Faculty of the Graduate Group 

Graduate studies in NELC are conducted under the auspices of the Graduate Group in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. In the Graduate Group faculty, the Standing Faculty of NELC is augmented by archeologists, historians, art historians, and specialists on religions of Near Eastern origin who share its focus on the primary sources of the Near East. Many emeritus faculty also continue to be active in working with students in the MA and PhD programs.

NELC faculty also hold close connections with Penn Museum (which draws several of its curators from the faculty of NELC), the Middle East Center, the Center for Ancient Studies, the program in Ancient History, the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, and the program in the Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World, among other programs and institutions.

Headshot Of Roger M. A. Allen

Roger M. A. Allen

Emeritus Professor of Arabic Literature Sascha Jane Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics

Modern Arabic Literature

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Dan Ben-Amos

Professor of African, Jewish, and Middle Eastern Folklore

African, Jewish, and Middle Eastern Folklore

(215) 898-5857

709 Williams HallRead Bio

Headshot Photo Of Paul M. Cobb

Paul M. Cobb

Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations

Medieval Islamic History

840 Williams HallRead Bio

Jamal J. Elias

Jamal J. Elias

Walter H. Annenberg Professor of the Humanities Professor of Religious Studies

Islam, Sufism, Visual Culture

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Photo of Huda Fakhreddine Standing In Front Of A Bookshelf

Huda Fakhreddine

Undergraduate Chair Associate Professor of Arabic Literature

Arabic Literature

834 Williams HallRead Bio

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Talya Fishman

Associate Professor of Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History

Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History of the Medieval and Early Modern Periods

(215) 898-5837

706 Williams HallRead Bio

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Grant Frame

Emeritus Professor of Assyriology Curator, Babylonian Section, University Museum

Assyriology and Ancient Near East

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Nili Gold

Professor of Modern Hebrew Language & Literature

Modern Hebrew Language & Literature

(215) 573-5312

707 Williams HallRead Bio

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Emily Hammer

Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities, Archeology and Anthropology of the Ancient World

Digital Humanities and Near Eastern Archaeology

836 Williams HallRead Bio

Kathryn Hellerstein

Kathryn Hellerstein

Professor of Germanic Languages

Yiddish Poetry

748 Williams HallRead Bio