The Department of Near Eastern Studies offers courses in the archaeology, history, languages and cultures of the Middle East, a region which has influenced the development of civilization and continues to play a vital role in today's world. Covering the ancient through modern periods, classes emphasize interdisciplinary analysis of the written and material records of the entire region. Some examples of Near Eastern studies include: Egyptian Civilization, Biblical Studies, Islamic Studies, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
The department excels in ancient and modern language instruction, especially Akkadian, Arabic, Biblical and modern Hebrew, Persian, Sumerian, and Turkish. Cornell’s world-class library has several collections dedicated to Near Eastern research—the Middle East and Islamic Studies Collection, the Jewish Studies Collection, among others—and students may partake of a wide range of Near Eastern lectures, colloquia, conferences, film screenings, concerts, dinners, and other events on campus.
Associated Faculty
- Begüm Adalet
- Esra Akcan
- Benjamin Anderson
- Caitie Barrett
- Dina Bishara
- Alexandra Blackman
- Jonathan Aaron Boyarin
- Ross Brann
- Iftikhar Dadi
- Ziad Fahmy
- Chiara Formichi
- Iago Gocheleishvili
- Alla Goldfeld
- Seema Golestaneh
- Kim Haines-Eitzen
- Samia Henni
- Andrew Hicks
- Lori Khatchadourian
- Jonathan R. Lawrence
- Sturt Manning
- Mostafa Minawi
- Jason Sion Mokhtarian
- Christopher M. Monroe
- Lauren Monroe
- David I. Owen
- Banu Ozer-Griffin
- David Stephan Powers
- Eric Rebillard
- Cynthia Robinson
- Nava Scharf
- Abdel-Fattah Shahda
- Shalom Shoer
- Deborah A. Starr
- Eric Tagliacozzo
- Paraska Tolan-Szkilnik
- Parisa Vaziri
- Makda Weatherspoon
- Munther A. Younes
