Making the Modern Middle East: Culture, Politics, History (200-0-1)
Instructors
Roberto Mazza
1800 Sherman Ave.
Office Hours: Mondays 10:00am - 12:00pm
Meeting Info
University Hall 122: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
This course tackles one of the most misrepresented regions of the world today. You will explore the invention and reinvention of "the Middle East" -- socially, politically, and artistically. You will analyze how this notion has been central to power plays between the West and Middle East and also within the geographic Middle East itself - via European colonialism, US foreign policy, wars and other conflicts, and ongoing uprisings. How and where have our images of and narratives about the Middle East circulated, and how have they gained such durable power? In today's rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, are these ways of understanding the region being reinforced or are they changing, and why? Furthermore, how have people living in the region engaged with such images? What are the different ways that people have constructed alternative notions of places, peoples, and cultures across the same time and space? We highlight how the arts and media have been key to the representation of the Middle East, including reproducing and contesting stereotypes. As your gateway course to the Middle East, you will not only gain basic information; you will also learn how to learn about this misunderstood region.
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity