NEAR & MIDDLE EASTERN CIVILIZATIONS (NMC) Academic Plan 2010-2015
1. Vision
The aim of the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations (NMC) is to maintain as well as
enhance its status as the preeminent program for the study of the Near and Middle East in Canada
and one of the top-ranked programs in North America and internationally. NMC will continue to
provide a comprehensive and integrated program which offers the possibility to explore the
development of complex societies and civilizations in the Near and Middle East, that have played
transformative roles in human history from ancient times up until the present. The Department is
unique in Canada in offering 5 areas of study including Ancient Near East (ANE), Egyptology,
Hebrew and Judaic Studies (HJS), Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MEIS), and Modern Middle
East (MME) which can be studied on their own, but more fruitfully in relation to each other. By its
very nature, NMC provides an academic environment with a strong interdisciplinary orientation. It is
the only institution in Canada where one can study, for example, the Ancient Near East in relation
to Eastern Christianity or Hebrew and Judaic Studies in relation to the Islamic World from a variety
of perspectives including language, literature, archaeology, history, religion, thought, anthropology,
or art. Moreover, it is one of a few departments in North America and internationally, where one
can study among others, disciplines such as Egyptology and Assyriology, which are foundational to
understanding the development of the major monotheistic religions and Old World civilizations.
NMC compares itself with programs such as those at the University of Michigan, the University of
Chicago, Yale and Harvard. Internationally, NMC offerings may be compared in terms of breadth
and depth with those at the Faculty of Oriental Studies (Oxford), the Faculty of Asian and Middle
Eastern Studies (Cambridge), and the School of Oriental and African Studies (London). The only
comparable program in Canada in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MEIS) is at McGill, and we
intend to continue to nurture collaboration between our two complementary MEIS programs. NMC
is currently involved in the McGill sponsored project: Rational Sciences in Islam (RASI): An
Initiative for the Study of Philosophy and the Mathematical Sciences in Islam.
NMC’s strong interdisciplinary culture also supports and encourages collaborative relations with
other academic units in FAS, with several colleges (UC, NC) and even with other divisions and
Faculties (Science-Physics, Law) that we will maintain and cultivate as opportunities arise. NMC
already shares 5 faculty appointments with two departments at UTM, 2 of which are also shared
with UTSG-HIS. NMC also shares 3 appointments with RLG. We have also developed a close
relationship with the Centre for Comparative Literature in view of a potential position in Modern
Arabic Literature. NMC is the largest contributor of courses to the CJS, rotates the offering of an
introductory course on Islam with RLG, and is a participant in the WGS and in Sexual Diversity
Programs. We cross-list faculty and/or courses with RLG, ANT, HIS, COL, and have close ties with
the Centre for Medieval Studies (CMS) and the Munk Centre for International Studies. Two faculty
members are fellows of University College, and we are now collaborating with several Areas Studies
programs to offer joint courses under the auspices of New College that will enrich the curriculum of
all. We are also a founding member of the Archaeology Centre to which we contribute financially
and intellectually through faculty affiliations, lectures, and collaboration on joint grant applications,
etc. NMC will continue to play a leadership role in the Humanities at the University of Toronto
through its rich humanities curriculum, its efforts to provide the highest quality academic and
student experience possible to its undergraduate and graduate students and through its close ties to
other units within this institution. NMC is playing and will continue to play a leadership role in
implementing curriculum renewal, especially with regard to exploring innovative means to embed
new degree requirements, such as Quantitative Reasoning, in a Humanities curriculum.
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NMC will also maintain and strengthen its relations with the community at the local, national and
international levels through its affiliated societies (Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities,
Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies, Canadian Society for Syriac Studies, Canadian Society
for Coptic Studies, Toronto Iranian Studies Initiative) that involve the wider community in the
intellectual life of the Department, through its close ties with the ROM where NMC has recently cosponsored, financially supported and co-coordinated the Dead Sea Scrolls Symposium and with the
AGO with whom it is currently partnering to provide programming for the King Tut exhibition.
Worthy of note is that these two exhibits have already drawn record attendance and that attendance
is expected to exceed all previous records. NMC will thus continue to enhance the visibility of the
University, Faculty and Department through these and other community activities. NMC will also
continue to provide international leadership in ethical treatment of cultural properties and
collections of excavated artifacts. NMC “digs” are cited as role models in this regard. The
Department will also continue its efforts to reflect the demographics of our community in the GTA
and provide newcomers of all national, ethnic and religious affiliations from the Middle East and
Islamic World more broadly with a point of access in the University. NMC, with support from the
Dean’s Office and Massey College, has hosted two Scholars at Risk over the last few years, one from
Iran and most recently one from Gaza. The Scholar Rescue Fund at the Institute of International
Education in New York has presented the Chair of NMC with an Award for Outstanding Service
for her efforts and those of the Department to provide refuge for the Scholar at Risk from Gaza.
2. Key Strengths
The merger of the former Department of Near Eastern Studies with the former Department of
Middle East and Islamic Studies on July 1, 1996 created a vibrant, interdisciplinary unit, unique in
Canada. The two former departments under various designations have existed in the University of
Toronto for over 150 years. The merger succeeded in fostering the consolidation and integration of
resources for the study of Near and Middle Eastern cultures and civilizations to a degree that is
unavailable elsewhere in Canada. Courses in languages, philology and linguistics, literatures,
archaeology, history, thought, anthropology, and art give access to a cultural region that is at the
geographical origin of three of the world’s major religions—Christianity, Judaism and Islam—that is
a wellspring of Western civilization, and that is strategically important in the modern world. The
integration of these formally separate units through rationalization of the curriculum and some new
appointments has created a program in which it is now possible to acquire a deep, interdisciplinary
knowledge of the Near and Middle East, including the Islamic World, from a variety of perspectives,
from ancient to modern times, rather than the more superficial knowledge commonly provided by
the media.
a.i) Research and scholarship: NMC’s research and scholarship are grounded in the use of
primary sources, whether archaeological or textual, that is the essential basis for further academic
study and research in the field regardless of discipline. Language-based research is thus a key
strength of the Department. In his 2009 Massey Lectures published as The Wayfinders: Why Ancient
Wisdom Matters in the Modern World,* the Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis stated, “A
language…is not merely a set of grammatical rules or a vocabulary. It is a flash of the human spirit,
the vehicle by which the soul of each particular culture comes into the material world. Every
language is an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of spiritual
possibilities.” NMC’s strength is both to contribute to the preservation of the ancient and medieval
languages and cultures of the Near and Middle East and the human knowledge contained therein
and to make them, and their modern heirs, accessible. Archaeological artifacts and remains
constitute another primary source for the study of the region. NMC offers Egyptology
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(archaeology), Mesopotamian archaeology, Syro-Palestinian archaeology, and until recently, Islamic
archaeology, in relation to the study of the ancient and Islamic periods. Archaeology in NMC is
exceptionally strong.
Each of NMC’s areas of strength is supported by its internationally recognized high-profile
faculty, who are fully engaged in research and teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate
levels. At present, NMC tenured and tenure stream faculty number 14 who are distributed across all
5 areas of strength: ANE (4.00 FTEs); Egyptology (2.00 FTEs); HJS (2.82 FTEs); MEIS (3.33
FTEs); MME (1.85 FTE). In addition, 1.70 FTE teaching stream appointments are responsible for
instruction in 2 high demand languages: Arabic and Persian. NMC also draws on a 1.00 FTE
continuing appointment, a 1.00 FTE CLTAship in Egyptology and a 0.5 FTE CLTA appointment in
HJS. One tenure stream faculty member, whose appointment in at UTM-Historical Studies does
graduate teaching in NMC. His field is essential to the study of Ancient and Late Antique Iran
before Islam. Finally, NMC is also able to draw on resources at the ROM. Currently, 3 crossappointments, one in Egyptology (with a focus on Nubia, archaeology), one with expertise in
archaeological materials, archeometry, and in the medieval period, and a third with specialization in
Islamic art and architecture, enrich NMC’s research and teaching capabilities.
Forty-two percent of NMC tenured and tenure stream faculty currently hold SSHRCs, a
percentage exceeded only by Philosophy and Linguistics among Humanities departments. The
success rate in SSHRC research grant applications is 33% according to FAS indicators, and the total
funding relative to tenure-stream faculty FTEs is $17,244, a little above the average among
Humanities Departments. NMC compares most closely with the Department of English. In
addition, one tenured faculty member with a shared appointment holds a SSHRC grant as do one
continuing 100% FTE appointee and one CLTA appointee, though their grants are not reflected in
the FAS indicators.
NMC faculty are productive researchers, engaged in cutting edge research. Between 2004 and
2009, our 14 tenured and tenure stream faculty published at least 17 books, 57 articles, 37 chapters,
31 encyclopedia or other articles in reference works, and 29 reviews in refereed publications. NMC
faculty are also award-winning scholars. M. Subtelny’s Timurids in Transition: Turko-Persian Politics and
Acculturation in Medieval Iran, was awarded the Houshang Pourshariati prize at the Middle East
Studies Association annual conference in 2008 for best monograph. In 2004 she was the recipient of
the Saidi-Sirjani Book Award for Le monde est un jardin: Aspects de l’histoire culturelle d’Iran médiéval (Paris,
2002), awarded by the International Society of Iranian Studies for the best book in Iranian studies.T.
Harrison received the Fellner Award for Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology in 2004 for his
publication of Megiddo 3. C. Reichel was awarded the TOPOI Excellence Cluster Fellowship (2009):
The TOPOI Excellence Cluster (http://www.topi.org), a program funded by the German
government, that pursues the goal of researching the interdependence of space and knowledge in the
civilizations of the Ancient Near East, the Mediterranean, and Black Sea region and parts of the
Eurasian steppe from the 6th millennium BC to around AD 500. The American Institute of
Archaeology (AIA) also selected Reichel as the prestigious Kershaw Lecturer for 2009-10. Recently,
W. Saleh has received preliminary notification of his selection as a Mellon New Directions
Fellowship recipient, an award that will be confirmed in March 2009.
The international standing of NMC faculty is highlighted by the fact that 3 NMC faculty, one of
whom is a graduate of NMC and now cross-appointed from McMaster to its Graduate Faculty, head
the 3 main scholarly associations in the field of Near & Middle Eastern civilizations. T. Harrison
currently serves as President of the American Schools of Oriental Research; V. Aksan is President of
the Middle East Studies Association of North America; and M. Tavakoli, is President of the
International Society for Iranian Studies (ISIS). In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief of Comparative
Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (Duke UP), Co-editor of the Iranian Studies Book
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Series, published by Routledge, and on the editorial boards of Iranian Studies, the journal of the ISIS,
of Iran Nameh, and of Rahvard, both Persian journals of Iranian studies.
The loss of the Classical Arabic position and failure to search for the Modern Arabic position
have considerably weakened the MEIS and MME areas in NMC, i.e., the modern period from the
rise of Islam to present day. The lack of Arabic literature in the curriculum threatens the coherence
of NMC’s program, not to mention the higher levels of language learning, and needs to be
addressed. Potential retirements over the next five years may also have a debilitating effect on
NMC’s ability to offer its programs. Only Modern Middle East at present will not be affected. The
Department stands to lose substantial ground.
a.ii) Graduate education. NMC led the Faculty with respect to graduate expansion and was
cited by FAS as a role model for graduate recruitment. Between 2004 and 2009 total enrolment in
the graduate program grew from 71 to 82. MA enrolment expanded during that period from 19 to
27. PhD enrolment grew more slowly from 52 to 55, partly because of the constraints we face in
admitting visa students, the traditional pool from which NMC has drawn its graduate population.
NMC has the highest total FTE enrolment relative to tri-campus supervisory capacity (5.28) of any
Humanities department at the UofT. Applications to the program have tripled between 2004 and
2009. The competition for admission is fierce, but the resulting competitive atmosphere has
produced a graduate cohort that is successful in granting competitions, in honours and in
placements upon graduation. In 2009-10 3 NMC graduate students were the recipients of CGSDs
and 3 received CGSMs. In 2009-10 3 PhD students received OGS fellowships and 3 PhD students
and 1 MA student received OGS fellowships for a total of 4. 3 of these 4 students also received a
SSHRC. 4 NMC graduate students held a Connaught in 2008-09. In the two years of its existence, a
total of 5 NMC students were awarded Avie Bennett fellowships. 1 student won a Chancellor
Jackman Fellowship in 2005-06. .88 PhD degrees and 3.88 MA degrees were awarded relative to tricampus supervisory capacity. Average time to completion is 6.78 years, probably reflecting the time
it takes to acquire the necessary language skills. 71% of students who responded to the CGPSS
survey regarding quality of academic experience rated NMC as either Excellent or Very Good.
In order to make its areas of strength more visible, NMC is moving to create OCGS fields that
correspond to its previously mentioned core areas. The foundation of graduate education in NMC in
each of these fields, however, is the acquisition of the tools, especially a high level of language skill,
that enable students to engage with the primary sources. Admission to the graduate program in
NMC requires some previous, relevant language training, and by the time students write their
doctoral exams in PhD 3, they must demonstrate that they have attained a high level of ability to use
the primary source languages associated with their research.
The NMC graduate student body is engaged in cutting edge, award-winning research. Awad Eddie
Halabi (Supervisor: J.A. Reilly), for example, won the Malcom H. Kerr Dissertation Award in 2008
that was presented at the Middle East Studies Association of North American Annual Meeting that
year.
Professional training and development opportunities abound for NMC graduate students. The
Department offers several TA instructorships and provides additional training and mentorship for
them. NMC graduate students also have professional development opportunities associated with
cultural institutions in the GTA. NMC graduate students have been heavily involved in two major
exhibitions, the recent Dead Sea Scrolls Symposium and on-going Exhibition at the ROM and the
King Tut exhibition at the AGO. NMC graduate students presented papers in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Symposium co-sponsored by NMC and co-organized by Prof. S. Metso (NMC). Faculty directing
excavations in Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Nubia involve graduate students in their field work, some
of whom eventually become field directors and site supervisors on NMC directed and other sites
(e.g., C.J. Gohm is Senior Field Director, Wadi ath-Thamad Project, Jordan, J. Ferguson is a ROM
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instructor and a Director of the Regional Survey, Wadi ath-Thamad). Graduate students may also be
involved as research assistants in faculty directed research projects.
NMC graduates are successful in finding employment. Recent NMC graduates have been
appointed to positions in Canada at University of Western Ontario, York, Dalhousie, Carleton,
Trent, Memorial, the University of Manitoba, the University of Lethbridge and Okanagan College; in
the USA at the University of Memphis, University of Alabama, Roger Williams University (RI,
USA), Wright State University (Ohio), Jewish Theological Seminary (NYC), Grand Valley State
University (MI, USA), and San Joaquin Delta College, (CA, USA); and internationally at the
University of Liverpool (UK), Leo Baeck Institution and Kings College (London, UK), University
of Auckland, and the American University of Sharjah, among others.
NMC graduate students have an active graduate students association. For the last 14 years they
have sponsored a Graduate Student Symposium that is now drawing participation from North
America, Europe and the Middle East. The proceedings are published as funding permits. In
addition they sponsor workshops on a variety of issues, such as, for example, the job hunt and job
applications, etc., as well as social events. They have also launched a mentoring program for new
graduate students and a “buddy” system in an effort to insure that all graduate students feel included
in our multi-ethnic, multi religious environment.
a.iii) Undergraduate education: The NMC Specialist Program, which prepares students for
graduate study among other things, requires study of two NMC languages to the intermediate level.
Students in a Major Program may include language study depending on their interests and needs.
Students may study Akkadian (Old Babylonian), Aramaic, Syriac, Hebrew (Biblical, Middle,
Modern), Arabic, Persian and Turkish in relation to literature, philology and linguistics, history,
religion and thought, anthropology and art. Along with textual materials, archaeological artifacts and
remains constitute another primary source for the study of the region. NMC offers undergraduate
courses in Egyptology (archaeology), Mesopotamian archaeology, Syro-Palestinian and until recently,
Islamic archaeology. Currently, excavations in Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, and Nubia, directed by
NMC faculty, provide experiential learning possibilities for NMC undergraduate as well as graduate
students. Undergraduates may enroll in a fieldwork course (NMC 261Y), operated by Woodsworth
Summer Study Abroad Program that includes academic work and participation in a faculty directed
dig in Jordan.
Tenured, tenure stream and our high-quality continuing faculty, including CLTAs and ROM
cross-appointees, teach the majority of undergraduate courses. Very few courses are taught by
sessionals as the FAS indicator (.52) might suggest. The average score on Question 11 of the course
evaluations for all courses is 5.97, one of the highest ranked departments according to FAS
indicators. The high quality teaching evidenced by student opinion is further confirmed by the fact
that NMC tenured and continuing faculty win internal and external teaching awards: Harrak: 2006
(Spring), Macleans Magazine Popular Teacher Recognition; Lawson 2006 (Spring), Macleans
Magazine Popular Teacher Recognition; Leprohon: 2006 (April), Semi-finalist “Ontario’s Best
Lecturer” competition, for TVO’s “Big Ideas” program and in 2004, Faculty of Arts & Science
Outstanding Teaching Award.
A key strength of NMC is the small class experience. 82% of NMC courses are classified as
“providing small-group learning opportunities relative to total teaching activity.” Language classes
are invariably small by FAS standards. No measures are available for the number of large NMC
lecture courses that include a small-group learning opportunity, although some NMC courses do
now incorporate this kind of experience. Tutorials are now scheduled for some of the larger classes
with enrolments of 80 and more. (e.g., NMC 101Y, NMC 184H, NMC 185H, NMC 273Y).
NMC undergraduates have an active student union that has won ASSU awards for its activities,
which range from sponsoring academic lectures and mentoring for students to social events.
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b) Enhancement of these strengths over the last 5 years
b.1) Research and scholarship: NMC has acted to improve the quality of language instruction
that is the foundation for study in all fields in NMC. NMC and NMC-UTM applied to AIF
competitions and received two positions, one 1.00 FTE in Arabic Language instruction and one .70
position, shared with UTM-Dept. of Language Studies, in Persian and it hired first rate scholars and
teachers. Both are products of linguistics programs and are dedicated teachers who garner top
evaluation scores and are engaged in publishing pedagogical materials and research. They are also
active participants in FAS sponsored language related events. Arabic language instruction has been
completely restructured and updated, as has Persian language instruction. 4 levels of Arabic are now
offered. An extra section of the Introductory Arabic course, taught by a TA instructor, trained and
mentored by the Lecturer, has been added in response to high demand. The teaching of Modern
Hebrew has been systematized with the mapping out of an updated curriculum and the decision to
replace sessional instructors with TA instructors who receive additional training and mentorship
from an HJS faculty member. A similar effort is being made with Turkish, but without the same
level of FAS support received for Modern Hebrew.
ANE and Egyptology have been strengthened. NMC has made two bids for a Jackman Chair
since 2004. The ANE and Egyptology areas of NMC research and scholarship have thus been
greatly strengthened.
The Department has supported archaeology with the renovation of the Archaeology Lab on the
4th floor of Bancroft Hall, with the appointment of a Lab Technician and Collections Administrator,
and with financial support and participation in the activities of the Archaeology Centre. NMC
contributes to the funding of the Lab Tech position. The position has greatly strengthened NMC
research capabilities in NMC, graduate education in archaeology, the management of its collections
and the work necessary to maintain NMCs several faculty directed excavations.
In 2006 the Chair initiated a Chair’s Distinguished Lecture Series, entitled “Scholars without
Borders,” in further support of continued integration of the 5 areas of strength in the Department.
b.ii) Graduate education: NMC is anxious to internationalize its graduate student cohort to a
greater extent than is now possible and has, therefore, with approval of the Dean’s office, put some
of its own resources on the table in order to increase our quota. Traditionally our applications come
not from Canada, but from the USA and abroad. In recent years the funding situation has forced us
to turn down many outstanding applicants for this reason. While putting resources into recruitment
of visa students, the Department has also begun to cultivate bright and interested domestic MA
students, most of whom have entered from our undergraduate program, the only one in Canada that
prepares students for graduate study in NMC.
NMC is in the process of creating new OCGS fields that correspond to our 5 areas of strength.
NMC is also working to improve the structure of its major and minor fields programs in accordance
with the areas of strength that have been identified.
NMC is developing new ways to provide graduate students with high-level research opportunities.
For example, in collaboration with the Center for European Islamic Thought and the New Islamic
Public Sphere Program at the University of Copenhagen and the Danish Institute in Damascus,
NMC has launched a Master Class program on “Islam and Muslims in a Plural World: The Local
and the Global in the Middle East, Europe and North America” for Graduate Students working in
the area of Modern Middle East. Up to 4 NMC graduate students will have an opportunity to meet
in Damascus with graduate students from the Center and Program at the University of Copenhagen
to present and discuss their dissertation research and that of the associated faculty members. One
NMC faculty member will participate in the Master Class faculty each year. The Master Class will be
held annually during the break between the spring and summer terms.
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NMC has negotiated professional development and training opportunities for graduate students
with two major cultural institutions in the GTA, the ROM and the AGO, as already described.
Prof J. Hanssen, in collaboration with his graduate student, was awarded a Jackman Working
Group Grant for “Crossing Boundaries: Resituating North African and Middle Eastern Studies.
b.iii) Undergraduate education: NMC has improved language instruction. Two excellent
teaching stream faculty, charged with instruction in Arabic and Persian have been hired. Steps have
also been taken to improve the quality of instruction in Modern Hebrew and Turkish. NMC has
mapped out an updated curriculum in Modern Hebrew and replaced sessional with TA instructors in
Modern Hebrew as well as in Turkish who receive extra TATP training and mentoring.
NMC is introducing new “gateway courses” that, despite expected large enrolments, will also
increase the number of small group experiences available and enhance student experience by means
of tutorials. The entry level courses required for Specialist and Major Programs, NMC 101Y Intro to
the Ancient Near East and NMC 184H The Islamic World and NMC 185H Introduction to Islam,
with over 150 students enrolled in each, NMC 273Y Islamic History to the Fall of Baghdad, and
NMC 278H Intro to the Modern Middle East, already run tutorials that provide the small group
experience. Others are being developed using this model.
NMC’s success in two competitions, WIT and CRIF, which secured additional resources to
improve undergraduate teaching, has led to a de facto complete renewal of our undergraduate
curriculum. Although writing has always been a concern in NMC, WIT has provided an opportunity
for NMC to look at its curriculum anew, to improve sequencing of courses according to learning
expectations and outcomes at each level, and to develop innovative assignments and activities to
improve writing among undergraduates. WIT has resulted in other unforeseen benefits, e.g., the
development of a course team approach and a real esprit de corps among graduate students and faculty
involved in WIT. NMC’s successful proposal to CRIF in 2008-09 for the development of a module
bank as a way to embed Quantitative Reasoning into its Humanities curriculum has led to
involvement with HEQCO, resulting in some additional funding as well as access to expert
consultants. NMC is increasingly viewed as a Faculty leader in its bold efforts to experiment with
implementing Curriculum Renewal and the new degree requirements.
3. Priorities
a) Languages in NMC are foundational and must be strengthened. To maintain its status as a topranked program nationally and internationally NMC will need a tenure-stream Professorial position
in Classical Arabic immediately. Classical Arabic is the principal, integrating language for the study of
Semitic philology. In fact, knowledge of Arabic is essential even for the study of Ottoman Turkish,
an Altaic language, and for Persian, an Indo-European language, both of which were written in
Arabic script and heavily influenced by Arabic vocabulary and terminology. The Classical Arabic
position relates to nearly every other area of study in NMC, whether history, thought, religion, or
even art. A tenure stream position in Modern Arabic, to be shared with COL, is a second priority. A
Lecturer to firmly ground Modern Hebrew language instruction is another desideratum.
b) Potential retirements over the next 5 years, equivalent to 5.33 FTEs, will affect the Ancient Near
East, Egyptology, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and Middle East and Islamic Studies. It will be
imperative to address these losses as they occur since they will undermine our preeminent status. In
addition, however, NMC also needs positions in Modern Middle East history, Modern Persian
Literature, Turkish studies, and Ancient Near Eastern history.
c) NMC has prioritized the creation of new gateway courses in its core areas of study in connection
with its efforts to improve curriculum with better sequencing. The new gateway courses as well as
those that already exist are expected to attract large enrolments. An increase in TA hours will make it
possible to add tutorials to enhance student learning and provide more, small group learning
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experiences even in these larger courses, while providing graduate students with teaching invaluable
experience.
d) The WIT and CRIF QR initiatives have had positive benefits for instructors and TAs, as well as
undergraduate students. To ensure the sustainability of this program, a position, perhaps shared,
should be created for a Coordinator who will continue to manage WIT, just as our excellent LWTA
has done for the last 2 ½ years. More TA hours are needed for NMC WIT and CRIF QR projects.
e) Space is a priority. The Department needs additional space for a conference room large enough to
host departmental lectures and equipped with up-to-date smart technology, TA space and a lounge
where faculty and graduate students can meet.
f) Making NMC’s considerable strengths more visible is a priority. In addition, while NMC is the
base for study of Islam at UofT, several other departments and campuses are now offering related
courses. It will be important to make tri-campus offerings for the study of the Islamic World more
visible at UofT through the creation of a web site.
4) Achieving Priorities
a) It is imperative that the Department begin the search for a tenure-stream Professorship in
Classical Arabic as soon as possible. NMC will be unable to fill this position without FAS support.
b) NMC will address the potential losses to retirement over the next few years as retirements occur
and the financial situation evolves. In addition to potential losses to retirement, NMC has other
needs, as listed above. NMC will have to wait for a new infusion of money from FAS or external
sources. HUM 199s should be eliminated so that diminished resources can be devoted to NMC core
needs.
c) Restructuring of NMC undergraduate curriculum would be greatly facilitated by more TA hours
both independently and in conjunction with WIT hours and training. These TA hours would be
used for tutorials in large classes and to support writing and the introduction of new competencies
into the curriculum. HUM 199 funding should be redirected to fund increased TA hours in
Departments like NMC where small group experiences already exist in abundance.
d) WIT can be sustained only with the hire of a permanent LWTA or person who has a coordinating
function in the Department. Perhaps the position could be shared with other WIT departments.
e) NMC proposes to expand its space to include the first floor of Bancroft Hall.
f) NMC is proposing new OCGS fields to enhance visibility of our strengths. NMC also plans to
renovate its website. NMC also proposes to take the lead in creating a link for UofT that will make
Islamic Studies offerings across the three campuses visible.
If NMC were to be granted another $100K, we would use a portion of it, together with the
remainder of a salary that is still in NMC’s base budget, in order to fund the shared NMC/COL
position in Modern Arabic.
* Wade Davis, published as The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World (Toronto: Anansi, 2009), 3.