MELSI is in its second year!

The Department of Linguistics at Stony Brook University is hosting the second Middle Eastern Languages Summer Institute (MELSI) to be held during Summer Session 1 (May 26 – July 3, 2020).

Students can choose to study from among the following languages spoken in the Middle East. All the classes are going to be offered online.

1. Arabic (ARB 101- 6 credits- M/Tu/Th 1:30-3:10); fulfills the language requirement for undergraduate studies
2. Persian (PER 101- 6 credits- M/Tu/Th 1:30-3:10); fulfills the language requirement for undergraduate studies
3. Tati (LAN 111. 02- 3 credits- M/Tu/W/Th 10:50-12:30)

MELSI addresses a dire need in higher education in this country: instruction in understudied languages which include some of the most commonly spoken languages in the world today. For example, Arabic is the 5th most common, and Persian 29th. They are typologically diverse, belonging to two different language families (Semitic, Indo- European), and they represent some of the most ancient and fascinating cultures. These are also languages deemed “critical” by the US government, spoken in an area of vital importance in the world today. However, very few universities offer instruction in these languages.