Cluster focus

This cluster adds scholarly expertise in politics of the Middle East and Islamic legal studies to the campus. The Middle Eastern Studies Program is flourishing due to recent hires in history, anthropology, French, Italian, and African languages and literature. The cluster positions help strengthen the Middle Eastern Studies Program and position it to become a federally funded area-studies center. The cluster strives to foster excellence in UW-Madison’s flourishing Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Turkish language programs, and attract students to study not only this vital international area, but also Islam, a major global religion. The cluster also enhances the quality of undergraduate teaching and scholarly research in an area that has seen increased demand.

Cluster accomplishments

  • The Middle East Studies program currently offers undergraduate students a certificate and a template for customizing individual majors in Middle Eastern Studies. The College of Letters and Science believes the certificate process is a model for other campus programs. As a component of the certificate, the program will offer an Introduction to the Middle East course for the first time in spring 2006.
  • The cluster has submitted a proposal for certification as a Title VI Undergraduate National Resources Center for Middle Eastern Studies from the U.S. Department of Education. If the program receives Title VI funding, an undergraduate major can be developed and established. Once the undergraduate program is established, the cluster plans to develop a graduate-education curriculum.
  • Through connections with the campus Global Studies program, cluster faculty have been able to establish a greater depth of courses in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Turkic languages.
  • The cluster recently sponsored a conference, Change in the Middle East: Disciplinary and Pedagogical Perspectives, to provide high school teachers and college professors with the latest information about contemporary issues in the Middle East. The conference featured educators from several institutions in Wisconsin.
  • In fall 2005, the Middle East Studies Program began a monthly brown-bag series focusing on such issues as anti-Mubarak protests in Cairo, the decline and fall of the Mongol Empire, and terrorism from a philosophical point of view. The program also sponsored a fall 2005 lecture series featuring national and international speakers on the theme of Change in the Middle East.

Cluster structure

The Middle East Studies Program has regular faculty meetings where cluster faculty and affiliated faculty interact. The program also has an elected executive committee of five senior professors. Once cluster faculty receive tenure, they may also become part of this executive committee. Cluster faculty and affiliated faculty also connect through a monthly lecture series and monthly Middle East Studies brown-bag luncheon discussions.

Cluster coordinator, faculty and lead dean

Cluster Coordinator

Cluster Faculty

Lead Dean