Middle Eastern Studies
The Middle Eastern Studies major is no longer accepting new students.
Middle Eastern Studies Program
Introduction to the Program
Ohio Wesleyan is one of only a handful of national liberal arts colleges with an academic program dedicated to the study of the Middle East.
Our Middle Eastern Studies program brings together faculty with expertise in the culture, religions, languages, politics, history, literature, and art of the Middle East.
This interdisciplinary approach provides OWU students with a holistic understanding of the Middle East and creates an ideal environment for students to work closely with faculty mentors to deeply explore their own areas of interest.
Program Features
- Every student majoring in Middle Eastern Studies works with a faculty mentor to complete an intellectually rigorous research project.
- Through The OWU Connection, students can obtain grants to support research, travel, and internships in the Middle East.
Available Majors
Anne Sokolsky
Associate Professor of Comparative Literature
Professor Sokolsky was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, where she learned Moroccan Arabic and then continued studying Arabic at Harvard University.
Carol Neuman de Vegvar
Professor of Fine Arts
An art historian and medievalist, Professor Neuman de Vegvar teaches Classical, Renaissance, Baroque, and Islamic art.
Michal Raizen
Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature
Professor Raizen was a 2011–2012 fellow at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad at the American University in Cairo.
David Caplan
Professor of English
A poet and scholar, Professor Caplan is the Associate Director of Creative Writing at OWU.
Susan Gunasti
Associate Professor of Religion
Professor Gunasti's graduate study in religion and international relations is complemented by her undergraduate degree from Brown in applied mathematics and economics.
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Driss Sekkat, a 2006 OWU graduate, created and produced four seasons of "Street Pulse," an investigative documentary series, for Middle East Broadcasting Networks. His 2015 feature on the people who live in cemeteries in Cairo, Egypt, because they cannot afford housing won the Bronze Award at the New York Festival.
Arabic Summer Institute
Julianne Zala '17 (front center in red and white) received OWU funding to attend the Arabic Summer Institute of Texas.
Program Contact Info
Location
Susan Gunasti
Phillips Hall 219
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
Phillips Hall 219
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
P 740-368-3829
E sgunasti@owu.edu
E sgunasti@owu.edu