Islamic studies, Arabic studies, Middle Eastern studies
Are you interested in the political and social background to events in the Islamic world? Do you want to learn more about the history of this region? Do you want to consider the religious and cultural traditions of societies shaped by Islam from an academic perspective? Do you want to learn Arabic, Persian, Turkish or other North African and Near Eastern languages? Would you like to explore literature and culture through these languages?
If so, study Islamic Studies, Arabic studies or Middle Eastern Studies in Basel, Bern, Geneva or Zurich. You will get to know the Arab and Islamic world from a historical perspective with its many regionally specific particularities. You will also learn about the heterogeneous interpretations of Islam in the context of globalised societies.
Islamic Studies, Arabic studies and Middle Eastern Studies look at all aspects of the Arab and Islamic world from their beginnings to the present day, considering literature, history, art, philosophy, geography, society and politics, etc. The foundations for this is knowledge of Arabic, as well as Turkish or Persian, in addition to a number of historical, philological and social science approaches
A number of different study options exist:
Firstly, Islamic studies explores the entirety of Islamic traditional history up to the modern day with an emphasis on sources written in Oriental languages. Students of Islamic studies acquire extensive language skills in Classical and Modern Arabic as well as Persian and/or Turkish. Islamic studies is also an area study in history and social science that deals with historical and social science issues of the Middle Eastern region as well as with religious and cultural issues of Islam and Muslim peoples in modern and contemporary history.
Secondly, Arabic studies considers the entirety of texts, literature and cultures associated with the Arabic language.
Thirdly, Middle Eastern studies deals with the area traditionally referred to as the Middle East, which is highly ethnically, religiously, economically, politically and socially diverse. Middle Eastern studies focuses on modern social, political and cultural processes in the Middle East.
A wide range of career paths:
Graduates not only have excellent knowledge of Arabic and other Oriental languages; they also have knowledge and experience of the associated cultures. Beyond teaching and research at universities, there is a broad range of career paths that students can opt for, for example in the following areas:
- Media
- Librarianship, documentation and IT
- Government, church and political organisations (migration, intercultural cooperation, asylum, federal police, peace service, etc.)
- International organisations, diplomatic service
- Adult education, cultural education
- Language services (teaching, translation, interpreting)
- Development work
- Tour guide
- Business and banking
Requirements:
To study Islamic Studies, Arabic studies or Middle Eastern Studies, one should have strong interest in languages. Acquisition of Arabic, Persian and/or Turkish takes up a large amount of study time and requires discipline and stamina. A further requirement is a broad interest in subjects and issues in the Islamic world both historically and in the present.
Overview of study programmes at Swiss universities
Names of existing study programmes at different universities:
- Basel: Islamwissenschaft (Bachelor); Near & Middle Eastern Studies (Master)
- Bern: Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (Bachelor); Islamic Studies and Oriental Literatures (Master); Middle Eastern Studies (Master)
- Geneva: Langue, littérature et civilisation arabes (Bachelor); Langue, littérature et civilisation arabes (Master); Master Moyen-Orient (MAMO) (Master, collaboration Faculté des Lettres et Global Studies Institute)
- Zurich: Islamwissenschaft (Bachelor); Islamwissenschaft (Master); Nebenfachprogramme Arabisch (Bachelor und Master), Persisch (Bachelor und Master), Türkisch (Bachelor und Master), Islamische Welt (Bachelor und Master)
- Basel, Seminar für Nahoststudien, https://nahoststudien.unibas.ch/seminar/
- Bern, Institut für Islamwissenschaft und Neuere Orientalische Philologie, http://www.islamwissenschaft.unibe.ch/content/index_ger.html
- Geneva, Unité d'arabe, http://www.unige.ch/lettres/meslo/arabe/
- Zurich, Asien-Orient-Institut, http://www.aoi.uzh.ch/islamwissenschaft.html