Understanding the Middle East: A Modern History

The Middle East is the only region of land to bridge three continents and is (arguably) the most controversial in America today. Assuming no prior knowledge of a region that persistently captures headlines, this course provides a robust academic introduction to modern Middle East history from the late Ottoman Empire to contemporary times. Throughout, we explore an amorphous but pivotal world region stretching from Algeria to Afghanistan, and Turkey to Yemen, via land, sea, air, and a variety of “3D” perspectives: from local environments and economies, to governance and geopolitics; language, kinship, and faith, to art, music, and sports. Most of all, we shall seek to understand how competing modern forces like constitutionalism, militarism, and humanitarianism; colonialism, nationalism, and international law; and elites to everyday people shape(d) the region today.