This is a list of courses related to the Middle East that are offered on campus each semester with percentages of Middle East-related content indicated. All courses listed here are not automatically applicable to the MES major or minor. Please see the MES major booklet and/or speak to your MES advisors to verify applicability of courses listed as less than 100% Middle East-related. Course list subject to change.
Cultures of the contemporary Near East, with special emphasis upon Arab populations.
A general introduction to the study of history, this course focuses on Byzantium and the Islamic world, two medieval successors to the Roman empire in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. This course has three aims: to provide an outline of events that transpired in this area from the 4th-15th centuries; to explain how a modern historian can approach medieval sources in order to reconstruct various aspects of the past; and to discuss the commonalities of pre-industrial societies, and how lessons learnt in this class can be applied to the study of other time periods and geographic locations.
This course is for students interested in researching and tracking international topics of their choosing with aim to launch multimedia websites/blogs. Students will learn how to write for the web, while experimenting with a variety of web-based tools and photo/video editing programs. We will also study and discuss the contemporary social, cultural and media phenomena that are quickly changing the processes of research and news production, along with habits of consumption (hello, Twitter!), in an increasingly connected, online world. No prior media or web experience necessary.
The course is intended to give Jewish studies minors a general introduction to the field through a survey of eight major phases of Jewish cultural experiences. Considered in chronological order and embracing several different relevant disciplines (history, literature, language, popular culture) covering major themes, phases, or periods, the course offers subject matter from the Bible to the modern period. Each of the lecturers will have selected one or two articles or chapters from books relevant to his/her subject for students to read.