Director of Undergraduate Studies:
  Allison Busch, 419 Knox Hall; 854-9626; ab2544@columbia.edu

Language Coordinators:
African languages: Mariame Sy, sms2168@columbia.edu, 408 Knox Hall; 851-2439
Arabic: Taoufik Ben Amor, tb46@columbia.edu, 308 Knox Hall; 854-2985
Armenian: Nanor Kebranian, nk2334@columbia.edu, 407 Knox Hall; 851-4002
Hebrew: Rina Kreitman, rk2617@columbia.edu, 411 Knox Hall; 854-6519
Hindi/Urdu: Rakesh Ranjan, rr2574@columbia.edu, 409 Knox Hall; 851-4107
Persian: Ghazzal Dabiri, gd2287@columbia.edu, 412 Knox Hall; 854-6664
Sanskrit: Guy Leavitt, gl2392@columbia.edu, 311 Knox Hall;
Tamil: D. Samuel Sudanandha, dss2121@columbia.edu, 305 Knox Hall; 854-4702
Turkish: Zuleyha Colak, zc2208@columbia.edu, 412 Knox Hall; 854-0473

Departmental Office: 401 Knox Hall; 854-2556

• http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mesaas/

The undergraduate program in Middle Eastern and Asian studies, which expanded to include African studies, offers students the opportunity to study in depth the cultures, ideas, histories, and politics of several overlapping world regions. The program emphasizes the close reading of intellectual traditions, creative movements, and political debates, drawing on a wide variety of historical and contemporary sources in literature, religion, intellectual life, the visual and performing arts, and new media. Courses also examine the historical and cultural contexts in which these traditions and debates have been produced.

Majors develope two closely related skills. The first is linguistic expertise. A minimum of two years of course work in one language is required, and further work (including intensive summer language study) is greatly encouraged, with the aim of learning how to study a cultural field through its own texts. The Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS) offers courses in Arabic and several other Middle Eastern languages, in Hindi/Urdu and a number of other South Asian languages, and in at least three African languages. The second skill is learning how to think and write about complex cultural formations, drawing on a variety of methods and disciplinary approaches. The approaches vary according to the faculty members' expertise, incorporating methods from various fields in the humanities and social sciences, such as political theory, literary criticism, film studies, cultural studies, and history.

Academic Program

Majors and concentrators begin their work with an introductory course that emphasizes a particular area (the Middle East, South Asia, or Africa). They then take AHUM V3399 Major texts: Middle East and South Asia, a small-group seminar course in which they explore some of the classic texts of these world regions. Five additional courses are chosen in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies. These may include six points of course work from other departments, subject to the approval of the director of undergraduate studies. Although students typically choose a particular focus (for example, Arab political thought, Urdu literature, Armenian history, Iranian cinema, or contemporary West Africa), students are encouraged to gain exposure to the fullest range of topics and approaches offered by the faculty of the department.

With this background, students are ready to take, preferably in their senior year, MDES W3000 Theories of culture. This examination of various critical approaches to the study of language, culture, and politics enables students to reflect on their own work from a number of different perspectives. Students may also wish to write a thesis. While not required for graduation, the thesis enables a student to be considered for departmental honors.

In Fulfillment of the Language Requirement

In commencing the two-year language requirement, students should be aware that those with previous language training who wish to start a language program at a level above the introductory level must in most cases take a placement test before registration. Those seeking to waive a language requirement must take a proficiency test.

For information about the time and location of the placement tests, consult the Languages section of the departmental Web site at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mesaas/languages/. The Web site includes separate pages for each language, describing the program of instruction, courses for heritage speakers, summer language programs, and more. Note that language courses must be taken for a letter grade. Pass/D/Fail or Registration credit (R) is not permitted. Further information is also available from the coordinators of each language program.

Advising

Newly declared majors and concentrators should meet with the director of undergraduate studies in order to plan a program of study. The goal is to strike a balance between courses that will help a student achieve depth in a particular area/discipline and those that foster a wider perspective. Although students are encouraged to approach faculty in the department based on their specific interests, the director of undergraduate studies functions as an ad hoc adviser for all entering students, addressing issues of course requirements, credit and approval for courses in other departments or other schools, study abroad, and, eventually, honors requirements (including the senior thesis). Please do not hesitate to contact the director of undergraduate studies by e-mail or phone, or during office hours.

Grading

Courses in which the grade of D has been received do not count toward the major or concentration requirements, nor do those taken Pass/D/Fail except for the first course taken toward the major or concentration.

Honors Program/Senior Thesis

For complete guidelines see Departmental Honors as outlined in Programs of Study in this bulletin. To be considered for the departmental honors program, a senior thesis with a topic and format approved by the director of undergraduate studies is required. Students must submit a thesis proposal to the director of undergraduate studies by November 15 of their senior year; the thesis itself is due on April 1. A senior thesis is not a requirement for the major. Normally no more than 10 percent of the graduating majors in the department each year may receive departmental honors. For more information, please see Frequently Asked Questions on the department's website.