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Middle Eastern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Minor

 

The undergraduate minor in Middle Eastern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures has been designed to give students majoring in other departments an opportunity to gain a substantial introduction to Middle Eastern and African languages, and to the cultures and civilizations of the Middle East and Africa. Contact the minor adviser before declaring at kyobeid@stanford.edu. Dr. Obeid may be reached at the following:

Dr. Khalid Obeid
Lecturer
Arabic Language Coordinator, and Minor Advisor
Stanford Language Center
Building 240
Stanford University

Students declaring a minor must do so no later than the last day of Spring Quarter of their junior year. If a student is not able to meet this deadline, he or she may petition the Language Center director and request a revised declaration date, which may be granted at the director's discretion.

The minor in Middle Eastern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (MELLAC) has two tracks. Their requirements are as follows.

MELLAC Arabic Track::

  1. Completion of six ARABLANG courses at second year or beyond.
  2. Two literature courses taught with Arabic texts; generallly offered in Comparative Literature (Complit). Requires approval of minor adviser.
  3. One course relating to Arabic taught with English texts; generally offered in Comparative Literature (Complit). Requires approval of minor adviser.
  4. Courses for the minor must be taken for a letter grade unless only offered for faculty-elected satisfactory/no credit.
  5. All courses must be completed with a letter grade of 'C' or better.
  6. Courses may not overlap with those taken for a major course of study.
  7. Courses taken which also fulfill a GER count toward fulfilling both minor and GER requirements.
  8. Arabic Proficiency Notation. All minors must test for Proficiency in Arabic through the Language Center by winter quarter of their senior year. Students must receive a notation of at least "Intermediate-High" to be awarded the minor in MELLAC. Those needing outside tutoring will be advised to do so (resources are available through the CTL and DLCL).

Students wishing to take Arabic courses (Arablang) may only attain the MELLAC Minor through the Arabic Track. the MELLAC African and Other Middle Eastern Languages Track is for students wishing to take courses in African languages or Middle Eastern Languages other than Arabic.

MELLAC African and Other Middle Eastern Languages Track:

  1. Completion of six courses with a focus on either Cultural Studies or Language Studies.
  2. Courses for the minor must be taken for a letter grade unless only offered for faculty-elected satisfactory/no credit.
  3. All courses must be completed with a letter grade of 'C' or better.
  4. Courses may not overlap with those taken for a major course of study.
  5. Courses taken which also fulfill a GER count toward fulfilling both minor and GER requirements.
  6. Students focusing on Cultural Studies must complete the prerequisite of beginning level in the respective language, or demonstrate an equivalent competence, in addition to six non-language related courses. Consult minor adviser for course options.
  7. Students focusing on Language Studies must complete language study at the beginning level, or a demonstrated equivalent competence, in addition to one year of language study at the intermediate level and three non-language related courses (Option A). Consult the minor adviser for your course options.
  8. Students focusing on Language Studies may also complete prerequisite language study at the advanced level for the equivalent of three years of language study, in addition to one African and Middle Eastern literature and culture course relevant to the language studied (Option B). Consult the minor adviser for course options.
  9. Students focusing on Language Studies may also complete four years of language study, at least two of which must be concluded at Stanford (Option C).
  10. Students wishing to take Arabic courses (Arablang) may only attain the MELLAC Minor through the Arabic Track. The MELLAC African and Other Middle Eastern Languages Track is for students wishing to take courses in Persian, Hebrew, African languages, or other Middle Eastern languages other than Arabic.