Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) Minor
(15 units)
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SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) is a geographical term that distinguishes the region often referred to, from a Western lens, as the Middle East. While the boundaries of the region remain unfixed, it is commonly understood as the area stretching from Morocco in the west to Afghanistan in the east and from Turkey in the north to Yemen in the south. The Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) Minor allows students to learn about the religions, histories, cultures and languages of the SWANA region.
All coursework may not be completed in a single department.
Some courses have prerequisites; check the course descriptions for more information.
In completing the requirements for a minor, a minimum of 12 units, of which at least six must be upper-division, must be distinct and different from the units used to complete the requirements of the major or other minor.
The SWANA minor requires 15 units, distributed as follows:
Introduction to Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) (3-6 units)
ARAB 101 - Fundamental Arabic-A
ARAB 102 - Fundamental Arabic-B
ARAB 203 - Intermediate Arabic-A
PERS 101 - Fundamental Persian-A
PERS 102 - Fundamental Persian-B
RLST 200 - Introduction to Christianity
RLST 210 - Introduction to Judaism
RLST 250 - Introduction to Islam
Explorations in Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) (6-9 units)
ECON 336 - Economies of the Middle East
HIST 412A - History of the Christian Church to the Reformation (1517)
HIST 414A - The Ancient Near East
HIST 420 - The Byzantine Empire
HIST 466A - Islamic Civilization: Arab Era
HIST 466B - Islamic Civilization: Imperial Age
HIST 467A - The Middle East in the 19th Cent
HIST 467B - Contemporary Middle East Hist
HIST 468A – Women & Gender in Middle East Hist
HIST 468B - Making the Medieval Middle East
POSC 325 - Politics of Arab-Israeli Conflict
RLST 306 - Contemporary Practices of the World’s Religions
RLST 351 – History & Development of Early Christian Thought
RLST 361 - History and Development of Jewish Thought: Biblical and Rabbinical Eras
RLST 371 - History and Development of Islamic Thought: The Beginning to 1258
RLST 372 - History and Development of Islamic Thought: 1259 to Modern Times
RLST 373 - Women in Islam
RLST 374 - Issues in Contemporary Islam
Context and Comparisons (3 units)
AMST 324 - American Immigrant Cultures
AMST 418 - Food and American Culture
GEOG 359 - World Cities
HIST 110A - World Civilizations to 16th Cent
RLST 110 - Religions of the World
