Ethnic and Religious Diversity in the Middle East

Catalog description

What is the Middle East and how can we understand its diverse ethnic and religious groups from a political perspective? To answer these questions, this course will explore the topics of knowledge production, Orientalism, ethnicity, religion, and gender with ethnographic research conducted in the region. The Middle East has largely been mistaken as a homogeneous and timeless place. We will examine how diverse and dynamic the region is and how national politics (often with Western intervention) has empowered or marginalized certain ethnic and religious groups in such countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel. 001648