SGA supported the addition of a Middle Eastern studies minor at Tuesday’s meeting.
The House of Student Representatives backed House Resolution 101-15, which supports the addition of the minor at TCU.
“When I came to TCU as a freshman, I was disappointed that there weren’t any Arabic classes,” AddRan College of Liberal Arts representative Bryan Tony said.
Tony reached out to history professor Dr. Hanan Hammad, who holds a doctoral degree in Middle East history from the University of Texas at Austin. Hammad pushed for the Middle East studies minor years ago, Tony said, but it fell flat without student support.
The addition of more degree opportunities with a global focus will help the university better fit its mission statement, the resolution said.
According to the TCU mission statement, its goal is to “educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders in the global community.”
Tony partnered with Academic Affairs chairman Jacob Greenstein to author the resolution.
“I’ve been looking at possibly interning at a think tank and a lot of opportunities that they offer are region specific,” Greenstein said. “If you can show you have a lot of background in a specific area, they’re far more likely to take you for that position.”
According to Tony and Greenstein, TCU currently offers the courses needed to fulfil this minor. It’s simply a matter of “putting a title on it.”
“We took a good look at the Asian studies minor,” Greenstein said. “The entire proposal that we sent forward was pretty much an exact replica of that.”
Other universities already have Middle East studies departments. The University of Texas at Austin, Baylor University and Southern Methodist University all offer a minor in this area.
Baylor offers an 18-hour minor in Middle East studies. The required courses include: Introduction to the Middle East, Middle East History A.D. 600-1798, Modern Middle East History, Government and Politics of the Middle East and Religions that Shaped the Western World.
The Middle East studies minor would join Asian studies and Latino/a studies as multi-cultural minors offered at TCU. The proposal is set to be presented to the faculty at the AddRan meeting in April.