This year our department has had a special occasion for self-reflection: a Program Review, as is required of all academic units at UW every ten years. Among other things, the review process calls for a self-study report assessing how we are doing and how we have fared in the past decade. In our deliberations, we are noting multiple significant changes the department has undergone since our last review – including a change of departmental name. Previously we were Near Eastern Languages and…
The former department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization (NELC) is now Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC)! This change was spearheaded by Assistant Professor Aria Fani, with assistance from Associate Professor Stephanie Selover and Associate Professor Hamza Zafer. The name change was approved unanimously by the faculty.
The NELC department was first established in 1969, founded by professors Nicholas Heer and Farhat Ziadeh, after an initial four years teaching in the Classics…
This year saw many new additions to the MELC Department! Below is information and a short interview with our fabulous new members of the MELC family.
Paul Siscel, Administrator
Paul joins MELC after many years providing administrative support at the UW Medical Center and facility management in UW Health Sciences. A proud Husky, Paul holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Washington, as well as an MBA from City University. Outside of work, Paul enjoys hiking, Husky…
The Turkey in Seattle Oral History Project started in the 2017-2018 academic year, directed by our MELC faculty, Melike Yücel-Koç. The project records, archives, and preserves the stories of immigrants from Turkey who reside in the Pacific Northwest Region.
Turkey in Seattle seeks to understand the immigration experience of Turkish Americans and their descendants in North America, and how they form their identity as immigrants in the United States. It focuses on the…
We have five Masters students active in MELC this year. They are important players in the department, providing teaching and research assistance to faculty and learning support to students.
Please reach out to them if, on the one hand, you have questions about being a Masters student in MELC, or, on the other hand, if you can help them with their research interests!
Forrest Martin
Forrest Martin is in his final year of the MELC M.A. program. He received his B.A. summa cum laude in Hebrew…
In celebration of our recent departmental name change, we sought to gather first-hand feedback from our students on their experience learning a foreign language at MELC. We firmly believe that the best way to gain insight into our courses is by hearing directly from those who know us best: our students.
Fortunately, we had the opportunity to talk to and record several students from five different language classes - Arabic, Hebrew, Kazakh, Persian, and Turkish. These videos were recorded and…
We are proud of the many accomplishments of our MELC community. Please join us in congratulating and recognizing all of our achievements over the last year.
MELC Student Updates:
Anaëlle Enders, Minor in Arabic:
Winner of a UW President’s Medalist Award, 2023
Forrest Martin, M.A. Student:
Accepted into the PhD program at Emory University in Jewish Studies, starting in the 2023-2024 academic year.
MELC Faculty Updates:
Canan Bolel:
Awarded The Translation Studies Hub's new course…