HIS.1018 History of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
This course surveys the historical evolution of the Middle East and North Africa, i.e. the region stretching from Morocco to Afghanistan, and from the Balkans and Anatolia to the Arabian Peninsula. It focuses on the main political and cultural configurations of the area from the rise of the "Gunpowder Empires" of the 16th-century - the Ottoman and Safavid (Iran) states, to the modern nation-state systems of the present century. The dominant political, religious, economic, social, and cultural features of Middle Eastern peoples and societies are examined, as are the relationships between the region and other parts of Eurasia, particularly Western Europe.
LA