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UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM
Durham City, England, United Kingdom
Program
Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Degrees Offered
1. BA Honors in Arabic with Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
with Anthropology
with Economics
with Geography
with a Modern European Language
with Politics
with Sociology
2. BA Honors in Politics and History of the Middle East with one- or two-year MA: Middle
East politics
Islamic Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Arabic/English translation
Persian and Turkish
Islamic Studies with a Middle Eastern language
Modern Middle Eastern history
Postgraduate Diplomas in Arabic and Advanced Arabic.
The Centre is also able to provide research supervision up to doctoral level in all these
areas, as well as in Arabic literature, Arabic linguistics, and English/Arabic
translation.
Middle East Languages
Arabic (undergraduate and postgraduate level)
Persian (undergraduate level)
Turkish (undergraduate level)
Courses
In the four-year BA Honors programs (which include one year spent abroad in an
Arab country), six modules are taken in each of the three years of study in Durham,
including at least two compulsory language modules in each year.
Non-language courses include:
Introduction to Politics
Economy and Society of the Middle East
Introduction to Islam: Introduction to Islam with Arab Literature
History of the 20th century Middle East
Islamic Studies
Issues in the Security, Politics, and Economy of the Middle East
Modern Arabic Literature
Classical Arabic Literature
Palestine and Israel in the 20th century
Yemeni Arabic
Sudanese Arabic
Elementary Turkish
Elementary Persian
Specialized Translation
The Ottoman State 1300-1800.
The three-year programs include two compulsory language modules in each of the first two years and one in the third year.
Other modules may be chosen from among the modules offered at the Centre and several offered by the University’s History and Politics Departments.
The taught MA’s include:
courses in the politics and international relations of the Middle East
the political economy of Middle Eastern states
area studies research methodology
Islamic thought and politics
history of the Middle East 1798-1914 and 1914-1945
translation theory and linguistics.
MA students also write a dissertation of about 15,000 words on a subject of their own choice.
Faculty
Ewan Anderson (geopolitics of the Middle East)
Ali Ansari (Political philosophies and ideologies)
James Dickins (Arabic language)
Sheila Doyle (Middle East Documentation Unit, Durham University library)
Anoushiravan Ehteshami (security, Iran, Central Asia, Middle Eastern politics)
Fadia Faqir (Arabic language and literature, women's studies, culture, media)
Ronak Husni (Arabic language and literature)
Emma Murphy (Middle Eastern political economy)
Tom Najem (Middle Eastern political economy)
Paul Starkey (Arabic language and literature, elementary Persian)
Mamtimyn Sunuodula (Middle East section, Durham University library)
Suha Taji-Farouki (Contemporary Islamic studies)
Colin Turner (Persian language and Islamic history)
Stephen Vernoit (Islamic studies)
Janet Watson (Arabic language)
Jack Wesson (Arabic language)
Emma Westney (Arabic language and literature)
Christine Woodhead (Ottoman history, Turkish language and literature)
Degree Requirements
The main emphasis in all undergraduate Arabic-language courses is on Modern Standard and
Colloquial Arabic although there is also some study of the Classical language. All courses aim to give a high level of skill in
all aspects of the language. In addition to
studying the language, all undergraduates study Islam and the history and literature of
the Middle East region and receive an introduction to present-day issues in the
region’s economy, politics and social science. A
dissertation (of about 10,000 words) is written in the final year, providing an
opportunity for undergraduates to pursue a topic in which they are particularly
interested.
Director
Anoushiravan Ehteshami
Scholarships/Graduate Support
The Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies is eligible to receive grants from
Britain's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Special Features
The Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies is at the forefront of Middle
Eastern studies’ teaching and research in Britain and has expanded rapidly in the
last few years, building on the University of Durham’s long legacy of several decades
of teaching of Arabic, Persian and Turkish language and literature and Middle Eastern
studies. The Centre is an interdisciplinary
department and its academic staff have a wide range of expertise in Middle Eastern
languages and study and has developed expertise in computerized language-teaching methods. Staff research interests include: Arabic linguistics
Egyptian literature
international relations and strategic studies
political economy of the Middle East
Ottoman Turkish history
Sufism
Islamic history
the Arab-Israeli conflict
Europe-Middle East relations
gender issues. Six members of staff are
specialists in Arabic language and literature, including regional dialects. The Centre maintains links with many institutions
in the Middle East and worldwide and has a distinguished list of honorary fellows
Middle East Documentation Unit, Durham University
Library
www.dur.ac.uk/Library/).
The expertise of the Centre for Middle eastern Studies is
complemented by the Middle East Documentation Unit, a unique collection of primary
documents on the Middle East now housed in the University Library. Founded in 1970 and
containing statistics, population census reports, official gazettes of Middle Eastern
countries, development plans, publications of regional organizations and international
agencies operating in the Middle East, as well as many other key reports on the region, it
provides a first-class research resource of international status. The Unit contains some
200,000 publications, many of which cannot be easily obtained elsewhere, and its holdings
are continually updated. All documents received since 1997 and all current serials appear
in the Main Library catalogue, as do an increasing number of older serials. Other material
appears in a separate MEDU catalogue.
University Library
Durham University Library has substantial holdings of books, periodicals and
newspapers on the Middle East and Islamic World and its collections on contemporary
economic, political and social issues are
especially comprehensive. The Library also
administers two notable document collections: The
Sudan Archive (a research collection of papers and other materials relating primarily to
the Sudan during the Condominium period 1899-1955 and the papers of Abbas Hilmi II,
Khedive of Egypt 1892-1914) and the Middle East Documentation Unit (see above).
Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies,
Durham University, UK
Research and Publications
Research centres on two main areas:
(1) Arabic Language/Linguistics (dialectology and lexicography)
(2) Arabic literature (the preparation of a major international reference book on Arabic
literature - the 500,000-word Encyclopedia of Arabic
Literature
the development of the first English-language series of introduced and edited works of
Arab women novelists)
(3) the political economy of economic liberalization in the Middle East (economic
liberalization in Tunisia work on economic liberalisation in the Arab states and the
Central Asian and Caucasian republics - a joint project with the Russian Centre for Middle
Eastern Studies - and political economy and development in the Middle East (practical
problems encountered by Middle Eastern states in the process of development, particularly
water resources in the Middle East and coastal zone development in Malta)
(4) Strategy and international relations in the Middle East (boundary and cross-boundary
problems
arms supplies and nuclear issues in the region
the strategic balance and the Iranian-Syrian relationship
the Red Sea region
Central Asia and the Middle East linkages)
(5) Domestic politics of Middle Eastern states (political power in the Middle East
democratization in the Middle East)
(6) Islamic studies and Middle Eastern history (Muslim communities in Europe
Islamist movements within the Middle East and internationally
Islamic and Middle Eastern history).
The Centre has published an Occasional Papers series since 1973 (ISSN 1357-7522). The series covers all aspects of the economy,
politics, social science, history, literature and languages of the Middle East.
Inquiries
Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
University of Durham
The Al-Qasimi Building
Elvet Hill Road
Durham DH1 3TU
United Kingdom
44-191 374 2822
fax 44-191 374 2830
http://www.dur.ac.uk/imeis/index.htm
Middle East Documentation Unit
University Library
Stockton Road
Durham DH1 3LY
United Kingdom
0191-347 2823
fax 0191-374 7481
www.dur.ac.uk/Library/
Last updated Tuesday, August 19, 2003