Approaches to Middle East History

This course is a rare opportunity that brings together graduate students from Harvard University and Brown University who are interested in the historiography of Middle East, Ottoman, and Islamic studies. Co-taught by Cemal Kafadar (Harvard) and Beshara Doumani (Brown), the meetings will alternate between Cambridge and Providence. The course covers the early modern and modern periods and considers a wide range of canonical and recent scholarship. Special attention will be paid to social and cultural histories that draw on materialist and discursive approaches and that engage larger debates in other disciplines.