Lehman College is now offering an interdisciplinary minor in Middle Eastern Studies. The 12-credit program draws faculty and resources from several areas, including history, anthropology, sociology and foreign languages.
"Student demand for creating this program has been virtually unlimited," said Prof. Dina Le Gall, coordinator of the new program. "Whether students are planning careers in government, journalism, business or other fields, knowledge of the Middle East will increase their career prospects in the international arena."
The current course listing includes classes in Islamic civilization, the Arab-Israeli conflict, modern Middle Eastern history, contemporary Islamic movements, women in the Islamic Middle East, Ottoman history, ethnography of the Middle East, the Middle East through urban and popular culture, Arab Americans, the cultural foundations of modern Israel, and Arabic and Hebrew.
Students graduating with the minor will be well positioned to pursue opportunities at the CUNY Graduate Center, which is beginning a master's in Middle Eastern Studies this fall. It will be the first graduate program in the country to include study of the Middle Eastern immigrant communities in the United States and Europe.