About the Middle East Studies Initiative
The Middle East Studies Initiative is committed to increasing the presence of the Middle East in the undergraduate curriculum. A steeering committee will oversee the Bryn Mawr's Middle East Studies Initiative and work with colleagues at Haverford and Swarthmore College on tri-college curricular planning. Here, on our Web site, we will provide information about the ways Bryn Mawr students can investigate the history, politics and cultures of the Middle East through coursework, independent study, and events here and at neighboring institutions.
Literature, cultural studies, and political science courses are available at Bryn Mawr. In addition, courses elsewhere in the curriculum include some Middle East content. Courses in Peace & Conflict Studies and Political Science, offered by Marc Ross and Ahsiya Posner, feature case studies from the region. Pim Higginson, who teaches in the French Department and in the Comparative Literature Program, teaches courses that include the francophone literature of North Africa. Amitai Amiram offers first-year Hebrew. In Fall 2006, Modern Standard Arabic will be offered on a tri-college basis.
Haverford and Swarthmore offer courses in religion, anthropology and sociology which focus on Middle Eastern studies. At Haverford, Prof. Doug Davis of the department draws on his research in Morocco for course material on adolescent psychology. Classes are also available at the University of Pennsylvania.
The members of the Middle East Studies Initiative Steering Committee can help students who are interested in Middle Eastern topics plan coursework and independent study.
Mideast History Expert Rashid Khalidi to Deliver
2007 Flexner Lectures
Rashid Khalidi, one of the foremost authorities on the history of the modern Middle East, will deliver the 2007 Mary Flexner Lectures at Bryn Mawr College on three Wednesdays in October and November. The overarching theme of the series will be "The United States, the Middle East and the Cold War."
Khalidi's talks, which are free and open to the public, will take place at 8 p.m. in Thomas Great Hall. His topics are "Rethinking the Cold War in the Middle East" (Oct. 24), "Oil, Strategy and the Cold War in the Middle East" (Oct. 31) and "The Middle East in the Cold War and Afterwards" (Nov. 7). His visit has prompted a series of associated workshops and discussions for members of the Bryn Mawr faculty and staff.
Arabic Table
Arabic table meets Wednesday at noon in Haffner Dining Room. Join Debi Harrold and others to practice your Arabic and/or help others practice theirs.