Near Eastern Studies (NES)Arts and Sciences

Showing 38 results.

Course descriptions provided by the Courses of Study 2017-2018.

Last Updated

  • Schedule of Classes - February 16, 2018 10:59AM EST
  • Course Catalog - February 12, 2018 11:18AM EST

NES 1561
Introduction to the Ottoman Empire

This course will introduce students to the study of the Ottoman Empire from its inception in the late 13th century until the early part of 19th century. The classes will follow the main timeline of the ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 1561

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  9273 NES 1561   LEC 001

  •  

NES 1922
FWS: The Sons of Sinbad: Readings in Arabic Travel Writing

Is the Sinbad story merely a story of wondrous events aimed at entertaining its readers? Or does its symbolic language tell us something about the nature of crossing frontiers and encountering the unknown? ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 17599 NES 1922   SEM 101

  •  

  • For more information about First-Year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute.

NES 1998
The Middle East in the News: Politics, Society, Religion and Culture

The peoples, cultures, religions, and politics of the Middle East are never far removed from the front pages of the most influential journals and newspapers. This course will engage students in discussing ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: JWST 1998, RELST 1998

  • 2 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17538 NES 1998   SEM 101

  •  

NES 2201
Intermediate Urdu Reading and Writing I

This course is designed to develop competence in Urdu reading and writing for students with a first-year knowledge of Hindi and knowledge of Urdu script. The goal of this course is to improve listening, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: URDU 2225

  • 3 Credits GradeNoAud

  •  6563 NES 2201   SEM 101

  • Prerequisite: URDU 1125 or permission of instructor.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

NES 2273
Introduction to Religious Studies

This course introduces the academic study of religion. The topics vary from year to year. view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ASIAN 2273, RELST 2273

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • Topic: Sensational Religion

  • 16391 NES 2273   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2516
Gender, Sexuality, and Social Change in the Modern Middle East

This course introduces students to basic themes and topics in the history of women and gender in Middle Eastern societies by exploring the forces of social change that influenced the lives of women (and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: FGSS 2516

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9507 NES 2516   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2522
Drinking through the Ages: Intoxicating Beverages in Near Eastern and World History

This course examines the production and exchange of wine, beer, coffee and tea, and the social and ideological dynamics involved in their consumption. We start in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and end ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARKEO 2522, CLASS 2630, JWST 2522

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16204 NES 2522   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2577
American Jewish Women and the Body of Tradition

Since the 1970s, Jewish women have remade American Judaism by putting their bodies front and center. In the face of a largely male rabbinic elite, they have created new models of ritual, communal leadership, ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  • 17321 NES 2577   SEM 101

  •  

NES 2607
Islam and Politics: Between an Islamic State and Daily Life

In the early twentieth century, a series of movements arose in the Middle East and South Asia, calling Muslims to return to Islam. Today, leaders and members of such groups –now known as Islamists –insist ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 2807, HIST 2607, RELST 2617

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16228 NES 2607   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2610
Archaeology of the Ancient Near East

The Near East is often defined by "firsts": the first cities, writing, and complex societies. Archaeology has long looked to the region for explanations of the origins of civilization. The Middle East ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ANTHR 2010, ARKEO 2010

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9391 NES 2610   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2620
Modern European Jewish History, 1789 - 1948

Jewish life in Europe experienced a profound transformation as a result of the process of Jewish emancipation which began at the end of the eighteenth century.  While emancipation offered Jews unprecedented ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: HIST 2910, JWST 2920

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16530 NES 2620   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2644
Introduction to Judaism

Jewish communities have been established, flourished and often struggled for millennia, throughout much of the world, and in vital contact with a vast range of other peoples and cultures. This course examines ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ANTHR 2644, JWST 2644, RELST 2644

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17126 NES 2644   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2655
Introduction to Islamic Civilization

At the beginning of the 7th century, a new religion, Islam, appeared in Arabia and by the end of the century, Muslims had defeated the Byzantines and Persians and created an empire that stretched from ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: HIST 2530, MEDVL 2655, RELST 2655

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9045 NES 2655   LEC 001

  •  

  •  9046 NES 2655   DIS 201

  •  

NES 2662
Daily Life in the Biblical World

This course will survey the common and not-so-common daily activities of the world of ancient Israel, with supplementary material from its neighbors in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Canaan. Many courses cover ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARKEO 2662, JWST 2662, RELST 2662

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 16533 NES 2662   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2674
History of the Modern Middle East

This course examines major trends in the evolution of the Middle East in the modern era. Focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries and ending with the  "Arab Spring," we will consider Middle East history ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: ASRC 2674, GOVT 2747, HIST 2674

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8503 NES 2674   LEC 001

  •  

  •  8523 NES 2674   DIS 201

  •  

  •  8524 NES 2674   DIS 202

  •  

  •  8525 NES 2674   DIS 203

  •  

  •  8526 NES 2674   DIS 204

  •  

  •  8768 NES 2674   DIS 205

  •  

  •  8815 NES 2674   DIS 206

  •  

  • 18266 NES 2674   DIS 207

  •  

  • 18619 NES 2674   DIS 208

  •  

NES 2754
Wondrous Literatures of the Near East

This course examines Near East's rich and diverse literary heritage. We will read a selection of influential and wondrous texts from ancient to modern times, spanning geographically from the Iberian peninsula ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: COML 2754, JWST 2754

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9485 NES 2754   LEC 001

  •  

NES 2985
Egyptomania: Imagining Egypt in the Greco-Roman World

Throughout Greek and Roman history, the idea of Egypt inspired powerful imaginative responses ranging from fascination to fear. This course investigates Egyptian interactions with the Greco-Roman world ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: ANTHR 2285, ARKEO 2285, CLASS 2685

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 15985 NES 2985   LEC 001

  •  

  • 15986 NES 2985   DIS 201

  •  

  • 15987 NES 2985   DIS 202

  •  

NES 3325
Literary Reading and Writing in Advanced Urdu

Designed for those students who have either taken Intermediate Urdu or are at the same level of competency in reading and writing skills. The goals of this class are to improve Urdu literary reading and ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: URDU 3325

  • 3 Credits GradeNoAud

  •  9105 NES 3325   LEC 001

  • Prerequisite: Intermediate Urdu or same level of written and oral proficiency.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

NES 3625
Ancient Iraq: Cities, Migrations, and Kings

This course surveys the history and cultures of ancient Mesopotamia (e.g., Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria) from the beginnings of civilization to the death of Alexander the Great. It will be taught from ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: JWST 3625

  • 3 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17176 NES 3625   LEC 001

  •  

NES 3677
The Search for the Historical Muhammad

As the founder of Islam Muhammad is one of the most influential figures in world history. An important source for his life is the Sira of Ibn Ishaq (d. ca. 761), a biography that opens with Muhammad's ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16215 NES 3677   SEM 101

  •  

NES 4544
Ceramic Analysis for Archaeology

Ceramics are among the most ubiquitous materials in the archaeological record. From prehistory to the present, the manipulation of clay to form pottery and other synthetic objects has transformed domains ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16208 NES 4544   SEM 101

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

NES 4547
The Middle East in Africa, Africa in the Middle East

In this seminar we will explore the Ottoman Empire's presence in the continent, and the continent's influence on the rest of the Ottoman Empire.  In addition to the focus on the history of Ottoman North ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16689 NES 4547   SEM 101

  •  

NES 4557
Desert Monasticism

How and why do landscapes come to inspire the religious imagination? And how do sensory landscapes, more specifically-territories of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell-inform, inflect, and engage the ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  • 16197 NES 4557   SEM 101

  •  

NES 4708
Cosmopolitanism, Tolerance and Coexistence

What does it mean to call individuals, cities, or societies "cosmopolitan?" What are the implications when one invokes tolerance to resolve conflict? Do appeals for "tolerance" and "coexistence" redefine ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16222 NES 4708   SEM 101

  •  

NES 4745
Colonial Intersections: Jews and Native Americans

The colonial expansion of Christian Europe continues to leave its mark on the world of the twenty-first century. Two of the peoples caught up in that colonial project, in very different ways, are Jews ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16351 NES 4745   SEM 101

  •  

NES 4914
Marginal Archaeology: Liminality and the Power of Borders in the Maritime Past

In this seminar students apply Victor Turner's conceptions of liminality and anti-structure to the past. From the Bronze Age to the present, shamans, merchants, and travelers who ostensibly look like outsiders ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16220 NES 4914   SEM 101

  •  

NES 4991
Independent Study, Undergraduate Level

For undergraduates who wish to obtain research experience or do extensive reading on a special topic. Students select a topic in consultation with the faculty member who has agreed to supervise the course. For ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6723 NES 4991   IND 601

    • TBA

    • Brann, R

  • To apply for independent study, please complete the on-line form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7128 NES 4991   IND 602

    • TBA

    • Fahmy, Z

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7129 NES 4991   IND 603

    • TBA

    • Haines-Eitzen, K

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7130 NES 4991   IND 604

    • TBA

    • Monroe, C

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7131 NES 4991   IND 605

    • TBA

    • Monroe, L

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7132 NES 4991   IND 606

    • TBA

    • Powers, D

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7133 NES 4991   IND 607

    • TBA

    • Scharf, N

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7134 NES 4991   IND 608

    • TBA

    • Shoer, S

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7135 NES 4991   IND 609

    • TBA

    • Starr, D

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7136 NES 4991   IND 610

    • TBA

    • Khatchadourian, L

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7137 NES 4991   IND 611

    • TBA

    • Younes, M

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8372 NES 4991   IND 612

    • TBA

    • Tenney, J

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8463 NES 4991   IND 613

    • TBA

    • Weatherspoon, M

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  8875 NES 4991   IND 614

  •  
    • TBA

    • Gocheleishvili, I

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9233 NES 4991   IND 615

  •  
    • TBA

    • Rock-Singer, A

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-6 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 18877 NES 4991   IND 616

    • TBA

    • Ozer Griffin, B

  • Instructor Consent Required (Add)

NES 4998
Senior Honors Essay

Each fall, a small number of highly qualified seniors enter the Near Eastern Studies Honors Program. The Honors Program is open to NES majors who have done superior work and who wish to devote a substantial ... view course details

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Multi-Term

  •  6412 NES 4998   IND 601

    • TBA

    • Staff

  • To enroll in Honors, please email cmc40@cornell.edu to request a permission number.

    Instructor Consent Required (Add)

NES 4999
Senior Honors Essay

Each fall, a small number of highly qualified seniors enter the Near Eastern Studies Honors Program. The Honors Program is open to NES majors who have done superior work and who wish to devote a substantial ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 4 Credits Graded

  •  7836 NES 4999   IND 601

    • TBA

    • Staff

  • Department Consent Required (Add)

NES 6544
Ceramic Analysis for Archaeology

Ceramics are among the most ubiquitous materials in the archaeological record. From prehistory to the present, the manipulation of clay to form pottery and other synthetic objects has transformed domains ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16211 NES 6544   SEM 101

  •  

NES 6547
The Middle East in Africa, Africa in the Middle East

In this seminar we will explore the Ottoman Empire's presence in the continent, and the continent's influence on the rest of the Ottoman Empire.  In addition to the focus on the history of Ottoman North ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16691 NES 6547   SEM 101

  •  

NES 6557
Desert Monasticism

How and why do landscapes come to inspire the religious imagination? And how do sensory landscapes, more specifically-territories of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell-inform, inflect, and engage the ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 17283 NES 6557   SEM 101

  •  

NES 6677
The Search for the Historical Muhammad

As the founder of Islam Muhammad is one of the most influential figures in world history. An important source for his life is the Sira of Ibn Ishaq (d. ca. 761), a biography that opens with Muhammad's ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16219 NES 6677   SEM 101

  •  

NES 6708
Cosmopolitanism, Tolerance and Coexistence

What does it mean to call individuals, cities, or societies "cosmopolitan?" What are the implications when one invokes tolerance to resolve conflict? Do appeals for "tolerance" and "coexistence" redefine ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16224 NES 6708   SEM 101

  •  

NES 6914
Marginal Archaeology: Liminality and the Power of Borders in the Maritime Past

In this seminar students apply Victor Turner's conceptions of liminality and anti-structure to the past. From the Bronze Age to the present, shamans, merchants, and travelers who ostensibly look like outsiders ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16221 NES 6914   SEM 101

  •  

NES 6991
Independent Study: Graduate Level

For graduate students who wish to do intensive reading on a focused topic. Students select a topic in consultation with the faculty member that has agreed to supervise the course. view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  6167 NES 6991   IND 601

  •  
    • TBA

    • Brann, R

  • To apply for independent study, please complete the on-line form at https://data.arts.cornell.edu/as-stus/indep_study_intro.cfm.

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7138 NES 6991   IND 602

  •  
    • TBA

    • Fahmy, Z

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7139 NES 6991   IND 603

  •  
    • TBA

    • Haines-Eitzen, K

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7140 NES 6991   IND 604

  •  
    • TBA

    • Monroe, L

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7141 NES 6991   IND 605

  •  
    • TBA

    • Powers, D

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7142 NES 6991   IND 606

  •  
    • TBA

    • Starr, D

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7143 NES 6991   IND 607

  •  
    • TBA

    • Tenney, J

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7144 NES 6991   IND 608

  •  
    • TBA

    • Younes, M

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  7755 NES 6991   IND 609

  •  
    • TBA

    • Monroe, C

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  •  9219 NES 6991   IND 611

  •  
    • TBA

    • Khatchadourian, L

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session. 

  • 1-4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 10268 NES 6991   IND 612

  •  
    • TBA

    • Rock-Singer, A

NES 7743
Archaeology of the Hellenistic Mediterranean

The conquests and death of Alexander served as catalysts for major cultural transformation. Throughout the Mediterranean and beyond, Greco-Macedonian dynasties came to rule over foreign populations, ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARKEO 7743, CLASS 7743

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 15995 NES 7743   SEM 101

  •  

NES 7745
Colonial Intersections: Jews and Native Americans

The colonial expansion of Christian Europe continues to leave its mark on the world of the twenty-first century. Two of the peoples caught up in that colonial project, in very different ways, are Jews ... view course details

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi: none

  • 16354 NES 7745   SEM 101

  •