For the first time in seven years, the College of Arts and Sciences has introduced a new major. The 35th major and the fourth interdisciplinary one (after biochemistry, film studies, and international studies), Islamic civilizations and societies (ICS) reflects Boston College’s continuing effort to expand and enhance the international dimensions of its curriculum. The ICS major draws from five departments—history, political science, theology, fine arts, and Slavic and Eastern languages—and it will offer more than a hundred courses (see below for a selection of ICS classes being taught in 2008–09). The new major builds on the existing minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, which includes instruction in Arabic, and will offer a survey of the Muslim populations and cultures of North Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. The inaugural director is professor Ali Banuazizi, of the political science department.

Course sampler:

EC 277 Economics of the Middle East
FA 203 Great Cities of the Islamic Lands
FA 214 The Art of The Silk Road
FA 234 Mosques, Minarets and Madrasas
FM 314 Cinema of the Greater Middle East
HS 315 Islam in South Asia
HS 339 Byzantium and Islam
HS 343 Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire
HS 353 Africa, Islam, and Europe
PO 414 Politics and Society in Central Eurasia
PO 518 Liberalism, Nation Building, and American Foreign Policy
PO 638 Islamic Political Philosophy
SL 147 Language and Identity in the Middle East
SL 148 Modern Middle Eastern and Arabic Literature
TH 352 Israelis and Palestinians: Two Peoples, Three Faiths
TH 554 Encountering the Qur’an: Contexts and Approaches
TH 566 Mystical Poetry in the Islamic Humanities
TH 576 Pathways to God: Islamic Theologies in Context

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