While ideas abound about how best to solve problems in the "Middle East," few understand the extreme diversity of the region or the political fault lines that undergird the various regimes currently holding power. While many Americans have recently developed an intense fascination with the "Question of Palestine," few understand how that issue fits into the broader set of questions that plague what has only recently been labeled the "Middle East." In this course, we will examine the emergence of the "Modern Middle East" out of the wreckage of the World Wars and the disintegration of empires that those wars wrought. We will learn to situate the conflict in Palestine within the broader trends of Arab nationalism and, later, rising Islamism. We will take the influence of religions and religious narratives on the region seriously without resorting to maximalist caricatures. Ultimately, we will weave together a broad contextual understanding in which to situate the conflicts we see daily reflected in our news outlets and social media feeds.
Counts Toward Major: History
To find books for this class, please visit the St. Olaf Bookstore.