Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies
The Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies (CNES) offers students the chance both to major and to minor in the languages, literatures, and cultures of the Arabic speaking and ancient Mediterranean (Greek, Roman, etc.) worlds. These traditions and civilizations are living realities; they have shaped, and continue to shape, our world today. Read More.
Open Letter, Tragedy in Johnson City, 30-Mar
Staff and faculty in CNES are deeply saddened by the recent killing of Shakeel Khan and wish to extend their condolences to family and friends, and to acknowledge the concerns of those impacted by this tragedy.
>> Please see our open letter
Please also visit the Go Fund Me page set up by the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier to benefit Mr Khan's family.
Dean's Speaker Series Spring 2019: Ancient Mediterranean perspectives
We have a variety of lectures scheduled this spring. Please mark your calendars!
- Michael Sugerman (Binghamton University, Anthropology). "Cargoes and Contacts in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age eastern Mediterranean". February 26th, 6 p.m. Room: AA 189.
- Verity Platt (Cornell University, Classics). "Beeswax: The Natural History of an Archetypal Medium". March 6th, 6 p.m.
- Barbara Gold (Hamilton College, Classics). "Perpetua: Athlete of God". April 16th, 6 p.m. FA258.
Levin Grant, 2018-2019
Mark Solomon '21, Classics and Philosophy double major, was awarded the Saul and Ruth Levin Educational Enrichment Grant to support his research abroad. Mark will enroll in the intensive seminar entitled,
"The Geography of Faith: Paul and the Emergence of Christianity in Greece " at the
College Year in Athens this summer.
Arabic Table الطّاولة العربيّة
The Arabic Table is an engaging way to practice your language skills and meet other students of Arabic at Binghamton University in an informal setting. Led by our Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant, Mr. Elsayed Elsisi, the Arabic Table provides an opportunity to activate vocabulary learned in the classroom and speak about daily life and current events. Sweets and refreshments are occasionally served. For the spring semester 2019, here is where and when to find the Arabic Table:
Fridays, 4:00 – 5:00 pm for students in ARAB 102
Fridays, 5:00 – 6:00 pm for students in all other levels and background in Arabic
Spring 2019 ~ LN (Library North) 1402
Emily Banach '19 shares a report about her study abroad experience in Rome during the summer 2018.
Emily received a Levin Grant to attend Professor Hilary Becker's Ancient Italy in Context course. Read about her experience here!
The Ancient World in Philadelphia, 2018
On April 28th, a bus full of students, staff, alumni, and friends, set out to see the galleries of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Thanks to the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and the Department of Judaic Studies for supporting the trip. Check out photos here.
CNES and the Power of SUNY:
Read how Classical and Near Eastern Studies at Binghamton University responds to the marketplace while remaining grounded in the traditions of its constituent disciplines.
Mensa Latina/ Latin table: Mondays
Simple conversations in Latin and games.
When: Monday evenings from 6:15 to 7:15 pm Where: CEMERS seminar room, LN1128 [located in the corridor behind your left shoulder as you stand facing the Library Tower elevators].
Saqer Almarri honored for his teaching
Saqer Almarri has been recognized with a 2018/19 Chancellor's Award for Excellence
in Adjunct Teaching! Read more here!
Professor Youssef's new book
Professor Mary Youssef has published Minorities in the Contemporary Egyptian Novel with Edinburgh University Press (2018)! As the book's outline states, "This book identifies and explores an important
recent trend in contemporary Egyptian novels, particularly since the turn of the millennium,
that presents Egyptian society—from antiquity to the present—as fundamentally heterogeneous,
which is to say, as consisting of several groups based on imagined and lived differences
in race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, and gender." Congratulations, Professor
Youssef!
Todd Lawson discussed the Koran at Binghamton 
Todd Lawson, Professor Emeritus of Islamic Thought at the University of Toronto, gave a lecture entitled, "Quran, Epic and Apocalypse" on September 27, 2018.
Binghamton Major Minute: Arabic Major
Hear from Abdukhalil E. Khalil (2018), a double major in Arabic studies and mechanical engineering, who explains his reason for majoring in Arabic studies.