An area studies center of the Office of International Affairs at The Ohio State University
The Middle East Studies Center (MESC) is a US Department
of Education Undergraduate Title VI National Resource Center (NRC). Since
its designation as a National Resource Center in 1988, it has been consistently
renewed in the 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2005 cycles, for a total
of 18 years. The mission of the Center is to foster and generate knowledge
of the Middle East, its past and current economic, social and political developments,
and to promote teaching, learning, research and public awareness of the diverse
array of Middle Eastern languages, cultures, and peoples. The Center's goal
of making greater impact in the community, and its striving to meet the priorities
of Title VI, strengthen its ability to be a successful area studies center
at OSU, and furthers the goals of outreach, providing better student resources,
and multidisciplinary collaboration described in the university’s academic
plan. These goals are achieved through supporting language and area studies
courses, workshops, conferences, interdisciplinary lectures, cultural and
artistic events, and numerous outreach activities on and off campus. The
Center draws on the expertise and experience of 50 faculty members from 23
departments and the library at OSU and its affiliate faculty in other Ohio
universities and colleges.
Strengthening the performance-based instruction of less commonly taught modern
languages of the Middle East and Central Asia, and providing teacher training
are the two highest priorities of the program at MESC. The Center helps to
fund, or provides other forms of support for Arabic, Hebrew, Pashto, Persian,
Turkish and Urdu instruction. A major component of the MESC teacher training
program is The Institute on Middle Eastern Cultures, offered through the
College of Education's Outreach and Engagement Office.
List of other Title VI National Resource Centers, with links to contact information: http://www.outreachworld.org/searchcontacts.asp
Middle East Studies
Center
The Ohio State University
321 Oxley Hall
1712 Neil Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Tel: 614-292-5897
E-mail: mesc@osu.edu
MESC Director:
Dr. Alam Payind
MESC Assistant Director:
Melinda Wightman
Copyright 2006 Middle East Studies Center
@ The Ohio State University
News:
The 2008-09 MESC FLAS Fellowship competition has begun. See http://mesc.osu.edu/procedures.shtml for detailed information and to download the application.
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This web site, all content and related materials are ©2006 by the Middle East Studies Center and The Ohio State University. If you have difficulty accessing any portion of this site due to incompatibility with adaptive technology, or if you need the information in an alternative format, please contact us at: mesc@osu.edu