The Middle East Center (MEC) at the University of Utah is one of fifteen National Resource Centers in the United States devoted to the academic study of the Middle East and funded by the United States Department of Education under Title VI of the Higher Education Act. Established in 1960, the Center has administered degree programs at all levels (B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.) and offered, both to students and to the larger community, a variety of opportunities for the advancement of understanding of the Middle East. Such opportunities have included conferences, lecture series, workshops, continuing education courses, and outreach activities. Distinguished scholars of the Middle East from all over the world are invited to participate in many of these events, and conference papers normally result in published volumes. In addition, the MEC is able to arrange opportunities for intensive language study, fieldwork and research in a number of countries of the Middle East.
Our Mission
The mission of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah is to provide students with an opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary programs of study (undergraduate majors and minors and graduate M.A. and Ph.D. programs) aimed at the acquisition of proficiency in a major language or languages of the Middle East and North Africa (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Turkish) and the attainment of a well-informed understanding of the area’s history, cultures, religions, literatures, politics and contemporary dynamics. In the case of graduate students, this objective includes the mastery of the techniques of sound research related to the area. The Center also seeks to promote understanding of this complex area within the larger community through workshops for teachers in public education (K-12), public lectures and other community-oriented programs.
The University of Utah Campus
The University of Utah is a state-assisted research university of over 26,000 students and 3,600 faculty situated in a setting that combines the rugged beauty of the Wasatch Mountains with the cultural and social advantages of a metropolitan area of 1.7 million. Located on the eastern edge of Salt Lake, at the foot of the mountains, the campus is home to such attractions as the Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, the Utah Museum of Natural History, and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Its urban location allows access to theater, dance, symphony, and opera, and also is within range of some of the most stunning landscapes in the country, where students enjoy hiking, biking, skiing and many other outdoor activities.
The Aziz Atiya Library for Middle East Studies
The Aziz Atiya Library for Middle East Studies is the fifth largest such collection in North America and is recognized internationally as a major research library in this field. The collection contains over 160,000 books, monographs, and periodicals, including works written in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, and modern Turkish. The Fayez A. Sayegh Collection, composed of works dealing with the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and the Martin Levey Collection on the history of Islamic science are also housed here. The Library receives several Middle Eastern newspapers daily. Many more are available through the library’s electronic services. The collection is located in a special section of the Marriott Library, which is at the center of the University of Utah campus.
The Center organizes a variety of activities aimed at promoting understanding of the Middle East throughout the larger community. These include in particular workshops conducted in cooperation with the Utah State Office of Education for the purpose of enhancing the teaching of Middle East-related subject matter in the public schools. Graduate students in the Center are encouraged to participate in these workshops and on occasion are given opportunity to share their knowledge of the Middle East directly with K-12 students in the classroom. The Outreach Program also arranges for lectures and lecture series aimed at promoting informed public discussion of issues relating to the Middle East. Members of the Center faculty frequently participate in radio and television interviews and forums devoted to such issues.
Undergraduate Program
B.A. in MES-Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish. Students pursuing this degree (Middle East Studies majors) select a language of emphasis, in which they receive training through the advanced level, and in addition complete a program of interdisciplinary study of the Middle East consisting of courses offered in various participating departments. A MES minor is offered in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, and area studies.
Graduate Program
Degrees. M.A. in Middle East Studies–Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, anthropology. M.A., M. Phil., Ph.D. in Middle East Studies–Arabic, Arabic and linguistics, Persian, history, or political science. A graduate seminar required during the first year of study establishes an interdisciplinary framework for all other study in these programs. Students select a disciplinary emphasis in accordance with their primary interests.
The student’s program of study need not be strictly confined to the regional boundaries of the contemporary Middle East but may extend to fields such as Islamic or Jewish studies that have as much bearing on areas beyond the Middle East as on the Middle East as such. Opportunities for disciplinary degrees with Middle East Studies specializations are available through the departments of Anthropology, Economics, History, and Political Science.
More information is to come later
