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Center History
The concept for the establishment of the Center for Islamic and Middle East Studies (CIMES) on the campus of CSUSB was initiated in 1997 and was predicated on the notion that the Center’s primary function was to serve the academic needs of the university and the wider local and international communities. At that time the largest university system in the United States, the California State University (CSU) was virtually bereft of courses in Middle East languages; its then twenty-two libraries were seriously lacking or deficient in holdings on the Middle East and Islamic world and it was a system with few majors or minors in Islamic or Middle East Studies. Our goal then as it is now is to develop and expand our Center as one that will serve as a flag ship for international dialogue and academic excellence for our students, faculty and the local and international communities. (more)
Mission Statement
Given the importance of the State of California in national and international affairs and the sheer size and influence of the twenty-three campus, California State University (CSU) system, the single largest system in the United States, it is of critical importanceparticularly in these troubled timesthat courses and programs be offered to broaden our understanding of the Islamic world and the Middle East. The Center for Islamic and Middle East Studies, California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), is dedicated to this purpose.
Goals
Addressing the below listed objectives, the Center was established with the goal of becoming a world class teaching and research unit devoted to the study of Islamic and Arab cultures that will enhance the curriculum and serve as a model for the CSU and contribute to cross-cultural understanding in the community, nation and international community.
- • Support the continued expansion of the university library holdings in Islamic and Middle East Studies;
- • Development of a multi-disciplinary curriculum degree program focusing on Islamic and Middle East Studies;
- • Expansion of our existing regional language program to include Turkish, Farsi and other critical regional languages;
- • Continue our work in collaborative research and publishing activities with indigenous Middle Eastern and Islamic scholars on issues related to the Middle East and the Islamic world;
- • Expand existing Distant Learning course exchange initiatives with partner universities.
Activities
- Teaching:CIMES remains at the forefront for creating a multi-disciplinary minor in Middle East and Islamic Studies including the expansion of critical languages programs. Center faculty members will remain in their leadership role by teaching our internationally respected and award winning Model United Nations and Model League of Arab States programs. The Center continues to encourage, support and assist our students in programs dedicated to overseas residence and study in the Middle East and the Muslim world.
- Research:Center faculty have initiated a wide range of international activities including hosting and participating in international scholarly conferences; serving in editorial roles for scholarly journals and periodicals; publishing of co-authored research findings with Middle Eastern scholars, and working toward broadening our shared interest in higher education with universities and institutes in the Middle East and Muslim world.
- Community Outreach:The Center faculty serves the local Muslim and Middle Eastern communities by offering seminars, lectures, art exhibits and other public events. The latter of which includes sponsorship and organization of events which focus on inter-faith dialogue. The CIMES faculty works closely with the university’s International Institute and local chapter of Phi Beta Delta (Society of International Scholars) to enhance public awareness and student and community participation in international education.
- Library Expansion:Through grants and gifts the Center faculty has been instrumental in the selection and addition of hundreds of texts for the university library. The Center goal is to offer students, researchers and the wider local community access to one of the largest collections of Islamic and Middle East holdings in the California State University system.
- Distant Learning/E-Learning: The Center continues to be a leader in establishing dialogue with its partner universities in the Middle East. With the aim of exchanging a variety of courses for our respective student populations and by working closely with the University Office of Academic Computing and Media, two-way live video tests have been conducted with two major Middle Eastern universities. Language programs including pre-TOEFL preparation, Middle Eastern culture and history courses as well as American studies courses have been discussed as likely topics to be transmitted via available Distant Learning technologies.
