Requirements for the Concentration

MENA students are required to take a total of six courses, as follows:

a. Four courses from the MENA course list (see table below)

  • No more than 2 of the 4 courses may come from a single department;
  • Two of the courses need to be above the 199 level;
  • No more than 2 courses can be transferred from off-campus;
  • No more than 2 courses can be counted towards the student’s major;  
  • Any exceptions must be approved by the MENA committee.

b. Arabic language requirement (two courses beyond ARAB 112 - Beginning Arabic II).

c. MENA experience is required from MENA students. This could be fulfilled in one of the following forms:

  • A Study Abroad program that focuses on the Middle East or North Africa in or outside the region;
  • Internship at a non-governmental or governmental organization that focuses on the Middle East or North Africa;
  • Research project, or internship related to or conducted within the MENA region;  
  • Community work in areas with predominantly Middle Eastern populations outside of the MENA region;
  • All forms of fulfilling this requirement are subject to the approval of the MENA committee.

Summary of Course Distribution  

I. Language Requirement (2 courses)

ARAB 211Intermediate Arabic I (Prerequisite ARAB 112)
ARAB 212Intermediate Arabic II (Prerequisite ARAB 211)
 II. Elective Requirements (4 courses selected from:)
 
ARAB 315Culture of the Arab World
ANSO 345Special Topics (when taught as "Anthropology of Islam")
ECON 361Directed Study (on a MENA-related topic)
ECON 415Political Economy of the Middle East (Prerequisite ECON 301 or instructor's consent.)
HIST 121Islamic History before 1800
HIST 122The Modern Middle East
HIST 321Women in the History of the Modern Middle East
INTL 250Global and Local Flows and Frictions (when taught as "Gender and Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa")
REL 218Islam
PPA 347
SPAN 420Seminar in Peninsular Literature (course taught in Spanish; Prerequisite - any two SPAN 300-level courses)
SPAN 430Seminar in Spanish Culture (course taught in Spanish; Prerequisite - any two SPAN 300-level courses)
III. MENA Experience Requirement
 
  • An Off-campus experience is required from MENA students.  This could be fulfilled in one of the following forms:
  • A Study Abroad program that focuses on the Middle East or North Africa in or outside the region;
  • Internship at a non-governmental or governmental organization that focuses on the Middle East or North Africa;
  • Research project, or internship related to or conducted within the MENA region;  
  • Community work in areas with predominantly Middle Eastern populations outside the MENA region;
  • All forms of fulfilling this requirement are subject to the approval of the MENA committee.

IV. A Note on Prerequisites

 
Of the twelve MENA elective courses, only four courses have a prerequisite requirement, as follows:
ECON 415Political Economy of the Middle East (Prerequisite is ECON 301, which in turn entails taking another 2 courses (ECON 101, ECON 102). Thus, this course will be most suitable for those students who are Economics majors, or have previous knowledge that is approved by the instructor's consent.)
SPAN 420Seminar in Peninsular Literature (Prerequisites are any two 300-level SPAN courses, which in turn require SPAN 215, SPAN 220 and SPAN 230; course is offered in Spanish.)
SPAN 430Seminar in Spanish Culture (Prerequisites are any two 300-level SPAN courses, which in turn require SPAN 215, SPAN 220 and SPAN 230; course is offered in Spanish.)
ARAB 211Intermediate Arabic I (This course entails covering two semesters of Beginning Arabic, ARAB 111 and ARAB 112, or consent of instructor.)
The fewest courses a student would need to take to complete the concentration would be 4, assuming that they were proficient in Arabic when they arrived at Denison. If students had had no Arabic language training at all before coming to Denison, the fewest courses a student would need to take to complete the concentration would be 8 (in which case they would need ARAB 111 and ARAB 112 in addition to the other MENA requirements).
The most courses a student would need to take would be 8, while noting that Economics and Spanish majors would have had to fill the prerequisites for Econ 463 or Span 420 as part of their majors anyway.