HIST 275 The Making of the Modern Middle East

Major Requirement: History of Africa/Middle East
This course is an introductory class to the history of the Middle East from Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 until the end of World War I. Investigating the history of this period provides the necessary backdrop for understanding the intellectual vibrancy and political turbulence of the Arab world in present day. The main question for consideration is which forces and what sort of transformations shaped the region over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. By exploring critical political, social, intellectual, and economic themes such as reforms, colonialism, Arab nationalism, and the impact of Zionism, we will identify the main internal and external forces and processes that shaped the modern Middle East. The course also examines the way historical discourse is formed.