For NELC, Small Is Beautiful

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations receives the honor of ranking number one in FM’s first-ever concentration ranking. NELC requires four semesters of a department language and allows regular and joint concentrators the opportunity for focused study. The department courses encompass the ancient and modern worlds of the Middle East with particular emphasis on language, literature, religion and culture. Although there are only about a half-dozen students that call NELC home, the department has a lot to offer. Shira D. Kieval ’04 turned to NELC because she wanted to focus on the Middle East and this was the only place where she felt she could do so.

“NELC gives you a lot of freedom. I can really study what I want here,” she says. “History and Literature [her primary field] can be stuffy sometimes, but in NELC they are really interested that I develop a passion for my study.” Kieval is not alone in her praise for the department.

“The teachers have all been great,” says Oussama Zahr ’04. “[Professor of the Practice of Arabic] William Granara is really laid-back and casual and approachable. He is so helpful and was willing to do anything to help me get my joint [concentration].” Both the faculty and the concentrators are described as eager and supportive. For Yuri Vendenyapin ’04, the love affair with NELC began two years ago when he ate breakfast with Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature Ruth R. Wisse at Au Bon Pain. “She really made a strong impression,” he says. “I am mostly interested in Yiddish studies and that’s what attracted me to Harvard and NELC. The atmosphere at NELC is very friendly and one reason is because of the diversity of the department. There are so many different professors around—it’s a unique place at Harvard.”

Joel D. Mitchell ’04 agrees that NELC stands out among other departments for the number of languages and rigor of study in the concentration. “Arabic is a very intensive program,” he says. “It is challenging but rewarding. And the faculty are very helpful—they really go out of their way for you.” While many of the smaller concentrations receive similar praise from students, NELC seems to stand out among all the departments. Perhaps Vendenyapin sums up NELC’s superiority best: “It’s an intimate atmosphere. You really can feel that the department has unity and harmony in it.”