The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations is now the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures!
News
Fall 2024 Hebrew Placement Exam
Students planning on taking Modern Hebrew in Fall 2024 should take the placement examination to ensure they are placed in the right level.
NELC PhD Candidate Rawad Wehbe Wins Penn Grad Talks
NELC PhD Candidate Rawad Wehbe was announced the winner for the Humanities Division of the 2024 Penn Grad Talks. His winning talk is entitled, "All My Friends Are Dead: Time, Emotion, and Form in Early Islamic Poetry."
Congratulations, Rawad!
A Symposium in Honor of Dan Ben-Amos
On November 19, 2023, PENN faculty and students, as well as long-time Folklore colleagues, came together to remember the legacy of Dan Ben-Amos, Professor of Folklore and Folklife. We were honored to also have Dan’s family in attendance – his wife, Dr.
Professor Fatemeh Shams Named 2024 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies
NELC Professor Fatemeh Shams was named the 2024 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies at the Peace and Conflicts Studies Institute (PACSI) at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
Professor Heather Sharkey Featured in Omnia
In "Writing for Wikipedia," Professor Sharkey talks with Omnia's Susan Ahlborn about how she engages her students in independent research, teaching them how to research, write, and navigate issues of copyright, using assignments focused on creating and curating content on Wikipedia.
Nader Naderpour’s Collection Donated to the University of Pennsylvania Archives
The Persian Program of the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC), in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, proudly announces the generous donation of an extensive archive from Mr.
Book Award for Dr. Simcha Gross
A note of congratulations to our very own Professor of Rabbinics, Dr.
Huda Fakhreddine Elected to ACLA Board
The Executive Committee of the American Comparative Literature Association has elected Huda Fakhreddine to serve as Second Vice President on the Board of Directors.
Dr. Timothy Hogue's New Book on the Ten Commandments
Timothy Hogue's new book is featured on Penn Today and in Penn OMNIA.
Announcing the Fall 2024 Arabic Language Table
The Fall 2024 Arabic Language Table is now open for business!
Fall 2024 Hebrew Placement Exam
Students planning on taking Modern Hebrew in Fall 2024 should take the placement examination to ensure they are placed in the right level.
NELC PhD Candidate Rawad Wehbe Wins Penn Grad Talks
NELC PhD Candidate Rawad Wehbe was announced the winner for the Humanities Division of the 2024 Penn Grad Talks. His winning talk is entitled, "All My Friends Are Dead: Time, Emotion, and Form in Early Islamic Poetry."
Congratulations, Rawad!
A Symposium in Honor of Dan Ben-Amos
On November 19, 2023, PENN faculty and students, as well as long-time Folklore colleagues, came together to remember the legacy of Dan Ben-Amos, Professor of Folklore and Folklife. We were honored to also have Dan’s family in attendance – his wife, Dr.
Professor Fatemeh Shams Named 2024 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies
NELC Professor Fatemeh Shams was named the 2024 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies at the Peace and Conflicts Studies Institute (PACSI) at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
Professor Heather Sharkey Featured in Omnia
In "Writing for Wikipedia," Professor Sharkey talks with Omnia's Susan Ahlborn about how she engages her students in independent research, teaching them how to research, write, and navigate issues of copyright, using assignments focused on creating and curating content on Wikipedia.
Nader Naderpour’s Collection Donated to the University of Pennsylvania Archives
The Persian Program of the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC), in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, proudly announces the generous donation of an extensive archive from Mr.
Book Award for Dr. Simcha Gross
A note of congratulations to our very own Professor of Rabbinics, Dr.
Huda Fakhreddine Elected to ACLA Board
The Executive Committee of the American Comparative Literature Association has elected Huda Fakhreddine to serve as Second Vice President on the Board of Directors.
Dr. Timothy Hogue's New Book on the Ten Commandments
Timothy Hogue's new book is featured on Penn Today and in Penn OMNIA.
Announcing the Fall 2024 Arabic Language Table
The Fall 2024 Arabic Language Table is now open for business!
2023-2024 NELC Newsletter Volume 5
We wanted to let you know what we've been up to since our last issue.
Click here to view or download Volume 5!
Check back for our next issue due out late in 2025.
If you want to be added to our mailing list or have news you'd like to share in the newsletter, please send a request to melc-grad@sas.upenn.edu.
We'd love to hear from you!
2023-2024 MELC NewsletterEvents
Virtual Lecture: Archaeology in Action, with Dr. Josef Wegner
Dr. Wegner to talk about Penn Museum’s excavations at Abydos, Egypt
Dr. Josef Wegner
Books
Lighthouse for the Drowning
Presented bilingually, this first US publication of Jawdat Fakhreddine—one of the major Lebanese names in modern Arabic poetry—establishes a revolutionary dialogue between international, modernist
A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East
This book examines relations between Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Ottoman Middle East before World War I.
Alumni Spotlight
Pezavia O’Connell, PhD
Methodist Minister Activist, Educator , Scholar of Hebrew
Pezavia O'Connell (1861–1930) was an African American Methodist minister, activist, educator, and scholar of Hebrew. He received a PhD in 1898 for a dissertation entitled, "Synonyms of the Clean and Unclean in Hebrew.” This distinction made him the first African American to earn a PhD in Semitic languages in the United States. Born…
Read Bio