Middle Eastern Studies

This course will deal with the history of the modern Middle East.  It will provide the students with a general background of the modern Middle East.  We will also review the social, cultural, religious and political transformations of the Middle East up to the present.  In addition students will be introduced to the modern Middle Eastern states and such sensitive issues as: penetration of nationalism into the Middle East, Western imperialism, radical Islamism (Islamic “fundamentalism”), minorities of the Middle East, the water issue and Arab-Israeli conflict.  We will have several documentary films on different subjects and students will be stimulated to think more critically about certain questions covered in the course and to formulate their ideas on them.  It is important to stress that students should make a distinction between critical thinking and judgmental positions on any subject presented in the class.