Civilization, Empire, Nation: Competing Histories of the Middle East

The “Middle East” is a recent invention. 100 years ago, virtually none of the states currently populating the region’s map existed. This course considers how historians (and others) have used the concepts of civilization, empire, and nation to construct competing narratives about this pivotal region’s past from the rise of Islam to the present. Since facts acquire meanings through interpretative frameworks, we ask: What is privileged and what is hidden in these narratives? And what would the history of this region look like if we could see it through the eyes of the peoples who have long lived there?