THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, AND ASIA
COURSES, LISTED BY DEPARTMENT*
*courses are not offered every year
| ANTHROPOLOGY |  |
| Barfield, Thomas |
CAS AN 360/GRS AN 760: The Nomadic Alternative. Ethnographic and historical examination of nomads in Africa and Eurasia focusing on the ecology of pastoralism, nomadic social organization, political relations between nomads and states, the rise and fall of steppe empires, and the future of nomads. 4 cr. |
| Haeri, Shahla | CAS AN 355/GRS AN 755: Religious Fundamentalism in Anthropological Perspective. Anthropological study of the global phenomenon of religious fundamentalism. A product of the modern world, fundamentalism is perceived as counter-cultural and anti-nationalist. Cases drawn from North America and Islamic Middle East, with special attention to women's interpretation of religion. 4 cr. |
| Hefner, Robert | CAS AN 318: Southeast Asia: Tradition and Development (Area). Provides an in-depth introduction to the cultural traditions and contemporary development of Southeast Asia. Examines the contemporary society and culture through the optic of political and cultural history, so as to understand the "imaginative revolutions" that have shaped this region and are transforming it still today. 4 cr. |
| CAS AN 371: The Making of the Modern World. Part of the course analyzes religious nationalism by comparing Islamic nationalism and the Islamic resurgencence with the generally more secular nationalisms of Europe. | |
| CAS AN 384/GRS AN 784: Anthropological Study of Religion. Prereq: CAS AN101 or consent of instructor. An introduction to the anthropological study of myth, ritual, and religious experience across cultures. Special attention to the problem of religious symbolism and meaning, religious conversion and revitalization, contrasts between traditional and world religions, and the relation of religious knowledge to science, magic, and ideology. 4 cr. | |
| Lindholm, Charles | CAS AN 593: Ethnography of the Middle East. Historical overview of anthropological accounts of Middle Eastern culture, showing the various stances and methodologies that have been taken over time. Analyzes the weaknesses and strengths of each approach to discover their underlying assumptions. Attention will be paid to critiques and postmodernist anthropoligical work and also to the future of ethnography in the Middle East. |
| CLA AN 317/UNI SS 317: Power and Society in the Middle East. Discussion of the ways in which power relations are articulated, validated, and obscured in the Middle East. Establishes the baseline for discussion by outlining the underlying principles and tensions of Middle Eastern history and social organization, and then moves to consider the ways in which these principles and their tensions are expressed in religious, racial, sexual and political relationships. | |
| Norton, Augustus R. | See International Relations and Political Science |
| White, Jenny | CAS AN 252: Ethnicity and Identity. Political and cultural factors underlying ethnic and nationalist sentiments examined through case studies drawn from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Discusses factors underlying ethnic boundaries, as well as such boundary-transcending influences as the media. 4cr. |
| CAS AN 307: Turkey & Middle East Perspective (Area). Social and cultural diversity of the modern Middle East with particular attention to Turkey. Focus on the interplay of tradition and socio-economic changes that have occurred during the 20th century and their implications for the future. 4 cr. |
| HISTORY | |
| Anderson, Betty |
CAS HI 392: Introduction to the Middle East. General introduction to the history, culture, and current development in the Middle East. Objective is to introduce students to a specific geographical and historical experience as well as to acquaint them with some of the literature in the field. |
| CAS HI 484: Revolutionary Change in North Africa and the Middle East. Analysis of problems of revolutionary change and development theories as they apply to North Africa and the Middle East. Reading colloquium. | |
| CAS HI 485: Selected Problems in the Modern Middle East. Major events in recent history of the Middle East: emergence of nationalism and intellectual awakening of the Ottoman Empire; impact of western economic penetration; effect of partition; seeds of conflict and Egyptian transformation under Nasser. Research colloquium. | |
| Glick, Thomas | CAS HI 327: Early Medieval Spain. History of Spain from the fifth through thirteenth centuries: late Roman Spain, Visigoths, Islamic conquest, society and culture of Islamic Spain, rise of Christian kingdoms; conquest and settlement of Andalusia, social relations and cultural exchange among Christians, Muslims, and Jews. |
| CAS HI 409: Medieval Science and Technology. Introduction to medieval science and technology, including the Greek and Roman inheritance, the transmission of Greek science to Europe by the Arabs, and medieval developments leading to the Scientific Revolution. | |
| Mason, Herbert | CAS HI 405: Comparative Medieval Studies. Examination of the ruling ideas and institutions of medieval Christian and Islamic societies; emphasis on the organization of society, cultural and economic interaction, archetypal figures in the societies, the place of women in society, and each society's views of people and their relation to God. Research colloquium. |
| CAS HI 486: Islamic History. Examination of major historical forces that determined the growth and character of Islamic civilization from beginnings to modern times. | |
| CAS HI 487 | |
| CAS HI 905 | |
| CAS HI 975 | |
| See Religion for More Courses | |
| Wylie, Diana | CAS HI 291: Reconstructing the African Past. Discusses the uses of archaeological evidence and oral tradition, as well as primary and secondary documentation, in the study of precolonial African history: early states and empires, kinship, cosmology and social order, slavery and the slave trade, origins of racial conflict in southern Africa. |
| CAS HI 292 (?): Colonialism in Africa: Impact and Aftermath. Uses case studies of particular African societies or nations to examine patterns of European conquest and African resistance, forms of colonial administration and the socioeconomic consequences of colonial rule, decolonization and contemporary African liberation movements, economic and developments since independence, and aspects of contemporary social and cultural change. |
| INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS | |
| Chehabi, Houchang |
CAS IR/HI 397: History of Modern Iran, 1900-Present. Geographical/historical background; social structure, ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversities; Anglo-Russian interventions; consequences of tobacco conc ession; constitutional revolution and reform; Qajar legacy; centralization, secularization, and modernization under Pahlawi; oil and Mossadegh; autocracy and revolution; liberals, communists, fundamentalists, and Islamic revolution. TBA. 4 cr. |
| CAS IR 505: Central Asia in the Twentieth Century. | |
| CAS IR 705: Modernization in Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. Studies the various aspects of modernization of the Northern Tier. The three countries are ideally suited for comparative analysis, as they were the only Muslim states that survived the era of European imperialism as independent states. | |
| CAS IR 706: Iran and the Middle East. This course examines the Islamic Revolution in Iran and its impact on the Middle East. The first third of the seminar focuses on Iran, and subsequently the Iran/Iraq war, Lebanon, the Persian Gulf and Israel will be studied as they are affected by Iran’s upheavals. | |
| Najam, Adil | |
| Norton, Augustus R. | CAS IR 382/CAS GG 382: Understanding the Middle East. Introduces the contemporary Middle East, including the Arab world, Iran, Israel, and Turkey. Examines the systems of government; the role of external powers; the origins of the state system; the sources and objectives of opposition forces; the prospects for political reform, including democratization; and the prospects for future cooperation or conflict. |
| CAS IR 503/CAS PO 570: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East. Examines the historical development and present status of the United States association with the Middle East. American commercial, economic, political, military, and humanitarian interests in the area and their interaction. | |
| CAS IR 509/CAS PO 573: Islam in Middle East Politics. Analysis of Islam in the classical and popular forms; examination of the role of the Muslim religion in the international politics of the modern Middle East, especially Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya, in the interrelationships and their attitudes toward the West. | |
| CAS IR 514: Major Themes in the Middle East Peace Process. Examines the opposing parties’ positions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and efforts by the U.S. and the United Nations to try to resolve them. Analyzes the Camp David negotiations leading to the peace treaty of 1979, the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza since 1987 and proposes solutions for a comprehensive peace treaty. |
| MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES | |
| Ghobrial, Atef |
CAS LY 111/112 |
| CAS LY 211/212 | |
| CAS LY 281 | |
| MET LB 111 | |
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MET LB 112 |
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| Mustafa, Shakir | CAS LY 281/LY781: Introduction to Arab Cultures. The course presents subversion, censorship, and exile as shaping themes in contemporary Arab cultures. These themes will be mainly explored in the literature produced in different parts of the Arab world in the second half of the twentieth century. |
| POLITICAL SCIENCE | |
| Gendzier, Irene |
CAS PO 560: Politics and Society in North Africa and the Middle East. An investigation of contemporary North Africa and the Middle East, with emphasis on current socioeconomic and political trends and tensions. |
| Norton, Augustus R. | CAS PO 570/CAS IR 503: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East. Examines the historical development and present status of the United States association with the Middle East. American commercial, economic, political, military, and humanitarian interests in the area and their interaction. |
| CAS PO 573/CAS IR 509: : Islam in Middle East Politics. Analysis of Islam in the classical and popular forms; examination of the role of the Muslim religion in the internal politics of the modern Middle East, especially Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Libya, in their interrelationships and in their attitudes toward the West. |
| RELIGION | |
| Korom, Frank |
CAS RN 375: Culture, Society, and Religion in South Asia. Ethnographic and historical introduction to the Indian subcontinent with a focus on the impact of religion on cultural practices and social institutions. |
| Mason, Herbert | CAS RN 207/974: Religion and Myth in Literature. Recurring religious themes in literature, such as loss and quest. Readings include epic, dramatic, and prophetic literature. Supplementary reading, chosen for philosophical and aesthetic perspectives on these themes, may include Jung, Eliade, Campbell, Neuman, and Zimmer. |
| CAS RN 341/641: Islamic Mysticism: Sufism. Rise and development of the mystical movement in early Islam; analysis of the thought of leading Sufi brotherhoods, their organization, liturgy, and religious life; the impact of Sufism on classical and postclassical Islam. | |
| Swartz, Merlin | CAS RN 340/640: The Qu'ran. The emergence of the Quran as a major religious text, its structure and literary features, its principle themes and place within the religious and intellectual life of the Muslim community. |
| CAS RN 343/643: Islam in Global Perspective. A Historical and comparative study of Islam's spread from the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century into the major cultural zones of Asia, Africa and the West; reasons for Islam's expansion; its ability to adapt itself to regional cultures and to function simultaneously as a catalyst for religious and cultural change. | |
| CAS RN 344/644: Islam and the West. Examination of religious and intellectual interaction of Islam and the West during the Mddle Ages: philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, mystical thought, and theory. Literary and scientific influences also considered. | |
| CAS RN 347/647: Islamic Philosophy and Theology. History of Islamic philosophy from its emergence in the 9th century to its flowering in the high Middle Ages; Islam's appropriation of the older philosophical traditions, the integration of these into an Islamic framework, and the elaboration of a distinctive Islamic philosophy. The impact of philosophy on developments in theology, mysticism, jurisprudence, grammar, rhetoric, and the arts; its influence on philosophical and theological developments in the Latin West from the 10th to the 14th centuries. |