地中海和近东的文化在犹太教，基督教和伊斯兰教等许多宗教传统中对身份和习俗产生了形成性影响。邀请这一集中的学生学习各种宗教研究方法，作为地中海和近东文化的一部分。尽管集中注意力的时间顺序没有限制，但该课程的内容主要集中于古代和中世纪的文化和语言。这些主题通过各种来源进行了研究，包括文本，语言，材料，地理和视觉证据。这些课程提供了从历史，语言学，视觉艺术，文学分析，性别分析，圣经研究，后殖民研究和社会科学等学科汲取的多种方法。特别鼓励学生历时检查文化和社会形式与机构的接受和交集。
The cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East have exerted a formative influence on identity and practice in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students in this concentration are invited to learn a variety of disciplinary approaches to the study of religion as part of the cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East. Although there are no chronological limits to the focus of this concentration, the course offerings focus primarily on ancient and medieval cultures and languages. The subjects studied through a variety sources including textual, linguistic, material, geographic, and visual evidence. The courses offer a variety of approaches drawn from the disciplines of history, philology, visual arts, literary analysis, gender analysis, biblical studies, post-colonial studies, and the social sciences. Students are particularly encouraged to diachronically examine the reception and intersection of cultural and social forms and institutions.