The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 devastated a nation and resulted in the shipment of thousands of U.S. soldiers to the Middle East, a region where Islam and Arab cultures dominate. While U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq has created controversy over the past decade, it also sparked great interest among University of Wisconsin-Madison students. Since Sept.11 and the nation?s declaration of war against terrorism, student enrollment in Middle East Studies and Arabic language programs increased dramatically, from 35 students in 2000 to approximately 145 in 2009, according to Professor of African Languages and Literature Dustin Cowell.
Office of Strategic Communication