First-Year Seminar: The Politics of Health in the Modern Middle East

3 units

Middle Eastern history has often been studied in terms of political and military conflicts while other aspects of society are marginalized. This course will look at how public health, medical knowledge, and particular gender norms were implicated in creating and maintaining modern states and communities in the 20th century. The course will cover topics such as: muscular Judaism and Zionism; fertility and modernity; gender roles and militarism; psychiatry and religion; the state's role in preserving health; and pluralism in the provision of health services.