News

The MELC Department is pleased to announce the recent achievements of its graduate students and recent alumni

Graduate Students

All graduates receiving or who have received degrees (B.A., M.A., C.Phil., and Ph.D.) in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, or Summer 2026 are invited to participate. The ceremony will also recognize students receiving departmental awards and honors.

Date: Monday, May 18, 2026
Time: 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Location: Alumni House

Commencement Speaker

The Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley invites applications for a pool of qualified temporary lecturers to teach courses in Arabic, Person, Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, Cuneiform, Hittite, Ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Nubian and general Middle Eastern cultures should the need arise during Summer 2026, Fall 2026, Spring and Summer 2027 terms.

The opportunities and complexities of studying Iran in 21st century America

The American Philosophical Society has awarded MELC Emerita Professor Francesca Rochberg's recent book, Worldmaking and Cuneiform Antiquity, An Anthropology of Science the 2025 Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History. The Prize is awarded annually to an author whose book exhibits distinguished work in American or European cultural history.

Professor Persis Berlekamp will be teaching in the History of Art department this Fall semester as the Guitty Azarpay Visiting Professor.