Global Middle East Studies Minor
What is Global Middle East Studies?
The interdisciplinary Minor in Global Middle East Studies (GMES) provides students with an understanding of how the MENA region shapes many aspects of contemporary life in the U.S. and globally. Students learn to challenge racial, ethnic, gendered, and religious stereotypes that isolate the MENA region as a strange and foreign place far away. Three frameworks are central to our curriculum: Culture/Politics; Global Connections; and Community Engagement.
The Culture/Politics framework trains students how to understand the political and historical issues that shape MENA cultures and communities (i.e. family, gender, and religion).
The Global Connections framework addresses the region not as an isolated place, but as connected to an ongoing flow of people, ideas, and politics that cross borders, linking the MENA region to its immigrant and refugee communities and the world at large.
The Community Engagement framework provides students with opportunities to participate in community engaged research with change-makers to address pressing social issues and connects students to local communities, policy work, social movements, and community organizations.
The GMES minor integrates social sciences and humanities combining critical ethnic studies and area studies while covering themes like Immigration, Activism, Racial Justice, Nationalism, History, Religion & Sectarianism, Capitalism, Colonialism, Empire, Policing, Humanitarianism, Environment, Democratization & Authoritarianism, Political Economy, Securitization, Medicine, Feminism, Technology, Law, and Urban Development.
2nd Annual Symposuim
We are excited to invite you to the GMES 2nd Annual Symposium, scheduled for April 2nd at the Institute for the Humanities.
Join GMES and partners for a full-day showcase celebrating cutting-edge research, scholarship, and creative work by UIC students, faculty, and staff across all majors. Join us for an engaging, interdisciplinary exploration of Middle Eastern and North African communities, grounded in critical history and community-oriented exchange.
Event is open to the public with a midday engaging keynote address by Prof. Golnar Nikpour.
Golnar Nikpour is a scholar of modern Iranian political and intellectual history, with a particular interest in the history of law, incarceration, revolution, and rights. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University’s department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, & African Studies. She teaches on an interdisciplinary set of topics including modern Middle Eastern and North African history, Iranian history, political theory, Islamic studies, critical prison studies, colonialism and decolonization, and women and gender studies. From 2015-2017, Nikpour was an A.W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and in 2017-2018, she served as Neubauer Junior Research Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. Her research has been supported by the Social Science Research Council, the A.W. Mellon Foundation, and the Whiting Foundation, and her writing has appeared in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East; Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development; The International Journal of Middle East Studies; Iranian Studies; The Canadian Journal of History; The New York Times, Jadaliyya; and more. Since 2019, Nikpour has served on the editorial collective of the journal Radical History Review, and she also serves the editorial board of the Radical Histories of the Middle East book series on Oneworld Press. Nikpour is also co-founder and co-editor of B|ta’arof, a journal for Iranian arts and writing, where she has written extensively on the intellectual and cultural histories of Iran and its diaspora. Her first book, entitled The Incarcerated Modern: Prisons and Public Life in Iran is out on Stanford University Press.
Kindly RSVP to help us figure out food and refreshment count.
Why minor in GMES?
MENA is one of the most highly discussed regions in our times, impacting every field and career–such as education, non-profit administration, law/legal studies, public administration and public health, business, social sciences, communications, literature, business, healthcare, engineering, and the arts.
By gaining connections to the field of MENA Studies, the MENA region, and local MENA communities and community organizations, students expand their local, domestic and international networks, career prospects, and professional pathways.
The GMES minor connects students to broad opportunities from UIC’s cultural centers, academic conferences, internships and research opportunities, and community organizations.
For more information you can download the GMES Minor Brochure HERE, or view it as a flipbook Here.
GMES Courses
The minor requires a total of 15 credit hours (five courses), including two core courses (6 credit hours) and three elective courses (9 credit hours). Some recommended electives are listed below. Up to 6 credit hours can be double-counted toward both this minor and another academic program.
Core
Core Course #1 (select one) 3 hours
ANTH 245 Anthropology of the Middle East
HIST 278 The Middle East Since 1258
Core Course #2 (select one) 3 hours
GLAS 242 Introduction to Arab American Studies
GLAS 244 Arab and Asian Connections in the U.S. and Globally
Core Course Description
ANTH 245. Anthropology of the Middle East. 3 hours.
Introduces students to social science approaches to the histories, politics, cultures, and contemporary issues of the Middle East using theories and methods drawn from cultural anthropology, human geography, history, and related disciplines. Prerequisites: ANTH 101 and completion of the English composition requirement; or consent of the instructor.
HIST 278. The Middle East Since 1258. 3 hours.
Examines the Middle East and North Africa across the modern period, including the formation of nation-states and incorporation into global capitalism. Students will be introduced to the diversity of this region and the common history that unites it. To be properly registered, students must enroll in one Discussion/Recitation and one Lecture-Discussion. General Education: Past and World Cultures.
GLAS 242. Introduction to Arab American Studies. 3 hours.
Addresses key themes in Arab American Studies: immigration and racism; family, gender, and sexuality; socio-economic class; religious affiliation; arts and cultures; and politics and political activism. Same as ANTH 242. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ENGL 161. General Education: US Society and World Cultures.
GLAS 244. Arab and Asian Connections in the U.S. and Globally. 3 hours.
A comparative study of contemporary Arab and Asian communities in the US and around the globe that examines issues of militarism and war; immigration and displacement; racism; and social justice activism. Same as ANTH 244. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ENGL 161. General Education: US Society and World Cultures.
Elective
Elective courses 9 hours
- The minor is inherently interdisciplinary, and appropriate electives may be found in a range of units, including History, Gender and Women’s Studies, Black Studies, Sociology, Political Science, Art & Art History, and more.
- Students should work with the program advisor to determine which courses they will take as electives for the minor.
- At least one elective course (3 credit hours) must be at the 200-level or above.
- Students who earn credit for both courses eligible to satisfy a single foundational requirement (e.g., credit for both GLAS 242 and GLAS 244) may count the second course toward the elective requirement.
Elective courses should be chosen in consultation with an advisor. This list is meant to help students identify potentially relevant electives across the disciplines. Prerequisites should be factored in when considering elective options.
AH/CL 209. Near Eastern Art and Archaeology
AH/CL 210. Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology
AH/ANTH/CL 466. Material Worlds: Topics in Material Cultural Studies
ARAB 230. Arabic Literature in Translation
ARAB 250. The Heritage of Muslim Iberia
ARAB/MOVI 270. The Reel Arab
BLST/SOC 207. Racism: Global Perspectives
BLST/SOC 407. Comparative Racialization
GWS/ANTH/GLAS 255. Introduction to Middle East and Muslim Feminisms
GWS 409. Women and Gender in the Middle East
HIST/RELS 177. Middle Eastern Civilization
HIST 277. The Middle East To 1258
HIST 477. Topics in Middle Eastern History
POLS/JST 243. Politics and Government of the Middle East
Declare a GMES Minor
You can enroll in the GMES minor easily by filling the form Add/Update LAS Minor Certificate on the LAS Major Minor Advising. All students with majors in any of the University colleges can fill the form.
Additionally, you should meet with the Global Middle East Studies Minor (and Anthropology) academic advisor, Kiki Wessel. GMES Minor currently lives in the Anthropology Department. Academic Advisors can help you declare your minor, ensure you have the right courses, and answer questions. Academic Advisor contact information is also available on the LAS Major Minor Advising website.
To make an appointment, use the iAdvise portal.
To contact the GMES academic advisor directly, email: lasanthadvising@uic.edu.
Meet our Faculty
Prof. Andy Clarno (Sociology, Black Studies)
Research areas: Racism, Capitalism, Colonialism, Empire, Policing, Comparative Racial Formation, Global and Transnational Sociology, Urban Sociology, Political Sociology
Prof. Danielle Beaujon (Criminology, Law & Justice)
Research areas: policing, race, power, North Africa (Algeria)
Prof. Kareem Rabie (Anthropology)
Research areas: privatization, urban development, political economic geographies, state-building, Palestine Studies
Prof. Nadine Naber (Gender and Women’s Studies, Global Asian Studies, Anthropology)
Research areas: Middle East feminism, Arab American studies, Palestine studies, social movements, feminist of color solidarities.
Prof. Nicole Nguyen (Criminology, Law & Justice)
Research areas: national security, war, and US public schooling, anti-Muslim racism
Prof. Norma Claire Moruzzi (Political Science, GWS, International Studies)
Research areas: Social identity, Gender, Religion, Nationalism, Iranian Studies
Prof. Nermeen Mouftah (Anthropology)
Research areas: development, humanitarianism, care, kinship, Islam, anthropology of religion
Pr. Sarah Abboud (Human Development Nursing Science)
Research areas: Arab American Sexual Health, immigration, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic identity, health equity, social justice
Prof. Zeina Zaatari (Anthropology, Arab American Cultural Center)
Research areas: Gender and Racial justice in Arab and Arab American communities, Cultural anthropology, Feminist Theory, Middle East (Lebanon)
Prof. Zachary Davis Cuyler (History)
Research areas: History of Modern Middle East, Environmental History, Political Economy
Prof. Zeynel Gül (Anthropology)
Research areas: cultural anthropology, medical anthropology, anthropology of law, and science and technology studies, Turkish studies, Syria
Inaugural Annual Symposium of Global Middle East Studies
On April 3, 2025, the Global Middle East Studies program held its Inaugural Annual Symposium in partnership with the Institute for the Humanities and the Arab American Cultural Center. The Global Middle East Studies (GMES) first Annual Symposium was a day of stimulating presentations and lively exchange that is critically oriented, historically attuned, and community-engaged. The symposium highlighted multi-disciplinary and emerging research, creative activities, and an interactive workshop led by UIC students, faculty, and guests. It also featured a keynote conversation, Global Middle East Studies: New Directors and Threats to Scholarship, A Conversation with Norma Claire Moruzzi and Dima Khalidi, that was timely and informative and an evening celebratory event titled Our Stories Matter: A Celebration of Middle East Studies, Poetry, Music, and Awards, with poets, authors, and musicians.
Advising
Students in the GMES minor will receive academic advising through the LAS Advising Center. Upon declaration of the minor, students will also be paired with one of the professors in the GMES program for regular follow-up. Senior students will act as mentors to incoming students. And the program works closely with the Arab American Cultural Center, particularly its student support program, which provides direct support to students on multiple levels.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the GMES team at gmes@uic.edu.
