest Music Department), 7:00 pm at Brendle Hall. Flyer

April 12: Michaelle Browers, “The US in the Middle East” (part of the Great Decisions series sponsored by the Center for International Studies). At 7: 00pm, A102 Scales Fine Arts Center.

March 28: Salim Tamari, Birzeit University, “Palestinian Politics After Mecca” (sponsored by the Departments of Political Science, Religion, History and Sociology). Pugh Auditorium at 6pm.

March 4: Roberta Morosini, Department of Romance Languages, Wake Forest University, “‘Whispers of the Dove’: Women and Polyandria in the Legend of Muhammad the Prophet of Islam, Dante’s ‘Inferno’ XXVIII, and the ‘Roman De Mahomet’” (sponsored by Medieval Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies). At 4:30pm, Tribble A209.

News & Announcements

• Faculty Q & A: Anthropology's Ellen Miller.
• Faculty Q & A: Political Science's Michaelle Browers.
• Profile of one student's experience in Fez.

Declaring the Minor

Minor declaration forms may be obtained online via WIN (click on Info Central, Forms and Documents, Registrar) or at the Registrar’s Office.