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Major Overview

The study of the Middle East has become a lens through which one canbegin tounderstandthe worldat large.Over the last 35 years, international events likethe Arab Spring and Iran’s Green Movement, have incited increased inquiry into this region’shistory, religion, politics, international relations, sociology, geography, economics, culture, and literature.Issueslikethe economic might and political muscle of the Gulf States,theimplications of the rise of political and radical Islam in the world, and growing Islamophobia in the Westrequire scholarly investigation.Within this major,you willuse the social sciences and the humanities to observe and engage withthe broad Middle East, as a region composed of countries with important distinctionsandsimilarities,which has had a significant impactacross the globe.

LEARNING OUTCOME

The educational goals for this major are as follows:

  • You will develop competency with the historical, political, religious, economic, geographic, and cultural landscape of the Middle East.
  • You will acquire the skills necessary to investigate, analyze, and deconstruct the role and impact of Middle East political, economic, and cultural developments on the globe.
  • You will become effective communicator of Middle Eastern modern history, causes, issues, and cultures to the world.
  • You will gain a working level of fluency in Arabic.

Learning Environment

In each of your courses, youwill be introduced to the actors and factors that make upthe countries in the Middle East,as well as the interaction ofeachcountry with one another andwiththeinternationalcommunity.Instead ofmerelypicking courses from any discipline that might slightly relate to the Middle East, we want to help you createa multidisciplinary foundation foryourunderstandingof the regionthat includeslanguage acquisition, since we believethat understanding the Middle East requires knowledge of a language of the region.

Major Components
Build Your Degree

With every single one of our majors, you’ll find a carefully curated medley of core courses and electives, which will provide you with the tools you need to establish an unshakeable foundation in the principles and concepts fundamental to your growth within your disciplines of choice. Many majors also enable you to specialize further within the broader area of study.

Core Courses

Core Courses

We aim to help you develop a range of skills, capacities, and modes of inquiry that will be crucial for your future since employers and graduate schools are looking for the critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills that are associated with a liberal arts education, including sophisticated writing abilities, willingness to pose difficult questions, and an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts surrounding a topic or decision.

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Electives

Electives

Chooseamong the major's elective courses to discoverspecific research areas that willinform thedirectionin whichyou choose to take your studies of the region.

Core Courses

The Middle East Pluralities core courses, which you must take as part of the major requirements, will provide you with the tools you’ll need to ground your present and future studies. Your introduction to the fundamentals of Middle East Pluralitieswill help pave the way for your successful completion of other Middle East Pluralitiescourses.

HI1015 History Of The Middle East I

This course surveys major themes in the ancient (pre-Islamic) and medieval history of the Middle East. It is organized around two parts. The first surveys successive civilizations and empires that rose in the region or invaded and dominated it, from the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, the Phoenicians, the Persians, to the Greeks and the Romans/Byzantines. The birth of Judaism and Christianity is presented in this part. The Second covers the rise of Islam, its expansion and the Caliphate it established from the 7th to the late 13th century, when the Mongol seized Bagdad.

HI1016 History Of The Middle East II

This course examines the historical development of the Middle East from the rise of the Ottoman Empire to its decline, and later from colonial rule to national independences. It covers the Arab World, Turkey and Iran and follows four main general themes: Reform, Colonialism, Nationalism and Revolution. The course is divided into two main sections which are organised chronologically and thematically. The first part of the course deals with the formation of the Ottoman Empire, its expansion, and the rise of Safavids in Persia. It then covers the reform movements in the Ottoman and Persian (Qajar) Empires, the influence of Europe and the political and social upheaval brought about by the outbreak of revolutions in the early 20th century. Indigenous responses to European penetration and indigenous reform are analysed through an understanding of revolutionary movements, and the rise of nationalism. The second part of the course examines the emergence of states in the Arab World, the British French accords and declarations, the question of Palestine and the Zionist activism and the debates around Secularism vs. Islam.

HI2090 Introductory Methods Workshop

This sophomore seminar for History, HLS, and Middle East Pluralities Majors will introduce students to classic works of history and historical sociology while familiarizing them with varied theoretical approaches to historical research. After surveying early interdisciplinary work by the French Annales school, this course will explore archives and the politics of memory; examine the role of the imagination in shaping experiences of community; investigate historical change wrought by non-elite groups; and introduce students to critical approaches to global history.

HI3050 Advanced Methods Workshop

The History Workshop is a course in the historian's craft that will give students an opportunity to learn about the discipline of history. Students learn how to pose researchable questions(problematiques), to gather evidence, and to present their findings before an audience of their peers in a seminar setting. May be taken twice for credit.

PO3072 Politics Of The Middle East

Introduces the contemporary politics of the Middle East, from Turkey and Iran to the Atlantic Ocean, including all the Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa as well as Israel. Focuses on political trends (nationalism and religious fundamentalism), key historical experiences and traumatic events (wars and revolutions), and the interference of world powers that contributed to shaping this sensitive area.

ME4095 Senior Project

A Senior Project is an independent study representing a Major Capstone Project that needs to be registered using the Senior Project registration form. (Download: https://aupforms.formstack.com/workflows/senior_project)

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PO4050 Politics Workshop

This Politics Workshop fulfills the senior seminar capstone requirement for the International and 91ý Politics Major. This course is designed to be as individualized as possible, organized around the student's particular research interests with regular one-on-one sessions with the professor. This is also a course in the international and global politics in which students learn about the discipline and subdisciplines of political science.