Explore the Major

Language and civilization (track a: depth), 12 courses

Track A offers students a rigorous and intellectually coherent foundation in line with their own specific interests.

Through in-depth study of Near Eastern languages and texts in their original languages, richly contextualized through study of literature, religion, visual arts, archaeology, political and social history, students focus on the Ancient Near East, the Classical Near East, Medieval Islam, or Modern Arabic and Hebrew languages and cultures.

  • 6 term courses of up to:
  • 2 Near Eastern language courses
  • 1 Foundations course
  • 4 electives
  • Senior essay: NELC 492 and/or 493 or in a department seminar

All courses should be chosen in consultation with the assigned faculty adviser or DUS.

Students are encouraged to take related courses in other departments and programs, such as Anthropology, Archaeology, Classics, History, History of Art, History of Science, Medicine & Public Health, Judaic Studies, Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.

Such courses, including college seminars, as well as courses taken in the Summer and at other institutions, will routinely be accepted for credit toward the major if they deal with Near Eastern topics, at the discretion of the assigned faculty adviser and DUS.

Sample Coursework for Track A—Depth area: Arabic

  • 6 language
    • Arabic 130—Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I [L3]
    • Arabic 140—Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic II [L4]
    • Arabic S150
    • Arabic S151
    • Arabic 560
    • Arabic 560
  • 1 foundations
    • NELC 119—Ancient Empires
  • 4 electives
    • ​Judaic Studies 293—Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought
    • Religious Studies 287—Islamic Theology and Philosophy
    • Arabic 168—Modern Arab Writers
    • NELC 453—History of the Arabic Language

Sample Coursework for Track A—Depth area: Modern Hebrew

  • 6 language
    • Hebrew 130—Intermediate Hebrew I [L3]
    • Hebrew 140—Intermediate Hebrew I [L4]
    • Hebrew 150—Advance Modern Hebrew—Daily Life in Israel [L5]
    • Hebrew 152—Reading Academic Texts in Modern Hebrew [L5]
    • Hebrew 161—Israeli Popular Music
    • Mod. ME Studies 162—Languages in Dialogue—Hebrew and Arabic [L5]
  • 1 foundations
    • NELC 128—From Gilgamesh to Persepolis: Introduction to Near Eastern Literatures
  • 4 electives
    • Judaic Studies 306—Israeli Narratives
    • Mod. ME Studies 018—Politics and Literature in the Middle East
    • NELC 231—Introduction to Judaism
    • NELC 228—Literature of the Holocaust
  • Senior Essay NELC 493 (Spring)

Click here for a downloadable worksheet for Language and Civilization (track a, depth)

Languages, civilization, and culture (track b: breadth), 12 courses

Track B is a flexible program that allows students to take a range of classes and to design their course of study in line with broad-ranging interests.

All courses should be chosen in consultation with the assigned faculty adviser or DUS.

Students are encouraged to take related courses in other departments and programs, such as Anthropology, Archaeology, Classics, History, History of Art, History of Science, Medicine & Public Health, Judaic Studies, Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.

Such courses, including college seminars, as well as courses taken in the Summer and at other institutions, will routinely be accepted for credit toward the major if they deal with Near Eastern topics, at the discretion of the assigned faculty adviser and DUS.

*Students who take a foreign language during a term, year, or summer abroad must complete a departmental placement examination after they return to Yale; there are no exceptions to this requirement.

Sample Coursework for Track B—Breadth (general premodern focus)

  • 4 language
    • Hebrew 110
    • Hebrew 120
    • Arabic 110
    • NELC 384—Old Persian
  • 2 foundations
    • Mod. ME Studies 148—Jews in Muslim Lands, 7th–16th centuries
    • NELC 354—Indo-European Linguistics
  • 5 electives
    • NELC 250—Assyria: The First Near Eastern Empire [ancient]
    • NELC 223—Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt
    • Mod. ME Studies 225—Introduction to Judaism in the Ancient World
    • Anthropology 538—Culture & Politics of the Contemporary Middle East [modern]
    • NELC 269—Medieval Baghdad [medieval]
    • NELC 250—Assyria: The First Near Eastern Empire [ancient]
  • Senior Essay NELC 492 (Fall)

Sample Coursework for Track B—Breadth (Egyptology focus)

  • 4 language
    • Egyptian 110—Classical Hieroglyphic Egyptian I
    • Egyptian 120—Classical Hieroglyphic Egyptian II
    • Egyptian 141—Intermediate Egyptian I
    • Persian 110—Elementary Persian I
  • 2 foundations
    • ​NELC 101—Origins of Western Civilization
    • NELC 102—Introduction to the Middle East
  • 5 electives
    • A​rchaeology 001—Egypt and Northeast Africa [modern]
    • Archaeology 222—Egyptian Religion Through the Ages
    • Egyptian 177—Egyptian Rock Inscriptions
    • History 203—Late Antique World, c. 300-650 [ancient]
    • History 337—Mediterranean: Crusades to Napoleon [medieval]
  • Senior Essay NELC 493 (Spring)

Sample Coursework for Track B—Breadth (Assyriology focus)

Actual Sample Major

  • 4 language
    • Akkadian 110
    • Akkadian 120
    • Hebrew 117—Biblical Hebrew
    • Hebrew 127—Biblical Hebrew
  • 2 foundations
    • NELC 128—From Gilgamesh to Persepolis: Introduction to Near Eastern Literatures
    • NELC 003—Medieval Travel and Exploration
  • 5 electives
    • NELC 319—Religion and Politics of the Ancinet Near East [ancient]
    • Anthropology 336—Geoarcheology
    • Mod. ME Studies 332—WWI and the Middle East [modern]
    • NELC 201—The Arabian Nights, Then and Now [medieval]
    • Archeology 128—Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt
    • Senior Essay NELC 492 (Fall)

Click here for a downloadable worksheet for Language, Civilization, and Culture (track b, breadth)