ITB 214E - The Modern Middle East

Course Objectives

This course aims to acquaint the students to the general area of the Middle East as well as to offer in-depth information on a number of central countries of the Middle East which would allow them to make academic analyses of the region. With this objective in mind, our discussions will start from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of a new state system in the region as well as various ideological, political and social movements.

Course Description

This course addresses the political and ideological developments which led to the emergence of the modern Middle East. A comprehensive survey of the heartland of the region will be offered including major conflicts which had resulted in war or have the potential to destabilize the area and the world in the future. Arab nationalism, Zionism, and the establishment of the modern state system in the region are all dealt with in detail. The course will allow the students to learn and reflect upon the major actors and currents in the Middle East and provide them with the intellectual tools to link the past with the present by identifying ruptures and continuities.