An illustration by 13th-century artist Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti. The Middle East & North Africa major will encourage students to correct misconceptions about the region. Illustration courtesy of Bibliothéque Nationale de France
As interest in Middle Eastern studies grows, BU students with a scholarly passion for the region’s languages and culture have been accustomed to cherry-picking related courses. But with the creation of a new undergraduate program, students can now major in Middle East & North Africa (MENA) studies. It corrals offerings in the region’s spoken languages as well as the humanities, social sciences, and geography.
“In 2010, one of our gifted Arabic students asked why she couldn’t major in Middle Eastern studies in an integrated way, without having to choose between the cultural and political aspects,” says Margaret Litvin, a CAS associate professor of Arabic & comparative literature, and director of MENA studies. Although the University offers majors in Asian, European, and Latin American studies, and Jewish studies is offered as a minor, there was no major to embrace the cultures of the entire Middle East and North Africa, including Iran and Israel. “It was a gaping hole,” says Litvin, who is fluent in Arabic and teaches Arabic literature, including a course on Scheherazade and the classic folk tale One Thousand and One Nights.
Students in BU’s newest Bachelor of Arts program must complete three years of language study—the inaugural MENA majors have chosen Arabic, Persian (Farsi), Turkish, and Hebrew—as well as courses in both humanities and social sciences. The program will be offered by the College’s new Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. The aim, according to the official description, is to prepare graduates for careers in “government, international nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector by building marketable skills (cultural competence and real linguistic proficiency) as well as intellectual sophistication.” The MENA majors who kicked off the program’s first year have career aspirations ranging from Arabic literature to Middle Eastern-focused international law.
“It is obvious that we needed this,” says Michael Zank, a CAS professor of religion and director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies. “The new MENA program counts advanced language courses toward the degree; to me, language is the key to a civilization, and one cannot study the Middle East without acquiring a taste for its intricate and diverse cultural heritage.” From the perspective of Jewish studies, he adds, “I am delighted to see Israel studies and Hebrew recognized as part of Middle East & North Africa studies. MENA faculty, especially Margaret Litvin, should be commended for creating a model program that is culturally sophisticated and based on inquiry rather than advocacy.”
In class discussions and debate, Litvin has asked students to argue for a particular side whether they embrace that point of view or not, to dig deeper into Western assumptions about Islam or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Litvin sees the students majoring in MENA as scholarly ambassadors in a way. The more they learn, the more they can correct the misconceptions that abound all around them. “It’s part of being an educated American,” she says.
“I think it’s critical for our foreign policy to study the Middle East,” says Danielle Liberman (CAS’17), who hopes to pursue a career in international law. “All the MENA courses reflect different critiques of the region.” The MENA degree offers the broad cultural perspective her intended major in international relations could not provide, she says.
Like many of her fellow MENA students, Liberman has had “a passion for this field my entire life.” When she got the BU email announcing the new major, “I immediately knew I wanted to do this,” she says. “This fall, I’m taking five MENA classes.”