The Global Middle East

Catalog description

The proliferation of commodities, ideas, and peoples throughout the globe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has led to the rise of global studies. This course explores themes in the modern Middle East in light of this "global" turn. The first three weeks will provide a theoretical background on the questions that inform the course. The discussion will start with an overview of the study of nationalism in the Middle East. It will then proceed to a discussion of approaches to that question using the "national" as a lens to study the history of the modern Middle East. Students will learn about such concepts as "transnationalism," "internationalism," and "globalization." The rest of the course will then explore various themes from the late nineteenth century to the present. This includes: the rise of the world economy, imperialism, the first wave of globalization, World War I and internationalism, diasporas and transnationalism, the global Cold War, oil, the "Global War on Terror." Finally, students will also be asked to think about the recent Arab uprisings and the merits of using transnationalism as a point of inquiry in the history of the Middle East.