Undergraduates at the University of Chicago may spend a full quarter studying Middle Eastern Civilizations on location in the Middle East, taught by regular UChicago faculty. Working with the Study Abroad office, NELC administers two programs on location, one in Winter and one in Spring quarter, which allows students to pursue an intensive Middle Eastern Civilization course that fulfills Gen Ed (Core) and/or Major requirements, leads students on day- or overnight-excursions to relevant sites, and arranges for local language study. NELC abroad programs have run in Cairo, Rabat, Istanbul, Vienna, and Granada (Andalucia).
Cairo Program
The University of Chicago’s Winter quarter civilizations program, “Middle Eastern Civilizations, Cairo” provides University of Chicago students with an opportunity to study Egyptian civilization and culture from pyramids to minarets, from antiquity to modernity. The rich history of Cairo will reveal itself to students through exposure to history, literature, and archaeology along the banks of the Nile. Participants will take a series of three civilizations courses devoted to Egypt’s evolving role in a wider regional context. As with the University’s other programs abroad, these courses will be taught by three different faculty members (in English) in intensive three-week segments. The precise topics of each year’s courses are determined by faculty interest and expertise. Students take a fourth course in Arabic language, offered at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. The beginning course is Egyptian colloquial Arabic. Classroom work is supplemented by excursions to sites of historical interest from pyramids at Giza to the Valley of the Kings and Karnak temple in Luxor to the modern bustling capital city of Cairo.
The Cairo program is operated in partnership with AMIDEAST Cairo, an educational non-profit organization that has operated continuously in Cairo for over 60 years.
Istanbul Program
Note that in Spring 2019 the Istanbul program will be based in Granada, Spain. Faculty will offer a sequence on Islamicate Civilizations in Spain.
The University of Chicago’s spring quarter Istanbul program provides University of Chicago students with an opportunity to study Middle Eastern Civilizations in one of the world’s most fascinating cities. Known throughout history as Byzantium, Nova Roma, Constantinople, Konstantiniye, and Istanbul, the city is a rich mix of eastern and western cultures straddling two continents. The three-course sequence presents a historical survey of this crossroads of civilization from the ancient period to the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. As with the University’s other Civilizations programs abroad, these courses will be taught (in English) by three faculty members in intensive three-week segments. The precise topics of each year’s courses are determined by faculty interest and expertise. Classroom work is supplemented by weekly excursions to sites of historical interest in and around Istanbul. Participants also take a fourth course in beginning, intermediate or advanced Turkish, spoken by over 200 million people worldwide.
The Istanbul program is operated in cooperation with Yildiz Technical University, one of the most prominent educational institutions in Istanbul, and students in the program have access to the resources and activities on its campus