What is NELC?
NELC UPDATE REGARDING COVID-19
The NELC office will be closed due to the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. Staff will be working remotely during normal business hours and can be contacted via email. Please see the Harvard Guidelines for general information, and we will update this page as needed.
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The Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations Department (NELC) is devoted to:
- the languages, literatures, cultures, and histories of the ancient, medieval, and modern Near East
- the study of the Hebrew Bible, its sources in the Ancient Near East, and the history of its interpretations
- the study of Arabic-, Turkish-, and Persian-speaking Islamic civilizations in the Near East, Africa, South Asia, and elsewhere
- the study of Hebrew-, Aramaic-, Judaeo-Arabic, and Yiddish-speaking Jewish civilizations in the Near East, Europe, the New World, and elsewhere.
Recent Faculty Activity
- William Granara Chosen as Walter Channing Cabot Fellow
- Dr. Ali Asani Receives Harvard Foundation Faculty of the Year Award
- Peter Der Manuelian awarded Dean's Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship
- Dr. Piotr Steinkeller Awarded University of Chicago 2019 Alumni Medal
- Peter Der Manuelian awarded Harvard Provostial Fund for the Arts and Humanities
- Department Chair Khaled El-Rouayheb publishes new book, "The Development of Arabic Logic 1200-1800"
Recent Student Activity
Department Announcements
- Newly-Founded Ancient Studies at Harvard Initiative
- Congratulations to NELC's 2020 Graduates! Recording now available
- Harvard Semitic Museum Renamed Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East
- NELC Alumna Sadaf Jaffer (PhD 2015) Becomes NJ's First South Asian Woman Mayor
- An Interview with Professor William Granara
- Digital Giza Project in Washington Post