Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures Department
The Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures Department (MEALAC) has been involved in its fair share of controversies. Soon MEALAC will be joined by African studies in order to complete its third world trifecta.
Scandals
MEALAC is perhaps the most scandal-ridden department at Columbia. Its professors were tarred in the unabashedly Zionist documentary Columbia Unbecoming, which alleged anti-Semitism and intimidation of students by MEALAC faculty. Professor Joseph Massad in particular has come under scrutiny since the film's 2004 airing.
The denial of the department's chair in Armenian studies to James Russell, a Columbia alumnus and by far one of the most accomplished scholars in the field, is another MEALAC controversy of note.
