Middle East and North African Studies Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete a minor in Middle East and North African studies will be able to:

• Recognize the historical, cultural, social, and political traditions that influence the Middle East and North Africa;
• Understand how to counteract reductionist and ethnocentric estimations of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa;
• Locate, critically analyze, interpret, and discuss cultural and religious texts and political and social forces;
• Express and apply concepts and knowledge to engage in informed conversations about important issues related to the region;
• Apply skills, knowledge, and nuanced perspectives that are necessary for effective global citizens actively engaging in an increasingly interconnected world.

The Middle East and North African Studies Minor (“MENA”)

The minor in Middle East and North African (“MENA”) Studies is an interdivisional program examining the history, politics, religion, culture, and economics of the region. Through this minor, students will gain an in-depth understanding of the MENA region and the contexts through which we understand it. In order to provide students a comparative view of the region through multiple disciplines, the required coursework must be distributed among religious, language, cultural, and social science approaches. Two of these courses must be at or above the 300 level, and students must have at least a 2.0 GPA in the minor. Students petitioning to include classes not listed below must provide a course syllabus. The minor requires a minimum of 24 semester credit hours, and no more than 8 credits of foreign language study may be included in the 24-credit minimum.

Because this minor is interdivisional, students may complete any major to satisfy the college requirement that the major and minor be in different divisions.

When appropriate, other courses – for example, courses taken during study abroad – may be substituted for any of the requirements. All substitutions of alternatives for required courses must be approved by the minor coordinator, and students are strongly encouraged to discuss any potential course substitutions prior to enrolling in the course.