From portfolios to pizza, fall A&S career events explore diverse fields
"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."
Read more
Study the languages, literatures, cultures, religions and history of regions from ancient Sumer to the modern Middle East.
What is the "Near East"?
The Near East is an older term for the Middle East. As defined by the department, the “Near East” extends from Morocco (and medieval Spain), through Egypt, the Levant (Israel and Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan), Turkey, Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Faculty specializing in the earliest millennia of the region’s history bring a range of disciplines, methods and theoretical orientations to bear on the study of what is conventionally called the ancient Near East. Geographically, our vision is wide, extending from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the lowlands of Mesopotamia, from the highlands of Anatolia and the Caucasus to the plains of southwestern Iran.
Learn more about our faculty, research, undergraduate study and graduate study.
Near Eastern Studies Events
Sep
11
Wednesday
05:00 PM
Sep
12
Thursday
05:00 PM
Reimagining the Foundation of Classical Judaism
White Hall
106
Sep
12
Thursday
05:15 PM
Artist’s Talk: Hakim Karimzada
Johnson Museum of Art
Robinson Lecture Hall
Sep
24
Tuesday
05:00 PM
Sep
25
Wednesday
05:00 PM
Sep
27
Friday
03:00 PM
Explore the Department
Near Eastern Studies News
New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’
Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.
Read more
Peter Loewen named dean of Arts and Sciences 
Coming from the University of Toronto, where he is the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Loewen begins his five-year appointment as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Aug. 1.
Read more
Committee to recommend final expressive activity policy
The committee of faculty members, students and staff has begun a review of the university’s interim expressive activity policy and will recommend a final policy early in the fall semester.
Read more
National Humanities Center selects two A&S professors as 2024-25 Fellows
Kim Haines-Eitzen, the Paul and Berthe Hendrix Memorial Professor of Near Eastern studies, and Mostafa Minawi, associate professor of history and director of Critical Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Studies, will pursue research projects in residence in Durham, North Carolina.
Read more
Outstanding A&S teachers, advisors honored with 2024 awards
Among the faculty members being recognized this year for exceptional teaching and mentorship are Liliana Colanzi, Durba Ghosh, and Nick Admussen.
Read more
'I learned to push the boundaries of what I could accomplish'
Tessa Walden is a Near Eastern studies and government major.
Read more
A career focused on voting rights
Alumna Jenna Zitomer '18 discusses her involvement with civic engagement through the Voter Participation Center in Washington, D.C.
Read moreCourses of Interest
Fall 2024 Courses of Interest
- Introduction to Islam: offered TR 11:40am - 12:55pm, 3 credits
- Interpreting the Qu'ran: offered TR 2:55 - 4:10pm, 3 credits
- Bordering Humanity: Race and Migration in the Modern Middle East and North Africa: offered M 11:15am - 1:45pm, 3 credits
- Ancient Egyptian I: Introduction to Middle Egyptian Hieroglyphs: offered TR 2:55-4:10pm, 3 credits
More Information
Engage and Learn
Major in Near Eastern studies
Interested in exploring the languages, literatures, cultures, religions, and history of the Middle East from antiquity to the modern day? Consider pursuing a major in Near Eastern studies.
My NES education afforded me the unique opportunity to look through a multifaceted lens of religion, culture, gender, and language and showed me how much the relationships of the past affect the present. All of these learning experiences proved to be vital in finding my future educational and career path and transformed my thinking in a capacity for which I will always be grateful. - Danielle Greco '23
We also offer undergraduate minors in Arabic and Near Eastern studies.
Study a Middle Eastern language
Take Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, or Persian to fulfill the College of Arts & Sciences language requirement!
We also offer instruction in some of the ancient Middle Eastern languages like Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, Hieroglyphic Egyptian, and Sumerian.
