Department website
(for 2009–2010 academic year)
Advisory Committee Ahmed, Chaudhry, Dallal, Kaimal, Khan, Monk, Rutherford (Director), Spadola
This minor focuses on the Middle East and North Africa while also studying the wider Islamic world. It provides students with an understanding of the origins and development of the Islamic faith in its heartland, as well as an awareness of the multi-cultural and dynamic character of modern Islam. It also trains students in the history, culture, politics, and political economy of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Islamic world.
The area encompassed by this minor extends from Morocco to the Philippines. It contains an extraordinary variety of linguistic and ethnic groups such as Arabs, Iranians, Turkic peoples, Kurds, Baluchis, Malays, and others. This region is home to over 1.4 billion Muslims, who constitute more than one-fifth of the world’s population. It is the source of a rich religious and intellectual tradition that emerged from the same roots as the Western tradition and evolved over a long history of interaction with the West. It also plays an important role in global peace, security, and prosperity. These demographic, cultural, and strategic considerations will lead to a steady increase in contact between the Islamic world and the West in the future. The Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilization Studies Program (MIST) minor equips Colgate students with the knowledge and conceptual tools needed to understand and manage this relationship.
The themes addressed by the minor include the history and development of the Islamic faith; colonialism and its impact on the cultures, economies, and polities of the region; the rise of nationalism and its relationship to tribal, religious, and ethnic identities; the emergence and impact of political Islam; the Arab-Israeli conflict; the prospects for democratization; and United States foreign policy toward the Middle East, North Africa, and the Islamic world.
Minor Program
The five-course minor in the Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilization Studies Program consists of the following:
1. CORE 183, Middle East is the preferred gateway course. With permission of the director, students may substitute CORE 185, Iran or another appropriate core cultures course as the gateway course.
2. Four additional courses selected from among those listed below. Students must complete at least one course in two of the three groups (A, B, and C). They may not count more than two courses from any group toward the minor. They may count one affiliated elective toward the minor.
Group A
MIST/RELG 214, Introduction to the Qur’an
MIST/ RELG 337, Islamic Mysticism
RELG 327, The Islamic Heritage of Turkey
RELG 328, Experiencing Islam
RELG 329, Islam in the Modern World
RELG 412, Seminar on Rumi
Group B
HIST 259, Introduction to Modern Middle Eastern History
HIST 357, The Muslim Middle East in Pre-Modern Times
HIST 359, Nationalism and Arab Identity in the 20th Century
HIST 459, Seminar on Modern Middle Eastern History
Group C
MIST 310, Islamic Jurisprudence
MIST/POSC 215, Comparative Politics: Middle East
MIST/POSC 304, Islam and Politics
MIST/POSC 363, International Relations of the Middle East
Affiliated Electives
ARTS 210, Art and Architecture of the Islamic World
ARTS 244, The Art of India
CORE 174, Multi-Ethnic Israel
FREN 455, Francophone Voices from North Africa
HEBR 121, 122, Elementary Hebrew
HEBR 201, 202, Intermediate Hebrew
MIST 121, 122, Elementary Arabic
MIST 201, 202, Intermediate Arabic
MIST/PEAC 351, Case Studies in Regional Conflict
PEAC 479, Research Seminar in Peace and Conflict Studies: Peace and Conflict, Themes and Analysis
3. Following completion of the minor, students are encouraged to undertake a capstone experience.
Course Offerings
Courses unique to the Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilization Studies Program (MIST) are described below. Descriptions of other courses noted above may be found under appropriate departments.
121 Elementary Arabic I
S. Dallal
This course offers elementary training in the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing through intensive training in the phonology and script of Modern Standard Arabic and its basic vocabulary and fundamental structure. There is a focus on simple interactive communicative tasks involving teacher with students and students among themselves. Basic grammar is taught through reading, writing, and speaking drills in conjunction with the formal exercises in the text. This training is supplemented with simple lessons on interpersonal transactions and cultural contexts.
122 Elementary Arabic II
S. Dallal
This elementary-level Modern Standard Arabic course continues the presentation of fundamentals of Arabic grammar and the development of proficiency in reading, writing, and spoken communication skills and oral comprehension, including extensive cultural material. The course provides additional training in formal spoken Arabic, with significant consideration to deviations of certain Arabic accents. In addition to standard drills, students are expected to engage in structured and semi-structured speaking activities, as well as content-based language activities built around regional topics. Prerequisite: MIST 121.
201 Intermediate Arabic I
S. Dallal
This course continues the study of Modern Standard Arabic begun in MIST 121 and 122, or their equivalent. Emphasis is placed on grammatical analysis, writing, and reading of increasingly longer and more complex texts; further vocabulary acquisition; and continued practice in listening and speaking formal Arabic. Prerequisite: MIST 122.
202 Intermediate Arabic II
S. Dallal
This second intermediate level course of Modern Standard Arabic continues the presentation of fundamentals of Arabic grammar and the development of proficiency in reading, writing, and spoken communications skills and aural comprehension, including extensive cultural material. In this course, the student should be able to receive instructions in Arabic. The course provides additional extensive training in formal spoken Arabic, with significant consideration to classical Arabic, as well as the deviations of certain Arabic accents. This course concentrates on extensive reading and writing as well as correct prose. It encompasses interdialectical features as well as the variations of modern standard Arabic; and it completes and emphasizes the functional as well as the situational aspects of the Arabic language. The student is expected to write brief essays in Arabic and continue to engage in structured and semi-structured writing and speaking activities, as well as content-based language activities built around regional topics. Prerequisite: MIST 201 or equivalent.
214 Introduction to the Qur’an
This course is crosslisted as RELG 214. For course description, see “Religion: Course Offerings.”
215 Comparative Politics: Middle East
This course is crosslisted as POSC 215. For course description, see “Political Science: Course Offerings.”
304 Islam and Politics
This course is crosslisted as POSC 304. For course description, see “Political Science: Course Offerings.”
310 Islamic Jurisprudence
S. Dallal
This course addresses Islamic jurisprudence from the historical background of Islamic law, known as Shari’ah, namely the five Sunni and Shiite Schools of Law, the concept of “Ijtihad,” and Islamic criminal law. Students also study the relationship between Islamic and other systems of jurisprudence. Consideration of Muslim theology offers an important context for understanding Islamic law.
337 Islamic Mysticism
This course is crosslisted as RELG 337. For course description, see “Religion: Course Offerings.”
351 Case Studies in Regional Conflict
This course is crosslisted as PEAC 351. For course description, see “Peace and Conflict Studies: Course Offerings.”
363 International Relations of the Middle East
This course is crosslisted as POSC 363. For course description, see “Political Science: Course Offerings.”