Nasir Rashid, a former Fresno State student and linguistics instructor from Jordan, hopes to see an increase in interest in Arabic language courses. Rashid has witnessed a boom in class attendance in the two years he has been an instructor.

“I find more students are interested to the point where, this semester, I don’t even have room for students. The class is closed,” Rashid said.

Students are showing an incredible amount of interest in both the Arabic and Persian languages. The opportunity for cultural awareness and interconnectedness has proven eye opening for many students and Rashid sees this as an incredibly positive outlook. Many American students are coming to realize the vast similarities between their lives and the lives of those in Middle Eastern countries.

“Nowadays they see it’s a global village, especially with the Arab revolts nowadays and the use of Facebook. In terms of culture, you can never achieve learning a language unless you learn the culture,” Rashid said.

The Middle Eastern studies minor is relatively new to the campus and began in 2007 with the aim of promoting Middle Eastern cultures and languages through an interdisciplinary meshing of the humanities and social sciences. Courses are as diverse as economics and the philosophy of Islam. The inclusion of this program coincides with the growing influence and population of Middle Eastern nationalities in the Central Valley as well as on Fresno State’s campus.

Heidi Lee is a senior political science major at and has been involved with the Middle Eastern studies program for two years. Lee has taken a year’s worth of Arabic with Rashid as well as a philosophy course on Islam.

“I’ve always been interested in the Middle East and the Arabic language and it’s important to have knowledge of the Middle East in political science,” Lee said.

This type of cultural curiosity even led Lee to venture to Beirut, Lebanon for two consecutive summers as part of a language immersion plan.

“Beirut was an amazing experience,” Lee said. “I was able to gain more from my experience because of my participation in the Middle Eastern studies classes.

Negin Tahvildary has been teaching the Persian language and several other courses within the program for one year. Previously, she worked as an information officer for the United Nations Assistant Mission to Afghanistan before being offered a position with a non-profit organization in Fresno where she found her path to the university.

“Considering the diverse student population at Fresno State, I hope to see more support for diversity among them,” Tahvildary said.

Tahvildary also sees plenty of opportunity for growth and mutual understanding through the program between students and faculty.

“I have learned a lot. Teaching is twice learning,” Tahvildary said.

This fall semester, Tahvildary is collaborating with CineCulture to organize a small film festival focusing on Iranian films directed and produced by women. She hopes this will bring in more students and encourage intercultural dialogue.

Students of the program, as well as professors in the department, hope to see a continued growth and interest in the classes offered.