Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introductory survey of the changing societies of the Middle East since 1800. Emphasis will be placed on familiarizing students with the basic aspects of Islamic society, the influence of European imperialism, the modernization of traditional societies, the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the social and political ferment in the period since the Second World War. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

The image of the Middle East as a locus of authoritarianism, oppression, terrorism, endemic violence, and of socioeconomic underdevelopment still dominates public perspectives on the past and the present of this region. This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the major themes of Middle Eastern history from the nineteenth century to the present. It aims to create a nuanced and critical understanding of the key political, social, and cultural phenomena, dynamics, and forces that have shaped the history of the region. In so doing, the course will help students place the contemporary events unfolding in several major countries of the Middle East in a historical context.

Major themes and topics to be covered include the imperial past of the region, modern state-formation, colonialism, the First World War, the rise of nationalism and nation-states, the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Arab socialism, Islamic movements, and the recent political upheavals in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. In contrast to elite-centered approaches, we will emphasize, throughout the course, the importance of the agency of ordinary men and women in the major sociopolitical transformations that the region has undergone during the period in question.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: