The esteemed Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies at Tufts University promotes greater understanding of the rich heritage of the Eastern Mediterranean, and of the significant challenges that this region faces at the beginning of the 21st century. The center seeks to give voice to a broad diversity of viewpoints in the belief that this will serve as an effective means of conflict resolution. In addition to serving as a valuable resource for Middle East majors and graduate students in other fields, the center fosters interdisciplinary collaboration with a number of schools, departments and programs at Tufts.
Student involvement is the cornerstone of the Middle Eastern Studies program. Some students choose rigorous Middle Eastern Studies coursework within interdisciplinary programming that encourages significant immersion in one or more Middle Eastern cultures. Others choose to partner with faculty and scholars at Tufts to travel to the Middle East to enrich their understanding, share their knowledge and conduct research in the field. Whether creating the preeminent online resource for research on the Giza pyramids or collaborating with the Ras Al Khaimah government in the United Arab Emirates on specialty postgraduate education and population-based health initiatives, Tufts is a model of global academic leadership in the Middle East.
Regional Programs
Arab Student Association
The Arab Student Association (ASA) is a political and cultural student organization concerned with Middle Eastern issues. It strives to disseminate information to the Tufts community about the nation-states and nations that make up the Arab world. The ASA attempts to inform and increase awareness of the political conflicts, social and economic developments, and cultural strains unique to this vital and complex area.
Archaeology
Tufts offers a general interdisciplinary undergraduate major in archaeology, incorporating courses from the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Students in archaeology combine course work with firsthand experience in recovery, conservation, and interpretation of material remains. The archaeology program has affiliations with several summer field schools, including the Murlo excavation in Italy, the Talloires/Mt. Musièges excavation in France, the Old Sturbridge Village Field School, and the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology.
Art and Art History
The wide range of courses offered by the department is designed to familiarize students with important artists, traditions and themes in world art and visual culture. Some courses focus on individual achievements, great artists and schools, while others explore significant periods, such as the Renaissance or the 1960s, or themes that cross time and cultures, such as the treatment of nature or the fear and destruction of images (inconoclasm and iconophobia). Artistic style and culture from a number of regions are explored, with course offerings such as Japanese Architecture, Contemporary Art in Africa, and Latin American Cinema.
Borghesani Memorial Prize
This prize is awarded to second-semester sophomores and juniors who undertake a research project, internship, volunteer activity, or plan of study in any field involving international issues. The prize encourages personal growth and independence, while increasing one's understanding of all peoples and encouraging a commitment to the world community. Past recipients of the prize have traveled abroad in order to study, conduct research, participate in international internships, and become involved in social change movements.
Classics
Classics at Tufts constitute an interdisciplinary study of the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, Near East, and Europe. The Department of Classics is dedicated to the study of Greek and Roman culture and to clarifying and assessing its continuing impact on contemporary life. The role of the individual in relation to contemporary society, as the study of Classics shows, can be examined through the history, archaeology, art, architecture, science, philosophy, religion, mythology, and especially through the literatures of Greece and Rome.
Comparative Religion
The Department of Comparative Religion investigates the various expressions of religion encountered in human experience around the world. Students study the field of religion in both its functional and theoretical aspects. Courses explore the Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and others. Courses are designed to give a broad cultural appreciation of religion in accordance with the principles of a liberal arts education.
Economics
The mission of the department is to teach students to be critical thinkers and to use the discipline of economics to analyze important economic, political and social issues, ranging from international economic relations, development, growth, and income inequality, to education, housing and competition policy. Department courses, with continuing interaction with other scholars at Tufts and elsewhere, help mold future community leaders. Classes, collaborations, faculty research, and other study opportunities are available for students in the area of international economics.
EPIIC
The Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program is a carefully integrated multidisciplinary program which, through its innovative and rigorous curricula and projects, prepares undergraduates to lead their communities -- local, national and global. Each year, EPIIC explores one broad global dilemma and provokes students to explore its complexity. High intellectual engagement, passion, and genuine objectivity have been the standard of EPIIC: the cornerstone of Tufts University's international relations education for the 21st century.
Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies
The mission of the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies is to create an academic environment for the promotion of greater understanding of the Eastern Mediterranean's rich culture and heritage, and the significant challenges which face this region in the 21st century, focusing on Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and their neighboring countries. The Center acts as a focal point for cross-regional and cross-cultural analysis, providing a forum for the articulation of diverse viewpoints: an effective means of conflict resolution.
Friends of Israel
Friends of Israel (FOI) is a student organization committed to educating the Tufts community about Israeli culture. FOI was founded with the hope that its members could play a role in the crucial task of building a brighter future for the world. Although Friends of Israel is a political organization due to the nature of relevant issues, the organization does not have official positions on the conflict in the Middle East. It does, however, hold hopes for an end to all violence, and looks forward to a future in peace.
German, Russian and Asian Languages and Literature
The department offers graduate and undergraduate courses in German, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, as well as Hebrew and Arabic language classes. Courses in literature and programs in Judaic Studies, Asian Studies, and Eastern European Studies are also offered.
Institute for Global Leadership
The mission of the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) is to prepare new generations of critical thinkers for effective and ethical leadership, ready to act as global citizens in addressing international and national issues across cultures. The Institute emphasizes rigorous academic preparation and experiential learning. Students learn through intensive engagement in classes, global research, internships, workshops, simulations and international symposia -- all involving national and international leaders from the public and private sectors.
Mercaz Gil Technical Assistance and Professional Development Center
In his capacity as a senior consultant, Professor Don Wertlieb collaborates with the Municipality Department of Social Welfare in Haifa, Israel, in the design, implementation and evaluation of programs at the Beit Maya Parent Child Center and Mercaz Gil TA & PD Center. The goal is to enhance mental health and social services for challenged and special-needs families. Recently launched action research on resiliency has engaged the University of Haifa as well.
Middle Eastern Studies
Middle Eastern Studies is an interdisciplinary program that encourages a significant immersion experience in one or more Middle Eastern cultures. The program gives students an opportunity to study the history and culture of the Middle East as well as areas of the world whose territories were part of Middle East empires or were under the influence of such civilizations in pre-modern and modern times.
Music
The Tufts Department of Music is committed to a vision of musical studies that recognizes the increasing globalization of music. In all of its activities -- graduate and undergraduate curricula in western music, world music, and composition; performing ensembles and its new community music programs -- the department seeks to create an environment in which the vast diversity of musical cultures in the United States and around the world is appreciated and valued.
Office of Programs Abroad
Tufts University has been offering foreign study programs to undergraduates for four decades, and at present runs its own programs for juniors and seniors to study in Chile, China, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, London, Madrid, Oxford, Paris, and Tübingen. Students may also choose from hundreds of approved programs run by non-Tufts providers.
The Giza Archives Project
The Old Kingdom Giza Necropolis (dating from about 2500 BCE) is the site of thousands of tombs, temples, and ancient artifacts. Directed by Tufts professor Peter Der Manuelian, the Giza Archives Project is a collaboration between the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Classics Department at Tufts that seeks to provide a comprehensive online resource for scholarly research on Giza. With the possible future addition of excavation archives from other expeditions (1903-present) and institutions, the Giza Archives Project website is poised to become the world's central repository for the archaeological history of the area.
Turkish Student Association
The Turkish Student Association represents the growing Turkish community at Tufts. The association embraces students of all cultures and backgrounds, and seeks to familiarize the Tufts community with Turkish culture and the Turkish perspective on international issues. Working with other religious and ethnic groups at Tufts, the association strives to provide the university with a diverse and prejudice-free environment.
Water: Systems, Science, and Society
Water: Systems, Science, and Society (WSSS) is an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to managing and understanding the complexity of water issues worldwide. Students who elect to enroll in the program to complement their graduate studies in a related field emerge with both their degree and a WSSS certificate. Students in the WSSS program conduct research and plan projects related to global water issues, take courses and seminars, and undertake a field internship, learning on-site skills from professionals.
