This course will address some of the religious, socio-political, and historical factors that have contributed to the shaping of the Arab Middle East and Arab identity(s) in the modern age. Starting with the rise of Islam in the 7th century A.D., touching upon the Ottoman Empire, the remapping of the Middle East due to British and French colonialism during the period of the two World Wars, and finally ending with the Gulf and Iraq wars, this course will help students gain an understanding of the diversity and unity of Modern Arab culture, and the complexity of its politics.

We will read a variety of genres including: historical documents, travel accounts, cultural criticism, and novels while we investigate concepts such as: nationalism, identity, and religion. Other issues to be discussed are: gender and social change in the contemporary Arab world, the question of Palestine and its impact on modern Arab self-image, the Arab image in the West particularly after 9/11, and civil war’s impact on changing gender roles in the region.