Near East Studies

This course is an introduction to the political, economic, social and cultural history of the Middle East from 1950 to the present. It covers the coming to independence of nation-states in the region after the Second World War and examines the subsequent domestic and regional conflicts, ranging from nationalism, statism and socialism to Islamism and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

This course focuses on the meaning of "peace" as a classical Jewish value demonstrating the significant differences between it and the modern Western secular model. The course starts with an analysis of the politics of peace in western philosophy, tracing this discourse from the work of Kant to that of contemporary post-critical political philosophers. Students trace similarities between contemporary critiques of Kant and the alternative strategies for peace-making offered in the Jewish tradition. The course studies the meaning of peace in both classical and modern Jewish literature, examining the connection between peace and Messianism and exploring the implications of this connection for Zionist and religious Zionist political thought. Finally, the course examines the different ways in which alternative articulations of peace might suggest entirely new approaches to the challenge of accomplishing peace in today's Middle East after a fashion that enables us to tackle such loaded questions as the sanctity of the holy land, the Temple Mount, etc. This course requires students have completed one course in Jewish Studies, Political Philosophy, Middle East Studies, or International Relations as a prerequisite.

This course provides basic reading knowledge of Middle Egyptian and its hieroglyphic script. After coverage of the basics in the first few weeks, most of the course is devoted to reading and understanding "set texts," which students prepare in advance of each session. The set texts, which form the basis of the exam, includes the Story of the SHIPWRECKED SAILOR ("Papyrus Leningrad") and extracts from funerary stelae and other works in Middle Egyptian - among these, the Story of Sinuhe.

This course examines how Jewish and Israeli art, architecture, and material culture have been both a reflection and creator of identity. It includes field trips to A Studio of Her Own (a women’s art center in Jerusalem) and the Umm El-Fahem Art Gallery. Assessment involves two reading reflections, a class presentation, and a final paper. Course prerequisites include a course in either Art History, Material Culture, or Jewish or Middle East History.

From the patriotic tunes of the inter-war mandatory period to the underground music of the Arab Uprisings, Middle Eastern and North African popular music is deeply entangled with politics. Since the late nineteenth century, states and various social groups have attempted to channel the power of patriotic hymns and subversive songs. This course draws on the sociology and anthropology of culture to revisit the history of the region through music. It looks beyond periods of political upheaval to understand the everyday significance of musical practices in authoritarian, neoliberal, and postcolonial settings. Whether we understand it as a tightly knit web of meaning or as a soundwave that travels around and beyond the Middle East, popular music – its production, circulation, and consumption— tells a larger story about the making and remaking of identities and power relations in modern nation-states in the region.

This course provides a basic overview of Israel's legal system, its core principles, and its central institutions. The course focuses on the development of Israel's law since the founding of the state; important issues, including politics, affecting Israeli law; and the Israeli approach to specific and focused fields of law. The course aims to introduce the fundamentals of Israel's legal system, important developments and key jurists since the founding of the state, and discuss specific areas of law in Israel.

This course begins by examining early Jewish religious responses to modernity in Western and Central Europe and then turns its attention to the national, secular, and haredi responses in Eastern Europe. It then follows the fortunes of these groups as they were expressed in the New World, most particularly the United States of America. The course then focuses on Zionist formulations of the “New Jew” and their later reconfiguration given the realities of Palestine. It concludes by asking if the fragmentation of Jewish identity has become so profound as to end shared contours.

Radical Islam is one of the most significant political phenomena of the last decade. This course examines major contemporary Islamist movements and ideologies in the Sunni Muslim world, and the major changes within Islam and jihadism since the events of the Arab Spring of 2011. It explores the origins, motivations, and practices of radical Islamic movements. It examines major Sunni Islamist thinkers, schools, and movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb, post-MB Egyptian radicalism, and modern Salafism. The course also looks at the rise of ISIS and the impact of the Arab Spring.