Middle East from Above: Maps, Airplanes, and Drones

Graduate / Professional

From maps in the nineteenth century to the first bombs dropped from an airplane in Ottoman-Italy war in Libya, to the use of AI and drones in Gaza, seeing the Middle East from above has been integral to assertion of power in the region. The lands of southwest Asia and North Africa have been a laboratory for technologies of surveillance and control from above. This course is a historical study of these technologies from the nineteenth century to the present. Through case studies from across the region, we consider them not only as a means of assertion of imperial, colonial, or state power but also as a means of resistance. Throughout the course, we discuss secondary literature on maps, airplanes, satellites, and drones as well examine primary sources available in Yale archives. The final project is a research paper examining one primary source on seeing the Middle East from above. W 9:25am-11:20am