Shirin Saeidi
Director, King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies
202 Old Main
479-575-2175
mest@uark.edu

Middle East Studies Website

Students interested in the Middle East and North Africa and wishing to maximize their potential for academic, business, professional, or government careers related to the area, may earn a second major in Middle East studies with a required primary major in an approved area in Fulbright College such as anthropology, economics, world languages, geography, history, journalism, and political science. New students entering the program are required to notify both the major adviser and the MEST director of their intention to participate. Freshmen and sophomores considering this program are advised to begin their study of a Middle East language as early as possible. Students may also earn a minor in Middle East studies.

Requirements for a Combined Major in Middle East Studies: In order to add a combined major in Middle East Studies, students are required to select a primary major in one of the following approved fields: anthropology, Arabic, communication, economics (B.A.), French, geography, history, international studies, journalism, political science, sociology, or Spanish. Up to nine credit hours in the primary major may count toward the combined major in Middle East Studies with the permission of the program director.

Requirements for a Minor in Middle East Studies:

Students must complete 18 hours:

Requirements for Honors in MEST:

The Honors Program in Middle East Studies gives junior and senior students of high ability the opportunity to enroll in enriched courses and conduct independent research culminating in an honors thesis. In addition to satisfying the general Fulbright College requirements for graduation and the basic eligibility requirements for honors as established by the Honors Council, candidates for honors in Middle East Studies must complete 12 hours of honors credit in partial satisfaction of requirements for the co-major. One to 6 of these hours may be thesis hours (MEST 399V).

The preferred method for satisfying the remaining hours is to enroll in the colloquium at least once for honors credit (MEST 4003H) and to take relevant honors colloquia or graduate courses (with permission) in one of the departments contributing to this interdisciplinary area study. The thesis committee shall include a representative from the major discipline (in the case of multiple majors, from the discipline contributing most significantly to the topic). Successful completion of these requirements will be recognized by the award of the distinction “Middle East Studies Scholar Cum Laude” at graduation. Higher degree distinctions are recommended only in exceptional cases and are based upon the whole of the candidate’s program of honors studies.

Faculty

Antov, Nikolay Atanasov, Ph.D. (University of Chicago), M.A. (Bilkent University, Turkey), B.A. (American University in Bulgaria), Associate Professor, Department of History, 2011, 2017.
Ghadbian, Najib, Ph.D. (City University of New York), M.A. (City University of New York), M.A. (Rutgers University), B.Sc. (United Arab Emirates University), Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, 1999, 2005.
Gordon, Joel Samuel, Ph.D. (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor), B.A. (University of Illinois), Professor, Department of History, 1999, 2007.
Haydar, Adnan Fuad, Ph.D. (University of California-San Diego), M.A., B.A. (American University of Beirut), Professor, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, 1993.
Haydar, Paula Marie, Ph.D., M.F.A. (University of Arkansas), M.Ed., B.S. (University of Massachusetts), Associate Professor, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, 2006, 2023.
Kahf, Mohja, Ph.D., B.A. (Rutgers State University-New Brunswick), Professor, Department of English, 1995, 2019.
Mahmoud, Rania, Ph.D. (University of Washington), M.A. (Old Dominion University), B.A., (University of Alexandria, Egypt), Assistant Professor, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, 2017.
Paradise, Thomas R., Ph.D. (Arizona State University), M.Sc. (Georgia State University), F.G.A. (Goldsmith Hall Gem-A, London), G.G. (Gemological Institute of America), B.S. (University of Nevada), University Professor, Department of Geosciences, 2000, 2016.
Saeidi, Shirin, Ph.D. (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom), M.A. (George Mason University), B.A. (University of Maryland-College Park), Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, 2018.