Imed Ben Jemaa Nsiri, Coordinator

The minor in Middle Eastern studies enables students to design their own course of study in an area of Middle Eastern studies that spans the Arab nations and Islamic civilization. The minor requires students to satisfy the Arabic heritage requirement and complete a course in Arabic language. Along with this, students, in consultation with the minor advisor, design their course of study from a host of courses across the university’s undergraduate catalog.

The following rules apply:

The minor consists of a minimum of 18 credits, including at least nine credits in courses at or above the 300 level.

• At least nine credits of the 18 credits required for the minor must be taken in residence at AUS.
• At least six credits of the nine credits at or above the 300 level must be taken in residence at AUS.
• A minimum GPA of 2.00 must be earned in courses completed to satisfy the minor.

Students seeking a minor in Middle Eastern studies must successfully complete the following courses or their equivalent. All course prerequisites must be satisfied.

Minor Requirements (6 credits)

Arabic Language Requirement (3 credits)

Students must successfully complete one course as follows:

for native and near-native speakers of Arabic

• ARA 308 Arabic Grammar in Use
• ARA 309 Business Arabic
• ARA 314 Media Arabic
• ARA 404 Working with MSA Texts

for non-native speakers of Arabic

• ARA 106 Elementary Arabic II
• ARA 203 Intermediate Arabic I
• ARA 204 Intermediate Arabic II
• ARA 220 Composition for Non-Native Speakers of Arabic

Arabic Heritage Requirement (3 credits)

Students must successfully complete one course from the following list:

• ARA 101 Introduction to Arabic Heritage I
• ARA 102 Introduction to Arabic Heritage II
• ARA 103 Arabic Music in a Historical Context

Minor Electives (minimum of 12 credits)

Students must successfully complete a minimum of 12 credits from at least two of the following tracks. No more than six credits can be taken in any single track and at least nine of the 12 credits must be at the 300 level or above.

Islamic Architecture and Urbanism Track

• ARC 225 Islamic Art and Architecture
• ARC 424 Evolution of Cities
• ARC 474 Issues in Contemporary Urban Design
• IDE 223 History and Theory of Interior Design: Global Issues
• any approved special topic course. Consult the online course catalog or the online class schedule accessible via the AUS student information system to verify course classifications.

Arabic Studies Track

Arabic Language

• ARA 340 The Social Context of Arabic
• any approved special topic course. Consult the online course catalog or the online class schedule accessible via the AUS student information system to verify course classifications.

Arabic Literature

• ARA 201 Arabic Literature in Translation
• ARA 206 Modern Arabic Prose
• ARA 209 Modern Arab History Through Literature
• ARA 312 Modern Arabic Literature: Prose and Poetry
• ARA 332 Women Writers from the Gulf
• ARA 350 Literature of the Arabian Gulf
• ARA 403 War and Peace in Arabic Literature and Film
• any approved special topic course. Consult the online course catalog or the online class schedule accessible via the AUS student information system to verify course classifications.

Arab/Islamic Culture and Civilization

• ARA 240 Arab-Islamic Culture and Civilization
• ARA 281 The Art of Qur’anic Recitation (Tajweed)
• ARA 302 Arab Identity and Thought
• ARA 303 Classical Arab/Islamic Culture
• ARA 380 Sufism: Readings in Islamic Mysticism
• ARA 383 Islamic Law and Jurisprudence
• ARA 385 Islamic Texts in Translation
• ARA 402 Qur'anic Studies
• PHI 310 Islamic Political Philosophy
• any approved special topic course. Consult the online course catalog or the online class schedule accessible via the AUS student information system to verify course classifications.

History, Economics and Politics of the Middle East Track

• ECO 315 Economics of the Middle East
• HIS 204 Modern Arab History
• HIS 307 Modern Palestinian History
• HIS 308 Ottoman History
• HIS 310 Modern Gulf History
• HIS 311 America and the Middle East• HIS 312 Modern Iranian History
• INS 310 The Middle East Meets the West
• INS 413 Political Economy of the Arab World
• INS 415 War and Peace in the Middle East
• PHI 202 Introduction to Islamic Philosophy
• any approved special topic course. Consult the online course catalog or the online class schedule accessible via the AUS student information system to verify course classifications.

Islamic Finance and Economics Track

• ACC 370 Accounting in Islamic financial institutions
• ECO 315 Economics of the Middle East
• FIN 370 Fundamental of Islamic Finance
• FIN 380 Islamic Markets, Money and Financial Institutions
• FIN 385 Islamic Corporate Finance
• any approved special topic course. Consult the online course catalog or the online class schedule accessible via the AUS student information system to verify course classifications.