MES-CODED COURSES
MES 1235 Policing and Imprisonment in the Modern Middle East
Class syllabus
T 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Professor: Alex Winder
This course uses policing and imprisonment as lenses through which to view state-society relations, state and non-state violence, and recent uprisings and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East from the late Ottoman period to the present. Major topics around which the course centers are: the role of Islam in the development of law and criminal justice in the modern Middle East; the imposition of European colonial rule and the repression of anti-colonial revolts; the rise of police states in the post-colonial Middle East; the production and maintenance of a gendered social order; non-state and informal mechanisms of maintaining “law and order”; and the role of law and security in the Arab uprisings of this decade and its aftermath.
WRIT
DIAP
MES 1243 Understanding Palestine-Israel: Ideologies and Practices
Class syllabus
T, Th 1:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Professor: Adi Ophir
"Palestine-Israel" is a name designating a territory between the east shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. In addition to the two national movements that fight over this territory, the Jewish (Zionist) and the Palestinian, this land is a matter of ongoing engagement, investment, and entanglement for foreign powers, religious orders, and international organizations. This course will introduce main aspects of this ongoing struggle, its history, and its recurring patterns. Each of these perspectives will be part of what needs to be narrated and explained, not imposed as a framework for the narrative and the explanation at stake.
WRIT
DIAP
EXAMPLES OF COURSES THAT SATISFY FOUNDATIONAL COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR 2018-19
***Examples of courses that could be considered as foundational to fulfill course requirement. Meeting with and approval from MES concentration adviser required***
ANTH 1150 Middle East in Anthropological Perspective (Asli Zengin)
A seminar focusing on anthropological methods of analyzing and interpreting Middle Eastern cultures and societies. Emphasizes the study of kinship, tribal structure, social organization and gender relations, ethnic groups relations, and urban-rural distinctions. Draws upon insights from these topics as a basis for understanding contemporary social, economic, and political dynamics in the region.
COLT 0510K The 1001 Nights (Elias Muhanna)
Explores the origins, performance, reception, adaptation, and translation of the 1001 Nights, one of the most beloved and influential story collections in world literature. We will spend the semester in the company of genies, princes, liars, slaves, mass murderers, orientalists, and Walt Disney, and will consider the Nights in the context of its various literary, artistic, and cinematic afterlives.
WRIT
HIST 0243 Modern Middle East Roots, 1492 to the Present (Faiz Ahmed)
The goal of this course is to provide students with a broad overview of Modern Middle Eastern history. Following the expulsion of the Moors and Jews of Iberia, we journey to the opposite end of the Mediterranean with continued Turkic expansions into southeastern Europe, the Arab world, and Iran. Then, the “long” nineteenth century: an era of profound transformation culminating in the Ottoman Empire’s partition, primarily by British and French colonial rule. Finally, we explore forces shaping the twentieth century Middle East, from nationalism to oil, Islamism to “street” politics, and military interventions by the US, USSR, and regional powers.
HIST 1202 Formation of the Classical Heritage: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians, and Muslims (Kenneth Sacks)
Explores essential social, cultural, and religious foundation blocks of Western Civilization, 200 BCE to 800 CE. The main theme is the eternal struggle between universalism and particularism, including: Greek elitism vs. humanism; Roman imperialism vs. inclusion; Jewish assimilation vs. orthodoxy; Christian fellowship vs. exclusion, and Islamic transcendence vs. imminence. We will study how ancient Western individuals and societies confronted oppression and/or dramatic change and developed intellectual and spiritual strategies still in use today. Students should be prepared to examine religious thought from a secular point of view. There is no prerequisite or assumed knowledge of the period.
WRIT
DIAP
MES 1235 Policing and Imprisonment in the Modern Middle East (Alex Winder)
Class syllabus
This course uses policing and imprisonment as lenses through which to view state-society relations, state and non-state violence, and recent uprisings and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East from the late Ottoman period to the present. Major topics around which the course centers are: the role of Islam in the development of law and criminal justice in the modern Middle East; the imposition of European colonial rule and the repression of anti-colonial revolts; the rise of police states in the post-colonial Middle East; the production and maintenance of a gendered social order; non-state and informal mechanisms of maintaining “law and order”; and the role of law and security in the Arab uprisings of this decade and its aftermath.
WRIT
DIAP
X-LIST
Anthropology
ANTH 1150 Middle East in Anthropological Perspective (Asli Zengin)
Arabic
ARAB 0100 First-Year Arabic (Elsa Belmont Flores, Alla Hassan)
ARAB 0300 Second-Year Arabic (Mirena Christoff, Miled Faiza)
ARAB 0500 Third-Year Arabic (Miled Faiza)
ARAB 0700 Advanced Arabic: Tales of the City (Alla Hassan)
Archaeology and the Ancient World
ARCH 2535 The Levant and Egypt: Cultural Contacts and Connections (Carl Walsh)
Assyriology
ASYR 0310 Thunder-gods and Dragon-slayers: Mythology + Cultural Contact - Ancient Mediterranean and Near East (Felipe Rojas Silva) WRIT
ASYR 1000 Introduction to Akkadian (Matthew Glassman)
ASYR 1110 Literature of Ancient Iraq (Shiyanthi Thavapalan)
ASYR 2710 Babylonian Astronomy (John Steele)
ASYR 2950 Scribal and Scholarly Practices in Babylonia and Assyria (John Steele)
Comparative Literature
COLT 0510K The 1001 Nights (Elias Muhanna) WRIT
COLT 1431E Loss in Modern Arabic Literature (Gregory Halaby) WRIT | DIAP
Course flyer
French
FREN 1410T L'expérience des réfugiés: déplacements, migrations (Virginia Krause) WRIT
History
HIST 0243 Modern Middle East Roots: 1492 to the Present (Faiz Ahmed)
HIST 1202 Formation of the Classical Heritage: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians, and Muslims (Kenneth Sacks) WRIT | DIAP
HIST 1445 The Making of the Ottoman World, 15th - 20th Centuries (Meltem Toksoz)
HIST 1960Q Medicine and Public Health in Africa (Jennifer Johnson)
HIST 1963Q Sex, Power, and God: A Medieval Perspective (Amy Remensnyder) WRIT
HIST 1964L Slavery in the Early Modern World (Adam Teller) WRIT | DIAP
HIST 1968A Approaches to the Middle East (Faiz Ahmed) WRIT
Humanities
HMAN 1973M Art, Secrecy, and Invisibility in Ancient Egypt (Laurel Bestock)
HMAN 2400J Archives: Imperial and Non-Imperial Histories, Practices and Theories (Ariella Azoulay)
International Relations
INTL 1802Q Iran and the Islamic Revolution (Stephen Kinzer) WRIT
Class syllabus
Judaic Studies
HEBR 0100 Elementary Hebrew (Ruth Adler Ben Yehuda)
HEBR 0300 Intermediate Hebrew (Ruth Adler Ben Yehuda)
HEBR 0500 Writing and Speaking Hebrew (Ruth Adler Ben Yehuda)
JUDS 1002 Targumic Aramaic (Shane Thompson)
JUDS 1670 Ancient Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques in Palestine (Katharina Galor) WRIT
JUDS 1750 Jews in the World of Islam (Jonathan Decter) WRIT | DIAP
Persian
Course flyer
PRSN 0100 Basic Persian (Iraj Anvar)
PRSN 0300 Intermediate Persian Language and Culture (Iraj Anvar)
PRSN 0500 Advanced Persian Language and Culture I (Iraj Anvar)
Philosophy
PHIL 0203 Introduction to Islamic Philosophy (Lidia Gocheva)
Religious Studies
RELS 0290D Islamic Sexualities (Nancy Khalek) WRIT | DIAP
RELS 1530B Heresy and Orthodoxy in Islamic Thought (Nancy Khalek) DIAP
RELS 2705 Sufism Seminar (Shahzad Bashir)
Turkish
Course flyer
TKSH 0100 Introduction to Turkish Language and Culture I (Ercan Balci)
TKSH 0300 Intermediate Turkish (Ercan Balci)
Urban Studies
URBN 1870K Jerusalem Since 1850: Religion, Politics, Cultural Heritage (Katharina Galor)
FULFILLS CAPSTONE REQUIREMENT
ASYR 0310 Thunder-gods and Dragon-slayers: Mythology + Cultural Contact - Ancient Mediterranean and Near East (Felipe Rojas Silva)
COLT 0510K The 1001 Nights (Elias Muhanna)
COLT 1431E Loss in Modern Arabic Literature (Gregory Halaby)
FREN 1410T L'expérience des réfugiés: déplacements, migrations (Virginia Krause)
JUDS 1670 Ancient Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques in Palestine (Katharina Galor)
JUDS 1750 Jews in the World of Islam (Jonathan Decter)
HIST 1202 Formation of the Classical Heritage: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians, and Muslims (Kenneth Sacks)
HIST 1963Q Sex, Power, and God: A Medieval Perspective (Amy Remensnyder)
HIST 1964L Slavery in the Early Modern World (Adam Teller)
HIST 1968A Approaches to the Middle East (Faiz Ahmed)
INTL 1802Q Iran and the Islamic Revolution (Stephen Kinzer)
Class syllabus
MES 1235 Policing and Imprisonment in the Modern Middle East (Alex Winder)
Class syllabus
MES 1243 Understanding Palestine-Israel: Ideologies and Practices (Adi Ophir)
Class syllabus
RELS 0290D Islamic Sexualities (Nancy Khalek)
URBN 1870K Jerusalem Since 1850: Religion, Politics, Cultural Heritage (Katharina Galor)