Near East Studies

This multi-disciplinary course covers three broad topics: the architecture and various state and non-state actors of formal peacebuilding processes; negotiation between states as a key diplomatic function; and the phenomenon of third-party mediation in conflict resolution. These topics are covered from both the theoretical and practical perspectives, so the course literature, lectures, and exercises provide a balance between what the academics state and what actual diplomats, mediators, and non-state actors experience in the field of peacebuilding. The course also involves detailed case studies of contemporary conflicts in the Middle East region in order to explore these various processes in action and provide a degree of area studies specialization, including the conflicts in Lebanon, Palestine-Israel, Libya, Yemen, and Syria.

The course is to build upon students’ knowledge and understanding of Modern Hebrew through regular in-class practice with reading, writing, grammar, and conversation skills. In addition to the completion of homework assignments included in the text and unseen. 
Students must have taken an elementary Hebrew class or equivalent. 

This course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is subdivided into two parts. Part one discusses topics including an introduction to the study of the history and culture of the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations (Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians); and introduction to the cuneiform writing; elements of the Sumerian language; a guide to the electronic resources for the study of Sumerian; and reading, translation, and grammatical analysis of elementary Sumerian texts in cuneiform writing. Part two of the course discusses topics including Sumerian royal inscriptions: typology, structure, and contents; and reading, translation and historical-philological comment of Sumerian royal inscriptions in cuneiform writing.

This course provides a key understanding of the historical and ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary regime and its foreign policy. From the Iranian Revolution in 1979, a turning point in Middle Eastern and global contemporary politics, it overviews the deep changes in the ideological and political landscapes resulting from the establishment of the Islamic Republic: the impact on political Islam, the regional equilibrium, Iran's place in the international community, and the reactivation of rivalries and confessional tensions with neighboring countries. The study of the Iranian political and religious model through a multidisciplinary perspective helps to understand the immediate consequences of the Revolution, its longer-terms effects, and the regional reaction.

This course provides a broad-based introduction to the core themes and ideas of the anthropology of the Middle East, and by extension of the Anthropology of Islam. It begins by exploring the reasons behind the relatively late emergence of the Middle East as an area of study, before moving on to consider such topics as Orientalism, gender, rural versus urban anthropology, the role of religion (traditional and modern), and the forging of a regional subjectivity (as witnessed in the ongoing uprisings throughout the Middle East, the so-called “Arab Spring”). The course stands alone as a regional module, as well as offers an overview of the issues for continued study of the Middle East.

This seminar explores Turkish/Ottoman classical music, Anatolian folk music, Arabesk, Anatolian pop/rock, Turkish pop, jazz, and Sufi (Mevlevi) music, Kurdish music, Alevi music, Armenian music, and Western classical music from Turkey. The course focuses on ethnic identities and class hierarchies reflected in these genres, the issues of orientalism and occidentalism, and the influence of globalization on the music of Turkey while expanding our knowledge of the repertoire.

This course introduces students to the politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a particular focus on regional dynamics related to religion, authoritarianism, foreign intervention, and popular politics. The first half of the course provides the main historical, social, and economic features underpinning current politics in MENA by examining historical state formation, authoritarian governance, and political economy in the region. In so doing, the course equips students with the main analytical tools needed to comprehend and critically analyze the course of current political developments, which the second half of the course addresses. Students learn about the trajectory of the Arab Spring, the rise and decline of Islamist political movements, and ongoing struggles with civil wars and terrorism, among other topics. The course requires students have basic knowledge of theories and concepts of political science to participate in the course.

In 1800, two empires dominated the region of the Middle East: the Ottoman and Qajar Empires. Today, there are seventeen nation-states in the Middle East. How and why did this happen? This course serves as an introduction to the history of the modern Middle East with an emphasis on developing an understanding of how the region we call the Middle East came to take its current shape. Students explore the encounter with European modernity and subsequent European imperialism, modernisation efforts, responses to colonialism, the rise of new ideologies such as nationalism, and the role of religion in politics and political discourse. The course focuses on the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, Iran, Turkey, and the Middle East in the 20th and 21st centuries.

This course seeks to unravel the complexity of the Israeli political, social, and cultural aspects and provide tools for understanding the uniqueness of Israeli society and peoples. Students read and discuss issues such as religion and democracy; ethnicity and nationalism; cultural diversity; and gender, media, and popular culture. The course introduces Israel's contemporary society through a holistic approach using lectures, films, and discussions.