The Emergence of the Modern Middle East

Learn about the history of the Middle East for a deeper understanding of current regional developments!
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About the Course
This course will discuss the emergence of the modern Middle East from the fall of the Ottoman Empire, at the end of the First World War to the present. It will discuss the Ottoman legacy in the region and the Western imperial impact on the creation of the Arab state system. The course will discuss the rise and retreat of Arab nationalism, the problems of internal cohesion of the Arab states, issues of religion and state, and the evolution of Islamist politics. It will also focus on the evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict and its impact on the region and will conclude with an in depth analysis of the “Arab Spring” by placing these contemporary revolutionary events in their historical context.
Recommended Background
No background is required; all are welcome!
Suggested Readings

Anita Shapira, Israel: A History (New England: Brandeis University Press, 2012)

Erik J. Zürcher, Turkey: A Modern History (London & New York: I. B. Tauris, 2004)

James Gelvin, The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012)

M.E. Yapp, The Making of the Modern Near East: 1792–1923 (London: Longman, 1987)

Nikkie R. Keddie, Modern Iran: Roots and Results of the Revolution? (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2003)