Featured Elective Courses

MES 1120 Art, Culture, and Society in Tehran
Tue., Thu., 1:00 – 2:20 p.m.
Professor: Samine Tabatabaei

This course explores the city as physical and metaphorical space and aggregator of possibilities. It focuses on Tehran, in its historical, geographical, artistic and virtual specificity, and artists who have lived there, including: Kamal-al-molk (and his followers in the early twentieth century; artists associated with Saqqakhaneh (modern school of art) at mid-twentieth-century, artists of the Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and 1990s, and contemporary urban and transnational artists. By examining urban participation, aesthetics, and politics in Tehran across more than a century, the course provokes critical reflection on experience and representations of urban space, citizenry and creativity.

ANTH 1911 Gender and Sexuality in the Middle East
Wed., 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Professor: Nadje Al-Ali

The aim of this course is to offer an overview of the key issues in the study of gender and sexuality with reference to the Middle East. It will provide a gendered understanding of prevailing structures, ideologies, social practices and trends for those students interested in Middle East societies, cultures and politics, as well as those interested in women and gender studies. While the course focuses on anthropological approaches, it is interdisciplinary in scope, with readings and theoretical underpinnings ranging from anthropology to history, sociology, political science, to cultural studies.

COLT 0711L The Quran and its Readers
Mon., Wed., Fri., 1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
Professor: Elias Muhanna

Like the Bible, the Quran has had a monumental impact upon world literature. Its narratives and imagery permeate the textual, visual, and auditory landscapes of many societies in the Islamic world and beyond. In this course, we approach the Quran through the works of some of its most interesting readers, including Avicenna, Ibn Khaldun, Dante, Rumi, Hafez, Goethe, Borges, Houellebecq, and Rushdie. All readings are in English.

COLT 1440R This is Palestine
Mon., Wed., Fri., 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Professor: Emily Drumsta

This course introduces students to the modern history and culture of Palestine through poetry, short stories, novels, novellas, and films. We’ll review the major events of the twentieth century by exploring works from both the “interior” (Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories) and the “exterior” (other countries in the Middle East and the West). We’ll examine such topics as exile and displacement, resistance, steadfastness (sumud), and everyday life under siege and occupation. No Arabic necessary; those with reading knowledge are welcome to read in the original.

RELS 0014 Jesus
Mon., Wed., Fri., 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
Professor: Jae Hee Han

Who was, and is, Jesus? Who decides? What can we know about the historical Jesus and who he became? In this course, we will begin with the earliest accounts of Jesus as recounted in the canonical gospels and outside it (e.g., the Gospel of Judas). Then we will turn to the many ways that later generations of Christians (both heretical and orthodox) and non-Christians depicted Jesus, especially in art, literature, theology, politics, and entertainment. We will read canonical and non-canonical Christian texts, Jewish accounts of Jesus, the Quran, modern Christian apologetic literature, and analyze films like the Life of Brian.

URBN 1871B Berlin: Global Metropolis (1945-2020)
Thu., 4:00 – 6:30 p.m. 
Professor: Katharina Galor

This seminar explores the physical and human landscapes of post-war Berlin: its steadily expanding urban fabric and how it engages with the rapidly changing population make-up. The focus will be on the tension between past and present histories, new German identities, the recent massive migrations, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and how these social and geopolitical phenomena interact with the city’s urban spaces and monuments. As case studies, we will explore the relationship among Germans and three other significant communities: Turks, Israelis, and Palestinians.