Position added for Modern Hebrew

Author: Anthony Adragna

The College will begin to offer Modern Hebrew as a language course option to students beginning in the fall of 2007. Professor of Jewish Studies Robert Schine said the College, which already offers Classical Hebrew, created a new faculty position to allow for the creation of the course.

"The main impetus came from the Middle East Studies Program," he said. "It is a recent addition to the International Studies program. The teaching of Arabic started at Middlebury in 2003 to give students the tools for deep understanding of Arab cultures and countries. The proposal for Modern Hebrew came from the faculty in Middle East studies, recognizing the necessity to do the same for Hebrew, and to provide students access to a deep understanding of Israeli culture and society."

Modern Hebrew, students and professors argued, is a crucial language to learn in this time of uncertain global politics.

"Maybe you don't have tens of millions of people around the world who speak Hebrew but 6 million people in the Middle East speak it," Professor of Geography Tamar Mayer said. "The reason we have applied for this position is that we understood from the moment we started to think about the Middle East track that no study of the Middle East is complete without offering Hebrew along with Arabic. We are trying to create the best undergraduate program in the Middle East."

Associate Chaplin Ira Schiffer said student interest in the study of Modern Hebrew has been heard on campus for several years.

"I've had many inquiries over the past five and a half years about student opportunities to study Modern Hebrew at Middlebury College from both students on campus and perspectives," Schiffer said.

Schine predicted that a small faculty base would initially teach the course. "Initially, one professor will teach Modern Hebrew," he said. "If student interest is sustained, then more will be needed to offer all levels of Modern Hebrew simultaneously. In the not too distant future it will make sense to house both Arabic and Hebrew under one roof, in a department of Middle Eastern languages."

Although unsure of exactly how many students would elect to enroll in the course, Schine estimated next year's enrollment will be over ten. "I would expect 15 to 20 students to start the study of Modern Hebrew," he said.

The U.S. government this year announced the creation of the National Security Languages Initiative to train personnel in what it called "critical languages." Its list of "critical languages" included Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Farsi, Korean, Japanese, Russian and Urdu. It did not include Hebrew. Still, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz hailed the values of the language.

"Hebrew is indeed critical if what we aspire to is a balanced view of an extremely complex region, and want our students to understand it in as much depth as possible," said Liebowitz. "Middlebury's philosophy has been that one gains a far more meaningful and deep understanding of another culture if one understands the culture's language. Thus, students who wish to study the region and understand the long conflicts there really need to study Arabic and Hebrew."

Schiffer agreed, saying that Modern Hebrew will allow for students to more thoroughly understand Middle East relations. "As Middlebury students explore the complexities of the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, their ability to explore Israeli culture and read the Israeli press in Hebrew will add depth to their understanding, as has their study of Arabic," he said.

Mayer also believes the decision is important for the College. "This is a very important move in the life of Middlebury College," she said. "We have applied for this position several times in the past and I am delighted that we finally received the go-ahead."