Ali F Igmen
The Middle East (the Arab countries, Israel, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan) from the emergence of Islam in AD 622 to the present: culture, economics, politics.
This survey course is an introduction to the history of the modern Near East. The main objective of this survey is to familiarize you with the history of modernity in the Near East, which began at the end of the eighteenth century and led to the complicated events of the twenty-first century. The chronological emphasis begins with the Ottoman reforms of the late 1700s, and ends with the emergence of modern nation-states in the 1900s. The survey examines the changes and continuities in Ottoman Empire, Persian and Arab lands; it includes Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Anatolia and the Balkans), and the Arabic, Hebrew and Kurdish speaking regions (Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon), and Iran. The focus is on the following topics: reformism, colonialism, nationalism, and religion in the Ottoman Empire, the development of Arab socialism and capitalism, the world’s hunger for oil, the Israeli and Palestinian nationalism, and the emergence of modern Near Eastern leadership, among them, Atatürk of Turkey, Shah of Iran, and Saddam Hussein of Iraq.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
This course does not have prerequisites in Near Eastern history, but requires you to be interested in learning about the modern political, social and cultural history of the region.
Class assignments and grading
The course syllabus will outline the assignments.