Middle East Studies (MEST) Certificate

Required pre-requisites:  Hist 101 or 102 or 103 and Comp 106

Course options and certificate notes and guidelines

Earning the certificate requires a minimum of 12 upper-division credit hours selected from among Menu A (history) and Menu B (non-history) courses.  No more than 9 credit hours can be from Menu A.  No more than 6 credit hours can be from Menu B.

All work will be at the 300+ level and only 3 hours may be shared with another major, minor, or certificate.  There will be GPA criteria for admission and posting of the certificate. 
If you are interested please contact Prof. Amin, [email protected], 313-439-9171, 1270 SSB.

Students who complete the MEST should be able to demonstrate:

1. The ability to formulate viable research projects in Middle East Studies.  
2. The ability to contextualize that research within the scholarly literature of Middle East Studies generally and relevant subfields (e.g. History, Anthropology).
3. The ability to interpret the history and culture of specific locales in the Middle East within regional, transnational and global contexts.

MEST Offerings Summer 2024

Pre-req for the MEST major

• ARBC 102-001 (CRN: 31687) ElMeligi, Asynchronous

Menu A (History)

• MEST 3900 (CRN: 32714) N/A, Asynchronous
• MEST 4900 (CRN: 32715) N/A, Asynchronous

Menu B (Language and Literature)

• MEST 3900  (CRN: 32714) N/A, Asynchronous
• MEST 4900  (CRN: 32715) N/A, Asynchronous
• ARBC 365-001 (CRN: 32656) Dika, Asynchronous

Menu C (Social and Cultural Studies)

• MEST 3900  (CRN: 32714) N/A, Asynchronous
• MEST 4900 (CRN: 32715) N/A, Asynchronous

MEST Offerings Fall 2024

Pre-req for the MEST major

• HIST 101-001 (CRN:15536) Shelly, T/R 2PM-3:15PM
• HIST 103-001 (CRN:13881) Sanjian, M/W 3:30PM-4:45PM
• AAST 238-001 (CRN:  15585 ), Vinson,  Asynchronous 
• ARBC 101-002 (CRN: 11589) Bazzi, T/R 8AM-9:15AM
• ARBC 101-003 (CRN: 11590) Bazzi, Asynchronous
• ARBC 101-004 (CRN: 11591) Bazzi, M/W 11AM-12:15PM
• ARBC 102-002 (CRN: 11593) ElMeligi, Asynchronous
• ARBC 201-001 (CRN: 11510) Dika, M/W 2PM-3:15PM

Menu A (History)

• MEST 3900-001 (CRN: 15942) N/A, Asynchronous
• MEST 4900-001 (CRN: 15943) N/A, Asynchronous

Menu B (Language and Literature)

• ARBC 301-001 (CRN: 15515) Dika, M/W 3:30PM-4:45PM
• MEST 3900-001 (CRN: 15942) N/A, Asynchronous
• MEST 4900-001 (CRN: 15943) N/A, Asynchronous

Menu C (Social and Cultural Studies)

• AAST 3150-001 (CRN: 15473) Howell, Hybrid W 2PM-3:45PM 
• AAST 3673 (CRN: 15929) Bawardi Hybrid W 6:00-8:45 PM
• ANTH 373-001 (CRN: 15820) Wellman, T/TH 12:00-1:45 PM
• POL 385-001 (CRN:16023) Abou-Samra, Hybrid M 6PM-8:45PM
• MEST 3900-001 (CRN: 15942) N/A, Asynchronous
• MEST 4900-001 (CRN: 15943) N/A, Asynchronous

For complete course information, check out the Class Schedule.

MEST 3000:  An Introduction to Middle East Studies

MEST 3900:  Independent Research in Middle East Studies (requires petition for Group designation)

FNDS 3401:  Reporting on the Modern Middle East Revising First Drafts of History

HIST 337:  Islamic Movements in the Middle East

HIST 338:  Women and Islam in Middle Eastern History to 1900

HIST 339:  The Ottoman Empire in the 19^th Century

HIST 3130:  Armenia in the Ancient World

HIST 3132:  Armenians in the Modern World

HIST 3502:  The Middle East from 570-1800

HIST 3511:  The Modern Middle East, 1918-1945

HIST 3512:  The Modern Middle East, 1945-1991

HIST 3520:  Lebanon in the Modern Middle East

HIST 3632:  The United States in the Middle East

HIST 4515:  Culture and History in Modern Iran*         

MEST 4000:  Advanced Research Seminar in Middle East Studies* (requires petition for Group designation)

MEST 4900:  Advanced Independent Research in Middle East Studies* (requires petition for Group designation)

AAST 473:  Arab American Women Writers

ARBC 301:  Higher Intermediate Arabic 

ARBC 304:  The Poetry of Arab Women from The Pre-Islamic Age to Andalusia

ARBC 305:  Language of Business

ARBC 310:  Arabic Translation Skills

ARBC 311:  Simultaneous Interpreting

ARBC 312:  Subtitling Arabic

ARBC 331:  Survey of Arabic Literature

ARBC 332:  Arabic Cinema

ARBC 335:  Arabic Civilization

ARBC 350:  Arabic Literature and Culture

ARBC 351:  Contemporary Arabic Literature

ARBC 365:  Intro to the Qur’an

ARBC 390: Topics in Arabic

COML 302:  Arabic Novel and Short Story in Translation

COML 303:  Arabic and Comparative Literature

ENGL 351:  Arab Literature in English

MEST 3000:  An Introduction to Middle East Studies

MEST 3900:  Independent Research in Middle East Studies (requires petition for Group designation)

MEST 4000:  Advanced Research Seminar in Middle East Studies* (requires petition for Group designation)         

 MEST 4900:  Advanced Independent Research in Middle East Studies*(requires petition for Group designation)

MEST 3000:  An Introduction to Middle East Studies

MEST 3900:  Independent Research in Middle East Studies (requires petition for Group designation)

AAST 3150:  Intro to Arab American Studies

AAST 3151:  Public Cultural Work

AAST 3634:  History of Islam in the United States

AAST 3673:  Arabs and Muslims in the Media

AAST 3676:  Arab Americans Since 1890

AAST 473:  Arab American Women Authors *

AAST 4677*:  Arab American Identity

AAST4678*:  Middle Eastern Diasporas

ANTH 373:  Anthropology of the Middle East

ARTH 384:  Islamic Architecture

ARTH 385: Islamic Decorative Arts

ECON 444:  Economies of the Middle East*

MEST 3000:  An Introduction to Middle East Studies

MEST 3900:  Independent Research in Middle East Studies (requires petition for Group designation)

MEST 4000:  Advanced Research Seminar in Middle East Studies* (requires petition for Group designation)         

 MEST 4900:  Advanced Independent Research in Middle East Studies*(requires petition for Group designation)

PHIL 306: Islamic Philosophy

POL 385:  Israeli Palestinian Conflict

The MEST Certificate requires four upper division courses (12-16 credit hours), while the MEST BA requires 9 to 10 upper division courses (30-40 credit hours). The MEST Certificate does not require foreign language study, while the MEST BA requires a minimum of three years foreign language study, typically in Arabic.

Take the appropriate COMP course that you have placed into (the goal is to complete COMP 106 or the equivalent as soon as possible).  Take either HIST 101 or 103.  Take the level of Arabic (101, 102, 201, or 202) that you have placed into.  If you have transfer or AP credit for COMP or HIST, then take any available upper-division course from Group A, B, or C menus. If you have been placed into a higher level of Arabic, contact the MEST Coordinator so we can work with your Arabic professors to map out a plan to further your foreign language proficiency in Arabic.

Very similar to the MEST Major, except you do not have to worry about getting started on foreign language study.  If you happen to be proficient enough in Arabic to take upper division courses, please note that upper division ARBC courses can be applied to your MEST Certificate program of study.

No.  As a multidisciplinary field, any upper-division course from our three course group menus can be a useful starting point.  That said, we have created MEST 3000; An Introduction to Middle East Studies which will typically be offered in the Fall Term.  You can start with that course for an overview of the field or circle back to it later in your program of study.

The good news is you can apply additional upper division courses in ARBC to your MEST BA.  You should also consider adding an Arabic Minor or Major to your MEST Major.  Talk to your academic advisor about course sharing opportunities.

Contact the MEST coordinator to see how the language you have demonstrated proficiency in (or transferable college credit for) can be applied to your MEST Major or MEST Certificate.

The programs share many faculty and you can apply a number of AAST courses to your MEST Major or MEST Certificate.  Indeed, one of the unique features of the MEST program at UM-Dearborn is that AAST courses are part of the MEST curriculum.  You can also add a minor in Arab American Studies to your MEST Major or MEST Certificate.  Each term, The Center for Arab American Studies provides many extra-curricular enrichment events (e.g., exhibits and public lectures) that will complement your coursework in Middle East Studies.

The Armenian Research Center has been a unique campus asset for decades.  It has a specialized collection of materials related to Armenian history and culture, but also many research materials that pertain to the Middle East more generally. Think of ARC as a supplementary resource to the robust collection of Mardigian Library.  For a guide to Mardigian Library’s resources (especially digital ones), please see the librarian subject guide entitled, Essential Studies on the Modern Middle East.

Absolutely, yes.  Bear in mind that all prerequisites for the MEST BA satisfy other degree requirements (DDC or the CASL foreign language requirement).  With some planning, the upper-division credits required for the MEST BA  will leave you ample room to add another major.  The MEST Certificate is even easier to coordinate with your program of study for other majors.

Prospective Students: Please contact Admissions.

Current Students: Please contact an academic advisor.

Amin, Camron Michael. 2002. The Making of the Modern Iranian Woman : Gender, State Policy, and Popular Culture, 1865-1946. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 

Amin, Camron Michael. "Professional Transnationalism and Iranian-American Im/mobility in Michigan." In American-Iranian Dialogues: From Constitution to White Revolution, c. 1890s–1960s, edited by Matthew K. Shannon , 183–202. New Approaches to International History. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. 

Borquez, J., Amin, C.M. “Gender differences in the professional experiences of Iran specialists in American academia.” SN Social Sciences 2, 272 (2022). 

“Satire and Bigotry in Iranian Press Culture,” for Panel: Of Satire and Bigotry: Press Culture, Women’s Rights and Liminal Modernity in West Asia. Shrem Museum of Art. UC-Davis, Feb. 25, 2022 

The rubric of “inclusive history” has achieved a common currency. Today, you can find books, articles, websites, and university policies dedicated to its practice, including a large and ambitious Inclusive History Project (IHP) right here at U-M. Less clear is what this rubric has come to signify and enable over time. What values, methods, and practices bind the groundswell together? This symposium explores such questions through the lens of oral history. Panelists in different fields discuss the potential uses of oral history work for projects that are public facing, DEI-centered, and explicitly reparative. This event is presented by the Inclusive History Project and the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies.

• Camron Amin (Professor of Middle East and Iranian Diaspora Studies; Director of Research, Inclusive History Project; University of Michigan-Dearborn) 

Associate Professor of History Ara Sanjian was a guest on the Scott Horton Show: Just the Interviews podcast, talking about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Sanjian provides context for the decades-long dispute, dissects the military conflict which reignited in 2020, and offers insight about the international ramifications.

Feeding Iran: Shi'i Families and the Making of the Islamic Republic 

From the publisher: Since Iran's 1979 Revolution, the imperative to create and protect the inner purity of family and nation in the face of outside spiritual corruption has been a driving force in national politics. Through extensive fieldwork, Rose Wellman examines how Basiji families, as members of Iran's voluntary paramilitary organization, are encountering, enacting, and challenging this imperative. Her ethnography reveals how families and state elites are employing blood, food, and prayer in commemorations for martyrs in Islamic national rituals to create citizens who embody familial piety, purity, and closeness to God. Feeding Iran provides a rare and humanistic account of religion and family life in the post-revolutionary Islamic Republic that examines how home life and everyday piety are linked to state power.