The Middle East and South Asia Studies Program began as an interdisciplinary minor in 2004. Since that time, the Program has grown rapidly to include twenty-three faculty members distributed across ten departments of the college and the Divinity School and to graduate around 25 students each year.
Today, both Arabic and Hindi/Urdu are offered through the program. The Program also administers summer study abroad programs in Morocco, India, and Nepal and mentors students’ study abroad experiences and overseas research across the region. Intended as an interdisciplinary space for faculty and students with academic interests across a region that encompasses the Middle East and South Asia, the Program regularly sponsors guest lectures, film series, workshops, and international conferences on the campus of Wake Forest University.
The Middle East and South Asia Studies Program and our affiliated faculty (through their home departments) maintain institutional affiliations with the American Institute for Maghribi Studies (AIMS), the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies (AISLS), the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS), the American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS), the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) and the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS).