Spring 2011 Semester Abroad

We are delighted to announce our study abroad semester for the Spring of 2011. The program will run from January 25 to May 25. Students will take an intensive Arabic language course as well as 3 seminars:

• Modern Standard Arabic (144 contact hours), the YCMES Arabic Language Faculty
  The Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies provides rigorous language study from beginner through advanced levels and is the only fully-accredited Arabic program in Yemen. The YCMES is also proud of the collective experience of its Yemeni teaching staff, ranging from 5 to 23 years.

• Seminar 1: Anthropology of Yemen (50 contact hours), Dr. Tom Stevenson
  Among the key questions to be addressed are what is Yemen and what makes someone Yemeni?  How do these ideas differ throughout the country?  What is a tribe?  Why is tribal identity important?  What are other forms of identification? How is gender conceived in Islam, within the tribe, and within different regions? How is gender performed?  Are notions of identity and gender the same in rural and urban centers?

• Seminar 2: Hanging Poems, Night Journeys, and Letters from Under the Sea: A Survey of Arabic Literature (50 contact hours), Dr. Katherine Hennessey
  This course will introduce students to the rich and diverse body of literature written in the Arabic language.  Readings will be primarily in English, but there will be opportunities for advanced Arabic language students to read texts in the original as well. Readings will span the Arabic-speaking world. However, since the class will take place in Sana’a, particular emphasis will be placed on literature from Yemen.

• Seminar 3: Modern Arabic Drama (50 contact hours), Dr. Katherine Hennessey
  This course will examine the evolution of drama and theatre in the Middle East from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.  We will read plays by a number of famous authors, such as Tawfiq al-Hakim and Sa'dullah Wannous, as well as works by Yemeni playwrights like Ali Ahmed al-Bakathir and Muhammad ash-Sharafi. Texts will be provided in Arabic with English translation, and students will be asked to perform short sections from the readings in class.  The class will also attend various theatrical performances in Sana'a.
  

College enrollment is kept small, in an effort to make both student-to-faculty as well as student-to-student interactions more accessible and appealing. At the same time, the College tries to maintain diversity by welcoming qualified students not only of different gender, race, and class but also at different levels of education (undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate) and of varied professional backgrounds. In the context of a diverse college, it is hoped that students will be able to learn as much from their peers and their varied experiences in the Middle East as they will from their instructors.

Seminars are conducted in English. In exceptional cases, instruction can be offered in Arabic, depending on student preparation. For the most part classes are in seminar format; however, lectures and cultural performances are periodically presented to the whole student body and independent studies with particular professors on specialized topics are possible (where instructor availability permits). While the course work of most classes is equivalent to the average U.S. undergraduate work-load (averaging four books, or the equivalent thereof in articles, per semester), it may contain a separate graduate component with a greater number of required readings or simply more challenging and specialized assignments. Depending on the nature of the course, the class might include field trips to various places in Yemen or supervised site visits for limited (and approved) research purposes.

Courses range in topic (e.g., religion, gender, development, and politics) and discipline (e.g., anthropology, economics, geography, history, literature and the arts, political science, and sociology), but individual courses are usually inter-disciplinary in any case. A limited number of basic courses are offered each term (though taught on the basis of sufficient demand of five or more students per course) to reflect what the College considers to be important regional knowledge expected of any student concentrating or majoring in contemporary Middle Eastern studies. A set of more specialized courses is also offered each term, representing a range of topics that will vary depending on faculty specialization as well as student interest.

Visiting faculty members in the Program for Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies are rotated annually. The YCMES chooses its faculty members based on their academic specialty, Yemeni research background, and academic undergraduate teaching experience. The faculty is comprised of both highly-qualified international and Yemeni professors. Renowned international professors from tenured positions at leading Western universities are invited by the YCMES for semester or year-long teaching positions. Distinguished Yemeni professors are invited for teaching positions from Yemeni institutions, and all have experience in Western academic establishments and are fluent in English.

2010-2011 Academic Year

Dr. Thomas Stevenson, Anthropology, Ohio University

Dr. Katherine Hennessey, Arabic Literature, Bethlehem University