专业描述

The Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, founded in 1841, is one of the world's leading centers for the study of the Near East. Throughout its long history, the Department has maintained its strong sense of traditional humanist values, as well as its outstanding leadership role in developing and evaluating the latest techniques, perspectives, and resources for study of the Near East, from earliest times to the modern era. The graduate and undergraduate programs of the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations emphasize reflective scholarship based on sound knowledge of the languages, civilizations, and material culture of the Near East. The Department's main faculty strengths today are in the areas of Arabic, Graeco-Arabic, and Islamic studies; Assyriology, including Sumerian and Akkadian; and Egyptology. Instruction is also offered in art and archaeology, Aramaic (including Syriac), Classical Ethiopic, Hebrew, Persian, modern and Ottoman Turkish, and Ugaritic. Interdisciplinary programs can be developed on an individual basis, in collaboration with such departments and programs as Anthropology, Classics, History, Medieval Studies, and Religious Studies. The Department maintains archaeological field projects in Egypt, in which students may be invited to participate. The Department regularly sponsors lectures, colloquia, and presentations by scholars from around the world, as well as special events. In recent years, the Department has also organized and hosted two major international conferences, with associated exhibitions in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Sterling Memorial Library.