Studies in History of the Middle East and its Cultures toward a Dual-Disciplinary Degree

At least 54 credits, including at least 12 advanced credits

Required courses – 36 credits

Level

Credits

Islam: Introduction to the History of the Religion (10432)

intermediate

6

Introduction to the Modern History of the Middle East (10109)

intermediate

6

Jews in an Era of Transition (10204)1

intermediate

6

The Middle East Between the World Wars (10425)

intermediate

6

From 'National Home' to a 'State in the Making': The Jewish Community in Palestine between the World Wars (10423)

intermediate

6

The Modern Middle East (10646)

intermediate

6
Electives – 18 credits

Of the courses below, students must select 12 advanced credits from clusters A and B (including at least 6 credits from cluster A), and 6 credits from cluster C.

Cluster A

Youth, Education and Politics in the Middle East (10510)

advanced

6

Palestinian Cinema (10578)

advanced

6

Political Demography of the Middle East (10918)

advanced

6

Cluster B

The Jews of North Africa: 1830-1956 (10311)

advanced

6

Ethiopia: Christianity, Islam, Judaism (10333)

advanced

6

The Jews of Yemen: History, Culture, Society (10565)2

advanced

6

Literature and Ideology in Palestine in the 1930s (10346)

advanced

6

Cluster C

The Arab Community in Israel (10657)

intermediate

6

History of Zionism: 1881-1914 (10121)

intermediate

6

Jerusalem Throughout the Ages (10208)

intermediate

6

The Emergence of New States in Africa (10206)

intermediate

6

Pilgrimage: Jews, Christians, Muslims (10500)

advanced

6

Arabic language proficiency

All students must demonstrate proficiency in Arabic in one of the following ways:

  • Graduate from a high school in which the language of study is Arabic

  • Pass a 5-point matriculation exam in Arabic

  • Exemption from Arabic language studies granted by another university

Students who do not fulfill one of the requirements above can be granted exemption after taking a proficiency exam in Arabic at the Open University. Students whose proficiency is on a lower level will be assigned to one of the following non-credit courses: Literary Arabic I (91465), Literary Arabic II (91466), Literary Arabic III (91468) or Literary Arabic IV (91469). Students will begin by taking the course to which they are assigned and progress until they have passed Literary Arabic IV (91469). Students are advised to complete the Arabic-language courses early in their studies.

Seminar requirements

One seminar paper in the History of the Middle East and its Cultures.

1

or Jews Among Muslims: Introduction to the History of the Jews in Muslim Lands in the Modern Era (1750-1914) (10499), which is no longer offered.

2

The number of students who can write a seminar paper in this course is limited. For details, see the course description.

General Requirements for a dual-disciplinary degree

Fulfilling all requirements as detailed here.

  • Accumulating credits required for the degree

  • Fulfilling all requirements in both disciplines

  • English language proficiency

  • Bibliographic instruction

Before enrolling in any course, students must ensure that they have taken all the prerequisites for it, even when the prerequisites are not included among the courses listed above.

General note regarding combining two fields

When combining fields in a dual-disciplinary program, students are required to take the basic studies in both fields. If a course is required in both fields, taking it fulfills the requirements of both. If a course is required in one field and is an elective in the other, it can only be taken as a required course in the relevant field. If a course is an elective in both fields, it will only grant credits in one of the fields.

For specific requirements when combining fields, see the individual combinations of fields (in Hebrew).