Learning outcomes

Knowledge

• Advanced knowledge within the field of social, political and cultural changes in the Middle East and specialized insight in a limited area relating to Middle East society and politics, Islamic studies, or Middle Eastern languages and literature. 
• Thorough knowledge of major scholarly theories and theoretical debates pertaining to the analysis of social, political and cultural changes in the Middle East.
• Thorough knowledge of relevant research methods such as fieldwork, qualitative case studies, and textual analysis in investigating topics within Middle East Studies, as well as a sound knowledge of the basics of quantitative method.
• The ability to apply insights in investigating new areas and new problems within Middle East societies and culture, search for and find relevant sources, and analyze them with the aid of relevant theory.
• Can analyze academic problems on the basis of the history, traditions, distinctive character and place in society of the Middle East.

Skills

• The linguistic, methodological and theoretical skills needed to identify, read, and critically analyze sources in Middle Eastern languages, as well as international scholarly contributions, relevant to the understanding of central developments in the contemporary Middle East.
• Command of the language of specialization (Arabic, Persian or Turkish) for academic purposes, in particular the reading and interpretation of literary and non-literary texts.
• The competence to analyze the theories and methodical approaches prevalent in Middle East studies and to work independently on solving practical and theoretical problems.
• The competence to design and execute an independent limited research project under supervision and with an awareness of the potential ethical dilemmas involved in contemporary Middle East Studies and the proper way to handle them.

General competence

• The ability to analyze problems of an academic, professional and research ethical nature raised in various fields of work relevant to Middle East Studies.
• The ability to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in order to develop and execute advanced projects within the study of Middle East society, politics and culture, both independently and in groups.
• Mastery of the language and terminology of the respective fields within Middle East Studies and the necessary level of skills in writing and oral presentation to facilitate effective communication of the results of extensive research both to a specialist audience and to a wider public.
• The ability, based on both theoretical and empirical insights into the field to contribute actively to new thinking within Middle East Studies.