Department of Near Eastern Studies

Chair

M. Şükrü Hanio˘glu

Director of Graduate Studies

Mark R. Cohen

Professor

Mark R. Cohen

Michael A. Cook

Andras P. Hamori

M. Şükrü Hanio˘glu

Heath W. Lowry

Hossein Modarressi

Abraham L. Udovitch

John R. Willis

Muhammad Q. Zaman, also Religion

Assistant Professor

Michael Reynolds

Julie E. Taylor

Senior Lecturer

Nancy Coffin

Erika H. Gilson

Lecturer

Michael Barry

Hebatalla Elkhateeb-Musharraf

Russel Hopley

Emmanuel Papoutsakis

Beate Pongratz-Leisten

Esther Robbins

Associated Faculty

Robert P. Finn, Woodrow Wilson School

Molly Greene, History

Abdellah Hammoudi, Anthropology

Amaney A. Jamal, Politics

Michael F. Laffan, History

Thomas F. Leisten, Art and Archaeology

Shaun E. Marmon, Religion

James McDougall, History

 

The Department of Near Eastern Studies offers courses of study leading to the doctoral degree in the fields of medieval and modern literature and history. It covers the Near East since the rise of Islam, together with Islamic North and West Africa and the Jewish communities of most of this region in Islamic times. For a full account of the fields of specialization of current faculty, please visit the department’s Web site at www.princeton.edu/~nes.

Application and Admission

Prior to making a formal application to the Graduate School for admission, all prospective applicants should review the information available on our Web site. Applicants must submit a sample of written work with their application. Short-listed applicants are invited to visit Princeton for interviews and language evaluations at the end of February. Students pursuing a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in the Program in Near Eastern Studies who wish to transfer to the department should apply in their second year.

Study Prior to the General Examination

A student normally takes three required courses each term during the first two years of study. Exceptions are noted in the Graduate Handbook on the department’s Web site. Students who need to take undergraduate courses are permitted to do so but are usually assigned supplementary reading. Students are encouraged to take courses in other departments where these are relevant to their interests.

Language Requirement

Before taking the general examination, all students must demonstrate research-level competence in at least one Near Eastern language and knowledge equivalent to a minimum of two years of university study of a second Near Eastern language. In addition, all students must pass an examination in at least one European language of scholarship other than English; knowledge of two such languages is often required. Students are urged to avail themselves of the possibilities for intensive summer language instruction in order to accelerate their language training. Information on approved summer study, and University grants for such study, such as FLAS fellowships, may be obtained from the Program in Near Eastern Studies.

The General Examination

The general examination is taken within a single examination period, normally at the end of the second or the beginning of the third year of study. It consists of four written parts: three three- or four-hour-long examinations on broad fields of study chosen in consultation with the candidate’s adviser and the director of graduate studies, as well as an examination on research methods and the critical evaluation of sources for, and authorities on, some posed problem. This is followed by an oral examination. The examination committee normally consists of three members of the Princeton faculty. One of the fields may be taken in another department (for example, anthropology, comparative literature, history, or politics).

The following are some of the fields that may be offered at the general examination: early Islamic history; medieval Islamic history; modern Near Eastern history; Ottoman history; classical Arabic poetry, prose, or philology; classical or modern Persian literature; modern Arabic literature; modern Hebrew literature; classical Islamic thought; modern Islamic thought; and Jewish history in the medieval Islamic world. In some cases a student may be permitted to choose one narrowly defined field involving close work on primary sources relevant to his or her anticipated post-generals dissertation research.

Dissertation Research

Students must submit a detailed outline of their research plans to their adviser and the director of graduate studies within four months of taking generals. In the course of their research, many students spend about a year in the Near East, either supported by outside fellowships or using some of the fellowship support they have been awarded by Princeton. Where appropriate, a student may have two advisers, one of whom may be in another department. The dissertation normally should not exceed 100,000 words.

Library Resources

The Princeton University Libraries contain about 234,000 books and manuscripts in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish. This constitutes one of the most important such collections in the United States. Most extensive are the Arabic holdings, with more than 108,000 printed books and a collection of 14,000 manuscript codexes, which is unmatched in any other U.S. library. There are, in addition, approximately 40,000 Persian, 29,000 Turkish and Ottoman, and 39,000 modern and rabbinic Hebrew printed books, as well as more than 3,500 Persian and Ottoman manuscripts. Current books and periodicals are acquired on a regular basis from all of the countries of the Middle East and Islamic Africa. The library receives more than 2,000 serial publications relating to the Near East in Near Eastern and Western languages. The Library’s holdings in this field, in Near Eastern and Western languages combined, exceed 500,000 volumes.

Special Seminars

Regularly, visitors to the department offer seminars on topics not normally part of the curriculum. Recent examples are: Post-1960 Turkish Politics (Hasan Kahraman), the Orientalism Debate (Sadik al-Azm), the Turkish Novel (Robert Finn), and Ibn Taymiyyah and His Times (Yossef Rapaport and Mohammed Shihab Ahmed).

Courses

NES 500 Introduction to the Professional Study of the Near East

Staff

A departmental colloquium, normally taken by all entering graduate students. Designed to introduce students to reference and research tools, major trends in the scholarship of the field, and the faculty of the department.

NES 501 Departmental Seminar

Staff

A seminar exploring the design and conceptualization of a dissertation topic, and examining methods and strategies for research. Normally taken by students in the term immediately preceding the general examination.

NES 502 An Introduction to the Islamic Scholarly Tradition

Michael A. Cook

A hands-on introduction to basic genres of medieval scholarship such as biography, history, tradition, and Koranic exegesis, taught through the intensive reading of texts in Arabic. The syllabus varies according to the interests of the students and the instructor.

NES 503 Themes in Islamic History and Culture

Michael A. Cook

The theme varies from year to year. The format normally includes both the analytical treatment of issues and the reading of texts in Near Eastern languages, especially Arabic.

NES 504 Introduction to Ottoman Turkish

Erika H. Gilson

An introduction to the writing system and grammar of Ottoman Turkish through a close reading of graded selections taken from newspapers, short stories, and travelogues printed in the late Ottoman and early Republican era.

NES 505 Readings in Ottoman Turkish

M. Sükrü Hanio˘g lu

Reading and discussion of texts focusing on key issues in late Ottoman and early Republican Turkish history. Goals are to develop reading skills in Ottoman Turkish and to examine important texts written between 1750 and 1928.

NES 506 Ottoman Diplomatics: Paleography and Diplomatic Documents

M. Sükrü Hanio˘g lu

An introduction to Ottoman paleography and diplomatics. The documents are in divani and rikca scripts.

NES 507 Readings in Talmudic Literature

Staff

A critical study of selected texts from the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds. Topics vary and may include sources of Jewish law and rabbinic authority, the development of the Talmudic sugya, halakhic differences between the Talmuds, and the project of historical reconstruction on the basis of rabbinic texts.

NES 508 Readings in Medieval Hebrew Literature

Mark R. Cohen, Andras P. Hamori

Readings of selected texts in medieval Hebrew literature. Topics include narrative works of historical interest, the poetry of the Golden Age in Spain, and Biblical commentaries and their introductions.

NES 509 Readings in Modern Hebrew Literature

Staff

Themes in modern Hebrew prose and poetry, such as pluralism in Israeli society, Israeli-Arab coexistence, and land and nature. Readings are selected from works of S. Y. Agnon, Leah Goldberg, Rachel, Amos Oz, A. B. Yehoshua, and others.

NES 519 Comparative Politics of the Middle East

Julie E. Taylor

Examines contemporary social and political developments in the Middle East, including Islamist movements, ethnic conflict, oil wealth, political liberalization, and economic development. Discussion of regional specifics is linked to larger debates in political science and political sociology such as: How does culture impact political development? Does consociationalism help or hinder nation-building in ethnically divided countries? Is political reform less likely in rentier states? Does economic development lead to political development, or vice versa?

NES 521, 522 Readings in Classical Arab Historians and Biographers

Andras P. Hamori

An examination of extracts from the major genres of medieval Arabic writing relevant to Islamic history. Special attention is given to chronicles and geographical and biographical literature.

NES 523 Readings in Judeo-Arabic

Mark R. Cohen, Abraham L. Udovitch

An introduction to the reading of Arabic texts written by medieval Jews in the Hebrew script, especially documents from the Cairo Geniza.

NES 529 Readings in Modern Arabic Literature

Staff

Selected topics in the fiction, poetry, and theater of the Arab world from the late 19th century to the present. The content varies according to the interests of the students and the instructor.

NES 531, 532 Readings in Classical Arabic Literature

Andras P. Hamori

A reading of selections of poetry and prose. Problems of narrative, poetics, and the like may be discussed according to the interests of the class.

NES 539, 540 Studies in Persian Literature

Staff

A study of different genres, periods, and authors, both classical and modern, with an emphasis on various techniques of literary analysis. The syllabus varies according to the interests of the students and the instructor.

NES 545 Problems in Near Eastern Jewish History

Mark R. Cohen

A study of a number of central problems, historiographical issues, and primary sources relevant to the history of the Jewish minority under Islam in the Middle Ages. Topics vary from year to year.

NES 553 Studies in Islamic Religion and Thought

Hossein Modarressi

Readings of texts that are illustrative of various issues in Muslim religious thought. The texts are selected according to students’ needs.

NES 555 Themes in Islamic Law and Jurisprudence

Hossein Modarressi

Selected topics in Islamic law and jurisprudence. The topics vary from year to year, but the course normally includes the reading of fatwas and selected Islamic legal texts in Arabic.

NES 557, 558 Problems in Islamic History

Abraham L. Udovitch

Topics in Islamic history, with reading of relevant source material. The theme varies from year to year.

NES 561, 562 Studies in Modern Arab History

Staff

Selected topics in the history of the Arab East from the 18th century to the present.

NES 564 Islamic Africa Before 1900: Problems in Social and Cultural History (also HIS 534)

John R. Willis

The impact of Islam upon pre-Islamic institutions and the evolution of Islamic institutions (jihad, alms-giving, prayer, and others) in the African milieu.

NES 565 The Arabic Literature of Islamic Africa (also HIS 535)

John R. Willis

The evolution of Islamic scholarship as revealed in the Arabic writings of sub-Saharan African Muslims from the 16th to the 19th century.

NES 568 Studies in Modern Iran

Staff

Select topics in the history of Iran since the late 18th century.

NES 571 Problems in Early Ottoman History

Heath W. Lowry

A study of the origins and development of the Ottoman state. Emphasis is on the characteristic features of its cultural, economic, and social life.

NES 572 Problems in Ottoman History

Staff

Topics vary from year to year, but the course concentrates on issues in Ottoman institutional, intellectual, and political history circa 1600 to 1800.

NES 573 Problems in Late Ottoman and Modern Republican History

M. Sükrü Hanio˘g lu

Select topics in the intellectual, diplomatic, and political history of the Ottoman Empire and early Republican Turkey from 1800 to the present.

Visitors to the department offer seminars on topics not normally part of the curriculum. Recent examples include Post-1960 Turkish Politics and Radical Islam.