Near East Studies

This course examines the interplay of external and internal factors in inflaming conflict and tension in the Middle East. It covers the role of foreign powers in a number of case studies: the Arab/Israeli conflict, Iran-Iraq war, the Gulf War of 1990-1991, the war on Terror, the Arab Uprisings, and the rise of the Islamic State. These case studies illustrate the difficulties in separating national from international politics and provide a nuanced appreciation of international relations in this vital region.

This course establishes fundamental knowledge needed to understand contemporary Iran. It analyzes political, economic, and cultural transformations which have guided imperial Persia from the beginning of the 19th century to become the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. The course systematically compares Iran and its regional environment with an emphasis on the Arab world and Turkey. It utilizes diverse disciplinary approaches, from social history to political economics, with a focus on political sociology.

The intention of this 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 reading, field-trip, and discussion course exposes a range of contemporary geographic narratives, and then works to apply the narratives while exploring daily life in Jerusalem with and for diverse populations. The course examines a series of readings introducing frameworks including the ordinary city; the global, world and capital city; the Zionist city; and the city as shaped by history and religion. The course also weaves a set of four field trips in Jerusalem, three guided and one self-guided. It provides a platform for informed, critical, and multi-perspective discussion about contemporary spatial practices in Jerusalem. The course also encourages challenging values and perspectives while exploring the impact of ideology on the built environment and on the range of Jerusalemites.

In this course, students examine the development of Jewish life across Europe. Topics include emancipation and integration; Jewish life in the Russian empire and in Eastern Europe; the emergence of different forms of Judaism; antisemitism; mass migration; and radical politics, gender issues, and varieties of Jewish national politics.