Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies Major, Comparative Jewish and Islamic Studies Concentration

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 24 advanced, in addition to prerequisites
  • Grade Requirement: Students must maintain a B average in all courses for the major; grades of B- or higher must be earned in each language course in order to advance to the next level. Pass/No Pass grades do not count toward the prerequisites or the major.

Students who wish to major in Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies will select one of two specializations: Comparative Jewish and Islamic Studies or Modern Middle Eastern Studies.

Required Courses

Prerequisites

  • Completion of either the Modern Arabic or Modern Hebrew language curriculum through the 1000- and 2000-level, by coursework or by placement exam. (A student who skips the first four semesters of Arabic courses by placement must successfully complete ARAB 3010 Third-Level Arabic I. A student who skips the first four semesters of Hebrew courses by placement exam must successfully complete HBRW 3040 Third-Level Modern Hebrew I or HBRW 3140 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. Students who complete the third-level language course with a grade of B- or better will receive 6 units of back credit.)
  • JIMES 2081 Introduction to Jewish Civilization: History and Identity and JIMES 2100 Introduction to Islamic Civilization. (Students with substantial prior coursework may substitute an additional upper-level course with permission of their advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies.)

Requirements for the Comparative Jewish and Islamic Studies Concentration

  • At least 3 credits in 3000- and 4000-level Jewish studies or Hebrew literature courses, such as (but not limited to) the following:
    JIMES 3036Antisemitism: History, Causes, and Consequences3
    JIMES 3184A Rainbow Thread: A History of Queer Identities in Judaism and Islam3
    JIMES 3410Jews and American Popular Culture3
    JIMES 3562Exodus3
    JIMES 3661The Sephardic Experience: 1492 to the Present3
    JIMES 4023Jewish Christian Relations: A Multimedia History3
  • At least 3 credits in 3000- and 4000-level Islamic studies or Arabic literature courses, such as (but not limited to) the following:
    JIMES 3510Muhammad: His Life and Legacy3
    JIMES 3520Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi: Genre-Fiction in Arabic Literature3
    JIMES 3770History of Slavery in the Middle East3
    JIMES 3820The History and Politics of Middle East Studies: Producing Expert Knowledge3
    JIMES 4043Race and Ethnicity in the Middle East and North Africa3
  • 15 credits, distributed as the student wishes, in 3000- and 4000-level JIMES courses, including (but not limited to) those listed above as well as the following:
    HINDI 3040Sacred Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent3
    HINDI 3090Understanding Indian Literature Through Visual Media3
    JIMES 3185The Jewish Experience in the United States: A History of Exceptions and Exceptionalism3
    JIMES 3403Introduction to Yiddish Language and Culture3
    JIMES 3740Of Dishes, Taste, and Class; History of Food in the Middle East3
    JIMES 3750In the Beginning: Creation Myths of the Biblical World3
    JIMES 3820The History and Politics of Middle East Studies: Producing Expert Knowledge3
  • 3 credits in a departmental capstone course to be taken during the senior year. (Students may take this course during their junior year with permission of their advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies.) Capstone courses include (but are not limited to) the following; students should check the course listings in a given semester to see which Capstone is being offered or consult with their advisor:
    JIMES 4002Capstone Seminar3
    JIMES 4009Beyond Geography: The Meaning of Place in the Near East3
    JIMES 4062Conflict or Convivencia? Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Spain3

Additional Information

Students enrolled in preapproved Washington University study abroad programs during the regular academic semester can earn a maximum of 9 credits subject to review by their advisor and the director of undergraduate studies. Summer programs and transfer courses can be granted as many as 6 credits subject to review by the student's advisor and the director of undergraduate studies. A limit of 9 credits in total can be applied to the major whether the credits are earned via study abroad, summer programs, or transfer credit. For more information about preapproved study abroad programs, please visit the Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies Study Abroad Programs website.

Students must maintain a B average in all courses for the major. A grade of B- or higher must be earned in each language course in order to advance to the next level.

No course taken Pass/No Pass can count toward the prerequisites or the major.

A student may request credit for courses taken outside of the department by seeking the permission of the director of undergraduate studies and the department chair.

To be eligible to write a senior thesis, a student must maintain a grade point average of 3.65 through the sixth semester. Senior thesis writers should sign up for an appropriate 3-credit course during both the fall and spring semesters. (The 6 credits from these courses may be applied to the primary area of study.)

Contact Info

Phone:314-935-8567
Email:jimes@wustl.edu
Website:http://jimes.wustl.edu