In September 2003, Kevin Brandwein — a U.S. history and foreign policy enthusiast — entered Northwestern and set his eyes on one particular class: Modern Middle Eastern History.

The Weinberg sophomore said he always intended to pursue a history major and be in NU’s Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. Ever since the Gulf War in 1991, he thought he might like to study the Middle East. The collapse of Twin Towers and the images of Sept. 11, 2001 cemented that interest.

“The only thing that has prevented me from taking more classes on the Middle East is availability,” Brandwein said.

Brandwein is not the only NU student whose interest in the Middle East increased after the events of 9/11. The continued rise in interested students has resulted in a steady addition of new classes.

In fall 2000, the history department offered only one course relating to the Middle East: a topics in history class called “Israeli History in Comparative Perspective.” By fall 2002, the department offered five classes. Three of them were special topics courses.

Classes involving the Middle East are experiencing a “boom” in attendance, according to Frank Safford, director of the international studies program.

“After 9/11, Middle East classes were invariably well-attended,” Safford said. “We started offering more courses in that department so as to allow more students to take them.”

Lynn Whitcomb, coordinator of Arabic language instruction, said the Arabic program has also become increasingly popular.

Whitcomb started studying Arabic at NU a decade before Sept. 11, 2001, and has had a first-hand view of the program’s expansion. But although she acknowledged students’ increased interest in Middle Eastern classes, including languages, she cautioned against attributing the rise to 9/11.

“After Sept. 11, I kind of thought the interest had peaked, but the continued growth is probably more related to the war in Iraq and the general awareness,” said Whitcomb, who earned a doctorate in linguistics from NU in September 2001.

The Arabic language program consists of three courses, one at each level of study. Typically 15 students enroll in first-year Arabic. Second- and third-year classes becoming progressively smaller.

“Over the past few years, following Sept. 11, we worked our way up to three sections for first-year, two sections for second-year and one for third-year,” Whitcomb said.

An additional first-year section was added this fall to make it possible for more students to enroll.

Adva Saldinger was one of the students who benefited from the creation of additional classes. A Medill sophomore, Saldinger found herself shut out of first-year Arabic classes last year. This year she was able to get in.

Born in Israel, Saldinger said she has always been interested in learning more about Israeli culture and the cultures of the countries surrounding that nation. Sept. 11 did not affect her decision to learn Arabic, she said. She had planned to become a foreign correspondent in the Middle East even before the infamous date, she said.

“I decided I wanted to learn Arabic because I think it’s important to speak the language of the people that I plan on interacting with frequently,” she said.

Weinberg sophomore David Rubenstein said he, too, wanted to take Arabic his freshman year but class limits prevented his enrollment.

Rubenstein, a history major with a concentration in the Middle East, began taking Arabic classes in Fall 2004. Although he said he knows classmates who admit 9/11 is the impetus behind for enrollment, he is quick to explain that the events of 9/11 did not directly influence his class selection.

But he said he does recognize that after Sept. 11 Middle Eastern politics and history and Arabic language are subjects that are going to be more pertinent.

Classes explicitly concerned with the Middle East are not the only ones seeing changes as a result of 9/11.

“Even the classes I take that have no relation to the Middle East or terrorism have shifted since 9/11,” Rubenstein said. “The whole American perspective, and also my perspective, on everything is affected by 9/11.”

The Daily’s Allan Madrid contributed to this report.

Reach Corrie Driebusch at [email protected].

Ananda Sekhar Ray/the daily northwestern

University Library offers Arabic/English versions of the Quran in response to students’ rising interest in the Middle East.

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Attacks inspire greater interest for Mid-East classes