B.A. in Middle East Studies

    Our Major

    This major is an interdisciplinary degree with an emphasis on the pressing problems of globalization and the environment of the peoples, cultures, and societies of the Middle East. Its courses offer students interested in exploring the richness and complexity of the Middle East, broadly defined as extending from Morocco through Iran, a framework for developing both expertise and wide-ranging critical perspectives on the region’s past, present, and future. The variety of courses allows students to build on their firm grounding in at least one of the region’s languages and pursue their research interests in their capstone projects.

    Nine total courses are required for the major. No more than two courses may be counted toward this major and another major. Students participating in USC Overseas Studies programs should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies to discuss course selection for the major. Students must meet with a Faculty Mentor from the department upon declaring a major in Middle East Studies.

    Learning Objectives

    -Offer foundational knowledge of the geography, cultures, and history of the Middle East and North Africa.

    -Provide rigorous training in a range of social science and humanities approaches from history, economics, political science, geography, and international relations to literary and cultural criticism.

    -Develop critical thinking skills that enable the student to place recent and current regional events in context.

    -Enhance students’ ability to question non-scholarly accounts of the region’s past and present.

    -Deliver firm grounding in at least one of the region’s languages: 4th semester proficiency in Arabic, Hebrew, or Persian.

    -Train students to conduct informed research on the Middle East.

    Academic Advising

    To speak to a college advisor about your interests, contact Isaura Pena (isaurape@usc.edu)

    Adding an Arabic Minor

    For students interested in majoring in Middle East Studies and minoring in Arabic, please note that in addition to ARAB 252 and MDES 201,  you must select seven upper-division courses for the MDES major from outside the ARAB prefix.

    OVERVIEW

    • I. Language (1 Course)

      All MDES majors must demonstrate fourth semester competency in a Middle Eastern language. This can be achieved through placement, transfer credits from other institutions (subject to approval by the MDES Curriculum Committee), from study abroad, or through successfully completing the level IV Arabic (ARAB 252), Hebrew (HEBR 315) or Persian (IRAN 250) courses at USC. Students who place out of the requirement to take ARAB 252, HEBR 315, or IRAN 250 must take an additional elective course.

      ARAB 252 Arabic IV*

      HEBR 315 Modern Hebrew Language (Hebrew IV)*

      IRAN 250 Persian IV*

      II. Required Course – Lower Division (1 Course)

      All students must take the following course.

      MDES 201 The Middle East: Global and Environmental Perspectives (GE-G)

      III. Required Courses – Upper Division (2 Courses)

      All students must take the following two courses.

      MDES 301 The Global Middle East (GE-C)

      MDES 475 Seminar in Middle East Studies

      IV. Concentration I (2 Courses)

      Students must take at least two courses from this list, one of which must be an MDES course.

      ARAB 300 Introduction to Translation

      ARAB 322 Advanced Arabic I

      ARAB 333 Colloquial Arabic: Regional Dialects

      ARAB 334 Media Arabic

      ARAB 352 Advanced Arabic II

      CLAS 349 Ancient Empires

      CLAS 371 From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Mediterranean in an Age of Expansion

      CLAS 378 Ptolemaic Egypt

      COLT 437 Arabic Autobiography: Writing and Interpreting the Self

      COLT 447 Traveling Genres: Politics/Poetics of Modern Arabic Prose

      HIST 382 The Middle East, 500–1500

      HIST 480 Seminar in Middle East History

      IRAN 320 Advanced Persian I

      IRAN 325 Business Persian

      IRAN 350 Advanced Persian II

      JS 389 Culture and Society in Israel: Inventing the Dream

      MDES 312 Medieval Iran: Society and Culture

      MDES 313 Modern Iran

      MDES 316 The Great Muslim Empires of the Near East and India (GE-H)

      MDES 324 Persian Literature

      MDES 325 Politics of Film and Literature in Modern Iran (GE-B)

      MDES 335 Nation and State in Modern Turkey

      MDES 343 Modern Arab Culture and Literature (GE-B)

      REL 394 Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East

      REL 402 Cultural Heritage, Religion, and Politics in the Middle East

      V. Concentration II (2 Courses)

      Students must take at least two courses from this list, one of which must be an MDES course.

      ECON 342 Economic Development of the Middle East

      IR 362 The International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East

      IR 363 Middle East Political Economy

      IR 464 US-Middle East Foreign Policy Issues

      MDES 314 Politics, Ideologies, Cultures of the Global South (GE-H)

      MDES 340 The United States and the Middle East

      MDES 342 Arab Intellectuals in Question (GE-C)

      MDES 345 Power and Authority in the Middle East

      MDES 375 Politics and Society in the Contemporary Middle East

      MDES 401 Environment and Politics in the Middle East

      MDES 403 Infrastructures of Dominance: Technology, Development and the Struggle for Power

      MDES 441 Cities of the Middle East (GE-G)

      POSC 351 Middle East Politics

      VI. Elective Courses (1 Course)

      Students must also take one upper-division course, chosen from the list below. Students who place out of the requirement to take ARAB 252, HEBR 315 or IRAN 250 must take two elective courses.

      ARAB 300 Introduction to Translation

      ARAB 322 Advanced Arabic I

      ARAB 333 Colloquial Arabic: Regional Dialects

      ARAB 334 Media Arabic

      ARAB 352 Advanced Arabic II

      CLAS 349 Ancient Empires

      CLAS 371 From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Mediterranean in an Age of Expansion

      CLAS 378 Ptolemaic Egypt

      COLT 437 Arabic Autobiography: Writing and Interpreting the Self

      COLT 447 Traveling Genres: Politics/Poetics of Modern Arabic Prose

      ECON 342 Economic Development of the Middle East

      FREN 448 France and Islam

      HIST 382 The Middle East, 500–1500

      HIST 384 Popular Culture in the Middle East

      HIST 480 Seminar in Middle East History

      IR 362 The International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East

      IR 363 Middle East Political Economy

      IR 464 US-Middle East Foreign Policy Issues

      IRAN 320 Advanced Persian I

      IRAN 325 Business Persian

      IRAN 350 Advanced Persian II

      JS 314 Holy War And History: Jews, Christians, Muslims (GE-B and GE-H)

      JS 389 Culture and Society in Israel: Inventing the Dream

      MDES 312 Medieval Iran: Society and Culture

      MDES 313 Modern Iran

      MDES 314 Politics, Ideologies, Cultures of the Global South (GE-H)

      MDES 316 The Great Muslim Empires of the Near East and India (GE-H)

      MDES 324 Persian Literature

      MDES 325 Politics of Film and Literature in Modern Iran (GE-B)

      MDES 335 Nation and State in Modern Turkey

      MDES 340 The United States and the Middle East

      MDES 342 Arab Intellectuals in Question (GE-C)

      MDES 343 Modern Arab Culture and Literature (GE-B)

      MDES 345 Power and Authority in the Middle East (GE-H)

      MDES 375 Politics and Society in the Contemporary Middle East

      MDES 401 Environment and Politics in the Middle East

      MDES 403 Technology, Development and Power in the Middle East

      MDES 441 Cities of the Middle East (GE-G)

      POSC 351 Middle East Politics

      REL 315 Thought and Life of Islam

      REL 316 Women and the Islamic Tradition

      REL 394 Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East

      REL 402 Cultural Heritage, Religion, and Politics in the Middle East

      REL 414 History of Islamic Law

      Note

      Concentration I and II courses may not be double counted as elective courses. MDES 490 and 492 may only be taken by departmental approval.

      *Counts as an upper division course for the major.

    • I. Students wishing to pursue an Iranian Studies concentration must demonstrate fourth-semester proficiency in the Persian language. This can be achieved through placement, transfer credits (subject to approval), from study abroad, or through successfully completing the level IV Persian (IRAN 250) course at USC. Students who place out of the requirement to take IRAN 250 must take an additional elective course. 

      IRAN 250 Persian IV

      II. Orientation courses: all students must take the following courses

      MDES 201 The Middle East: Global and Environmental Perspectives

      [AFTER] AND

      MDES 213 Iran: From Antiquity to Modernity (GE-C)

      OR

      MDES 312 Medieval Iran: Society and Culture

      III. Required Upper Division: all students must take the following course

      MDES 313 Modern Iran

      IV. Topical Courses: students must take at least three courses from this list. IR 363, MDES 375, and POSC 351 require departmental approval.

      IRAN 320 Advanced Persian I

      IR 363 Middle East Political Economy

      MDES 301 The Global Middle East

      MDES 314 Politics, Ideologies, Cultures of the Global South

      MDES 340 The United States and the Middle East

      MDES 345 Power and Authority in the Middle East

      MDES 375 Politics and Society in the Contemporary Middle East

      MDES 401 Environment and Politics in the Middle East

      MDES 403 Technology, Development and Power in the Middle East

      MDES 441 Cities of the Middle East

      POSC 351 Middle East Politics

      V. Elective: Students must take one course from the list below. Students who place out of language requirements must take two elective courses.

      CLAS 349 Ancient Empires

      ECON 341 Economic Development of the Middle East

      HIST 382 The Middle East, 500-1500

      HIST 480 Seminar in the Middle East History

      IR 363 Middle East Political Economy

      IR 464 US-Middle East Foreign Policy Issues

      IRAN 320 Advanced Persian I

      IRAN 325 Business Persian

      IRAN 350 Advanced Persian II

      MDES 312 Medieval Iran: Society and Culture

      MDES 314 Politics, Ideologies, Cultures of the Global South

      MDES 316 The Great Muslim Empires of the Near East and India

      MDES 324 Persian Literature

      MDES 325 Politics of Film and Literature in Modern Iran

      MDES 340 The United States and the Middle East

      MDES 345 Power and Authority in the Middle East

      MDES 375 Politics and Society in the Contemporary Middle East

      MDES 401 Environment and Politics in the Middle East

      MDES 403 Technology, Development and Power in the Middle East

      MDES 441 Cities of the Middle East

      POSC 351 Middle East Politics

      VI. Capstone Project

      Students must take the following course. After taking at least one upper-level course, students are required to produce a substantial piece of original and informed research employing sources in the Persian language.

      MDES 475 Seminar in Middle East Studies

    From our student

    Coco Zhang is a double major in Middle East Studies and Computer Science. During the summer of 2022, she studied abroad in the University of Cambridge after receiving the Dean Joan MetCalf Travel Award.

    The biggest, and most exciting, thing I’ve really appreciated from this program is the exposure to more of the world of academia, especially in getting to work with multiple people on my research project. It’s been really great just being able to discuss my work in all different kinds of contexts.