An interdepartmental program in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

Last updated: June 28, 2012 at 4:11 p.m.

Objectives

The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) major is an interdisciplinary curriculum organized and taught by faculty in the Departments of Near Eastern and Judiac Studies (NEJS), Politics, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, and African and Afro-American Studies. Designed to provide a strong foundation in Middle Eastern studies with a specialized knowledge of Islam, the program provides unique opportunities to examine current geopolitical events and develop a deep understanding of religion, culture, and society in the Arab World, Turkey, Iran, and Israel. With a solid training in language, history, political theory and praxis, and the ideals and practices of Islam, the major is especially appropriate for students wishing to pursue graduate work in the fields of Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies, and provides a solid foundation for students who wish to pursue careers dealing directly or indirectly with the Middle East.

Learning Goals

The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Program provides an interdisciplinary curriculum organized and taught by faculty in the Departments of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (NEJS), Politics, Sociology, History, Anthropology, Economics, and African and Afro-American Studies. Designed to provide a strong foundation in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, the Program allows for unique opportunities to examine the history of the region and current geopolitical events, while developing a deep understanding of religion, culture and society in the Arab World, Turkey, Iran, and Israel.

The major requires students to take courses from the departments represented by the faculty committee. With a solid training in language, history, political theory and praxis, and the tenets and practices of Islam, an IMES major provides a foundation for students who wish to pursue careers dealing directly or indirectly with the Middle East.

Learning goals for each student differ according to their aspirations and aptitudes. The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies major offers a wide variety of courses covering multiple disciplines, from Religious Studies to Political Science. Each student should be able to focus upon those areas that best meet his or her particular interests, but also develop a broad training that touches upon other disciplines related to the field. To that end students should:

  • Be able to frame questions, investigate problems and evaluate conclusions using one or more academic disciplines or approaches (e.g. historical analysis, political science, social scientific analysis, and critical theories in the study of religion).
  • Be able to directly access the language(s) and culture(s) of the Middle East, in order to obtain a more objective understanding of issues pertaining to the fields of Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies.
  • Be familiar with and recognize scholarly conventions and debates concerning the Middle East and Islamic Studies.
  • Be able to critically assess claims made by those in the field and in the mass media.
  • Be able to appreciate diversity in and between the political, cultural, and religious traditions of the Middle East, and to contribute to a greater understanding in the service of a more just and peaceful society.

To achieve these skills, students should know,

  • The general history of the Middle East from the rise of Islam until the contemporary period, with specialized knowledge of their particular area, or period, of interest.
  • The principle tenets and religious practices of Sunni and Shi’i Islam.
  • The history of ideas in the Middle East and its relation to contemporary events.

How to Become a Major

Students who wish to major in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies must take the core course in Islamic civilization (IMES 104a) and at least two full years of a Middle Eastern language. Students who are fluent in Arabic, Persian, or Turkish may be exempted from the language requirements for a major in IMES upon approval by the chair of IMES. In addition, with the goal of achieving a balanced understanding of the overall field of study, the student must take two courses in the classical period and two courses in the modern period, as well as three courses to be chosen from the wide intellectual variety of elective courses. Elective courses may include two upper level Arabic courses: ARBC 103a, 103b, 106a, and 106b. Study in the Middle East for a term or a year is encouraged. As a culmination of the student's education, he or she is encouraged to write a senior honors thesis with emphasis on some aspects of Islamic or Middle Eastern studies. The honors thesis must be directed by a member of the IMES faculty.

Steering Committee

Joseph Lumbard, Chair
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Shai Feldman
(Politics)

Nader Habibi, Undergraduate Advising Head
(Economics)

Kanan Makiya (on leave academic year 2012-2013)
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

S. Ilan Troen
(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Joseph Lumbard (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Requirements for the Minor

A. Two semesters of a Middle Eastern language.

B. Core course: IMES 104a (Islam: Civilization and Institutions).

C. At least one course pertaining to the classical period: NEJS 124a, 144a, 186a, 186b, 188a, 190b, 191a, 194b, 196a, 197a.

D. At least one course pertaining to the modern period: ECON 122b, HIST 111a, 111b, 112a, 178a, IMES 105a, NEJS 145a, 185b, 188b, 193a, 197b, POL 133a, 134a, 164a, SOC 157a.

E. Two additional courses from the list of electives below.

Requirements for the Major

A. Four consecutive semesters of either Arabic or Hebrew beginning with either ARBC 10a or HBRW 10a (or 19a) or at a higher level if determined by placement. Students who are native speakers in Arabic, Persian, or Turkish may be exempted from the language requirements upon approval by the chair of IMES.

Courses that fulfill the language requirement include: ARBC 10a, ARBC 20b, ARBC 30a, ARBC 40b, ARBC 103a, ARBC 103b, ARBC 106a, ARBC 106b, HBRW 10a (or 19a), HBRW 20b (or 29b), HBRW 34a (or 39a), HBRW 35a, HBRW 41a, HBRW 44b (or 49b), and any 100-level Hebrew (HBRW) course.

B. Core course: IMES 104a (Islam: Civilization and Institutions).

C. Two courses pertaining to the classical period: NEJS 124a, 144a, 186a, 186b, 188a, 190b, 191a, 194b, 196a, 197a.

D. Two courses pertaining to the modern period: ECON 122b, HIST 111a, 111b, 112a, 178a, IMES 105a, NEJS 145a, 145b, 177a, 185b, 187a, 188b, 193a, 197b, POL 133a, 134a, 164a,  SOC 157a.

E. Three additional courses from the list of electives below.

Requirements for 5-Year BA/MA Program

IMES majors are invited in their senior year to apply for admission to the BA/MA joint degree in Near Eastern and Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. Students must complete all requirements and earn the BA, including the successful completion of the major in IMES prior to the start of the one year Master's program.

Program of Study
Fourteen courses are required:

A. Internal transfer credit: seven Brandeis undergraduate courses (NEJS, IMES, and/or approved cross listed courses) numbered 100 or above for which grades of B- or higher have been earned.

B. Seven courses taken in the fifth year from either the IMES or NEJS course lists.

C. Successful completion of one of the following: A comprehensive examination, a culminating project or a master’s thesis. The master's thesis must be deposited electronically to the Robert D. Farber University archives at Brandeis. 

Resident Requirement
One year of full-time residence (the fifth year) is required subsequent to completing the BA.

Language Requirement
All candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency in Arabic, Hebrew, or another Middle Eastern language.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

IMES 92a Internship
Staff

IMES 98a Independent Study
Usually offered every year.
Staff

IMES 98b Independent Study
Usually offered every year.
Staff

IMES 99d Senior Research
Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

IMES 104a Islam: Civilization and Institutions
[ hum nw ]
Provides a disciplined study of Islamic civilization from its origins to the modern period. Approaches the study from a humanities perspective. Topics covered will include the Qur'an, tradition, law, theology, politics, Islam and other religions, modern developments, and women in Islam. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

IMES 105a War and Revolution in the Middle East
[ hum nw wi ]
Considers the impact of war and revolution in the shaping of the modern Middle East starting with the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. Focuses on the violent turning points that have changed the lives of millions of people.
Mr. Makiya

IMES Elective Courses

The following courses are approved for the program. Not all are given in any one year. Please consult the Schedule of Classes each semester.

AAAS 80a Economy and Society in Africa
[ nw ss wi ]
Perspectives on the interaction of economic and other variables in African societies. Topics include the ethical and economic bases of distributive justice; models of social theory, efficiency, and equality in law; the role of economic variables in the theory of history; and world systems analysis. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 126b Political Economy of the Third World
[ nw ss wi ]
Development of capitalism and different roles and functions assigned to all "Third Worlds," in the periphery as well as the center. Special attention will be paid to African and Afro-American peripheries. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 163b Africa in World Politics
[ nw ss ]
Explores the impact of African states in world affairs; the African and Afro-Asian groups in the United Nations; relations with Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the Americas; the Afro-Asian movement; nonalignment; the Organization of African Unity; and Pan-Africanism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nyangoni

AAAS 175a Comparative Politics of North Africa
[ nw ss ]
Explores the formation and development of political cleavages and cleavage systems, and of mass-based political groups, analyzing the expansion of mass political participation, elections, the impact of the military on political groups, and international factors. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nyangoni

ANTH 80a Anthropology of Religion
[ nw ss ]
An introduction to the anthropological study of human religious experience, with particular emphasis on religious and ritual practice in comparative perspective. Examines the relationship between religion and society in small-scale, non-Western contexts as well as in complex societies, global cultures, and world historical religions. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lamb or Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 118b Peoples and Societies of Israel and the Middle East
[ ss ]
Examines the peoples and societies of the Middle East from an anthropological perspective. Explores problems of cross-cultural examination, the notion of the Middle East as an area of study, and the role of anthropology in the formation of the idea of the “Middle East.” To this end, the course is divided into sections devoted to understanding and problematizing key concepts and themes central to our understanding of the region, including tribe and state, family and kinship, gender and sexuality, honor and shame, tradition and modernity, and religion and secularism. Course materials will include critical ethnographies based on field work in the region as well as locally produced materials such as literature, music, film and other visual arts. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

ARBC 103a Advanced Literary Arabic I
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: ARBC 40b or the equivalent. Four class-hours per week.
Designed to help the student attain advanced proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding. The syllabus includes selections from modern texts representing a variety of styles and genres, advanced composition, and sustained development of oral-aural proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic. A grade of C- or higher in ARBC 103a is required to take ARBC 103b. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ARBC 103b Advanced Literary Arabic II
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: ARBC 103a or the equivalent. Four class-hours per week.
Continuation of ARBC 103a. Course materials draw heavily on modern literary and non-fiction texts in addition to continued intensive development of oral-aural skills in MSA on the basis of contemporary media and television series and the like. A grade of C- or higher in ARBC 103b is required to take ARBC 106a. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ARBC 106a Fourth Level Advanced Arabic I
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: ARBC 103b or the equivalent. Four class-hours per week.
Develops advanced competence in reading, writing, speaking and understanding Standard Arabic, in addition to a thorough mastery of advanced grammar. Reading materials include both classical and contemporary texts on various topics ranging from classical Arabic literature, history and culture to contemporary Arab politics and society. Continued honing of oral-aural skills in MSA will be complemented by a systematic introduction to the spoken Levantine variety of colloquial Arabic. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ARBC 106b Fourth Level Advanced Arabic II
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: ARBC 106a or the equivalent. Four class-hours per week.
Continuation of ARBC 106a. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ENG 197b Within the Veil: African-American and Muslim Women's Writing
[ hum ]
In twentieth-century United States culture, the veil has become a powerful metaphor, signifying initially the interior of African-American community and the lives of Muslims globally. This course investigates issues of identity, imperialism, cultural loyalty, and spirituality by looking at and linking contemporary writing by African-American and Muslim women. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman

FA 33b Islamic Art and Architecture
[ ca nw ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 39b in prior years.
Introduces architecture and arts of the Islamic lands from seventh-century Levant to post-modernism in Iran, India, and the Gulf states. Provides an overview of major themes and regional variations, and their socio-political and historical context. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Grigor

FA 68a Israeli Art and Visual Culture: Forging Identities Between East and West
[ ca ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 153a in prior years.
An examination of the visual arts created in Israel since the beginning of the twentieth century. Combines a chronological overview of major trends with an in-depth examination of select case studies of individual artists and specific themes.
Ms. Ankori

FA 76a Palestinian and Israeli Art, Film and Visual Culture: Intersecting Visions
[ ca ]
Israelis and Palestinians have been creating vibrant and bold works of art that both reflect and transcend the region's conflict-ridden history. This course offers a critical comparative study of Israeli and Palestinian art, exploring contentious expressions of pain and trauma as well as shared visions of hope and peace. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori

FA 174a Art and Trauma: Israeli, Palestinian, Latin American and United States Art
[ ca ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 154b in prior years.
A comparative and critical examination of the various ways in which personal traumas (illness, death, loss) and collective traumas (war, the Holocaust, exile) find meaningful expression in the work of modern and contemporary artists from diverse regions. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ankori

FYS 24b The Howl of Simple Words: Reading Gender in Israeli Literature and Cinema
[ hum ]
The poet Rachel Bluwstein describes her poetics as "the howl of simple words." With these words she exposes the normative expectation of women's writing at the beginning of the century, on the one hand, and the subversive potential that lies in women's creativity, on the other. This seminar explores this ongoing duality in Modern Hebrew literature and Israeli cinema.
Ms. Szobel (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

HIST 148b Central Asia in Modern Times
[ nw ss ]
Surveys the modern history of Central Asia, emphasizing the twentieth century and contemporary history; it gives particular attention to the processes of colonialization and modernization and their impact on the traditional social order and Islamic religious life. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Freeze

NEJS 104a Comparative Semitic Languages
[ hum ]
An introduction to and description of the Semitic languages, the internal relationships within this linguistic family, and the distinctive grammatical and lexical features of the individual languages. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Wright

NEJS 174a Minorities and Others in Israeli Literature and Culture
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: HBRW 141a, 143a, 144a, or 146a or permission of the instructor. Taught in Hebrew.
An exploration of poetics and identity in modern Hebrew literature. By offering a feminist and psychoanalytic reading of various Hebrew texts, this seminar explores questions of personal and national identity, otherness, visibility, and marginality in the Israeli context. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Szobel

NEJS 174b Israeli Women Writers on War and Peace
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: HBRW 141a, 143a, 144a, or 146a, or permission of the instructor. Taught in Hebrew.
An exploration of nationalism and gender in Modern Hebrew literature. By discussing various Hebrew texts and Israeli works of art and film, this course explores women's relationship to Zionism, war, peace, the state, politics, and processes of cultural production. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Szobel

NEJS 178a Love, Sex, and Power in Israeli Culture
[ hum ]
Taught in Hebrew. Prerequisite: HBRW 141a, 143a, 144a, or 146a or permission of the instructor.
Explores questions of romance, gender, marriage, and jealousy in the Israeli context by offering a feminist and psychoanalytic reading of Hebrew texts, works of art, and film. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Szobel

NEJS 180b Introduction to Israeli Literature, Film, and Culture
[ hum ]
Examines trends and myths in modern Hebrew literature. Looking at both central, established and edgy, new stories, poems and films, the course examines various aspects of the way Israelis talk to each other and the world, and presents a multilayered--often conflicting--picture of Israeli culture through different voices and mediums. Taught in English. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Szobel

NEJS 185a Topics in Israeli Social and Political History
[ hum ]
Not recommended for first year students.
Focuses on key topics in the shaping of the Israeli experience, including Zionist colonization; absorption of immigrants; shaping Jewish identity, personal and national, in a secular sense; and homeland/Diaspora relations. Comparative perspectives are employed. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Troen

NEJS 190a Describing Cruelty
[ hum wi ]
Grapples with the difficult subject of cruelty. Focus is on political or public cruelty in the non-Western world with a particular emphasis on the modern Middle East. The method is comparative and involves critical examination of the intellectual, visual, and literary works that engage with the phenomenon. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Makiya

NEJS 192a War and Peace in Israeli Thought and Praxis
[ hum ]
Despite initial visions of a conflict-free process of settling Palestine, issues of war and peace became central to the Zionist experience. Course examines how Zionism, as an intellectual movement and a polity, has understood the conflict and coped with it. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Troen

NEJS 196b The Middle Eastern City: Intersections of Art, Literature and History
[ hum nw ]
Begins with the pre-modern Middle Eastern city, old constructs that are constitutive of identity, and concludes by examining the culture and forms of Jerusalem, Mecca, Cairo, Tehran, Beirut and Baghdad. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Makiya

NEJS 198a Islam, the Middle East, and the West
[ hum ]
Explores the major political, socio-economic, and cultural changes in the Middle East from the rise of Islam to present times with emphasis on Islam's encounter with The West. Focuses on common roots and mutual influences and analysis of (mis)perceptions as historically constructed cultural categories and of their legacy in the modern world. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 253a Zionism and Its Critics: Contested Visions of Jewish Nationalism
The modern articulation of collective Jewish experience in terms of a nation has taken on a variety of competing forms. Places the development of Jewish nationalist visions into historical context and studies the different strands of cultural, religious, and political Zionism, as well as several non-Zionist forms such as Bundism and autonomism. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Sheppard

NEJS 287a Seminar on Nationalism and Religion in the Middle East
Examines major issues in the development of nationalism and its interaction with religion in the Arab countries, Israel, Turkey, and Iran in the twentieth century. Topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 289a Seminar: States and Minorities in the Middle East
Examines major issues in the relations between the state and ethnic and religious minorities in the Arab countries, Israel, Turkey, and Iran in the twentieth century. Topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

POL 128a The Politics of Revolution: State Violence and Popular Insurgency in the Third World
[ nw ss ]
Introduction to twentieth-century revolutionary movements in the Third World, focusing on the emergence of peasant-based resistance and revolution in the world beyond the West, and on the role of state violence in provoking popular involvement in protest, rebellion, and insurgency. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Thaxton

POL 145b The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe and the United States
[ ss ]
Few issues have caused more public furor than the accommodation of Islam in Europe and the United States. It is often overlooked that Muslims are developing the institutions of their faith in societies that offer everyone the freedom of choice and expression. This seminar looks at religious discrimination as a barrier to the civic and political inclusion of Muslim immigrants, the responses of governments, courts, and the general public, and what we know about the balance among "fundamentalist, " "moderate," and "progressive" Muslim viewpoints. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 160a The War on Global Terrorism
[ ss ]
Intended for juniors and seniors, but open to all students.
Explores how 9/11 changed our lives. The course surveys the build-up of Al Queda leading up to the 9/11 attacks and ten years of counter terrorism. Students are given an introduction to Jihadist doctrines and Al Queda's structure, as well as theories about the cause of terrorism. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Klausen

POL 166b Seminar: The Middle East in International Relations
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: POL 15a or equivalent.
Explores how the concepts, theories, and paradigms from the field of International Relations can be used to understand the politics of the Middle East. usually offered every second year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 169b U.S. Policy in the Middle East
[ ss ]
Provides students with an understanding of the evolution of U.S. policy in the Middle East and the manner in which the local parties have perceived it. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 170a Arms Control in the Middle East
[ ss ]
Explores and analyzes the theories behind, dynamics within, and problems encountered with arms control as part of regional security in the Middle East. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Feldman

POL 177b National Security Strategy: The Case of Israel
[ ss ]
Examines key concepts in national security studies and accesses their relevance to Israel's pursuit of national security. Evaluates the extent to which Israel's strategy is typical of small states facing numerically superior neighbors. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Feldman

SOC 119a Deconstructing War, Building Peace
[ ss ]
Ponders the possibility of a major "paradigm shift" under way from adversarialism and war to mutuality and peace. Examines war culture and peace culture and points in between, with emphases on the role of imagination in social change, growing global interdependence, and political, economic, gender, social class, and social psychological aspects of war and peace. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Fellman

WMGS 140a Diversity of Muslim Women's Experience
[ ss ]
A broad introduction to the multidimensional nature of women's experiences in the Muslim world. As both a cultural and religious element in this vast region, understanding Islam in relation to lives of women has become increasingly imperative. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Shavarini

WMGS 141a Gender in Iranian Cinema
[ hum nw ]
With a primary focus on gender, this class explores post-Revolutionary Iranian cinema. Topics include politics; family relationships; women's social, economic, and political roles; and Iran's religious structure. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Mandrell and Ms. Shavarini

IMES Elective Courses: Modern Period

ECON 122b The Economics of the Middle East
[ nw ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or 10a or the equivalent. Does not count toward the upper-level elective requirement for the major in economics.
Examines the Middle East economies – past experiences, present situation, and future challenges – drawing on theories, policy formulations and empirical studies of economic growth, trade, poverty, income distribution, labor markets, finance and banking, government reforms, globalization, and Arab-Israeli political economy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Habibi

HIST 111a History of the Modern Middle East
[ nw ss ]
An examination of the history of the Middle East from the nineteenth century to contemporary times. Focuses on political events and intellectual trends, such as imperialism, modernity, nationalism, and revolution, that have shaped the region in the modern era. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Sohrabi

HIST 111b The Iranian Revolution: From Monarchy to the Islamic Republic
[ nw ss ]
An examination of the roots of the Iranian revolution of 1979, the formation of the Islamic Republic, and its evolution over the past 30 years. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Sohrabi

HIST 112a Nationalism in the Middle East
[ nw ss ]
Seminar examining the history of nationalism in the modern Middle East. Covers divergent theories and practices of nationalism in the region, and explores the roles of gender, memory, historiography, and art in the formation and articulation of Middle East nationalisms. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Sohrabi

HIST 178a Middle Eastern Encounters in the Age of Colonialism
[ nw ss wi ]
Examines Middle Eastern travel to Europe in the nineteenth century. Topics include: the city, the transfer of knowledge, spectacles and world fairs, gender and sexuality, notions of sovereignty, and the immigrant experience. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Sohrabi

IMES 105a War and Revolution in the Middle East
[ hum nw wi ]
Considers the impact of war and revolution in the shaping of the modern Middle East starting with the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. Focuses on the violent turning points that have changed the lives of millions of people.
Mr. Makiya

NEJS 145a History of the State of Israel
[ hum ]
Examines the development of the State of Israel from its foundation to the present time. Israel's politics, society, and culture will be thematically analyzed. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Troen

NEJS 145b Ideology and Society in Contemporary Israel: Major Controversies
[ hum ]
Provides advanced students with a comprehensive understanding of several major trends in contemporary Israeli society, by presenting and representing major controversies among scholars of different approaches, paradigms, and disciplines (sociology, political science, law, cultural studies, etc). Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Troen

NEJS 177a The Holocaust in Israeli and Jewish Literature
[ hum ]
A broad survey of Holocaust writings in Modern Jewish literature. Examines the psychological, social, moral, and aesthetic challenges involved in representing the Holocaust in Israeli, American, and European context through literary texts, theoretical research, works of art, and film. Taught in English. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Szobel

NEJS 185b The Making of the Modern Middle East
[ hum nw ss wi ]
Open to all students.
Discusses the processes that led to the emergence of the modern Middle East: disintegration of Islamic society, European colonialism, reform and reaction, and the rise of nationalism and the modern states. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 187a Political Islam
[ hum nw wi ]
Traces the recent reemergence of Islam by examining its position in modern Middle Eastern socioeconomic and political life. Uses Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Afghanistan, and Iran as major test cases for assessing the success of political Islam. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 188b The Destruction of the Ottoman Empire, 1800-1923
[ hum nw ]
Examines the historical processes that led to the destruction of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of new nation-states in the Balkans and the Middle East: nationalism, European imperialism, and Ottoman reform and its ultimate failure. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 193a Societies in Conflict: Exploring the Middle East through Authentic Materials
[ hum nw ]
Prerequisites: A 30-level Hebrew and 30-level Arabic course.
An upper-level language course to help advanced learners of Hebrew and Arabic to deepen their understanding of the relationship between conflicting societies, Arab and Israeli, through implementation of their knowledge of the languages. Materials include excerpts from literature, film, and other media. Usually offered every year.
Staff

NEJS 197b Political Cultures of the Middle East
[ hum nw wi ]
Explores the way in which people make assumptions about power, authority, and justice. Focuses on Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq, explaining the evolving language of politics in these states. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Makiya

POL 133a Contemporary Politics in the Middle East
[ nw ss ]
Examines the Western impact on the Middle East state system, and the key challenges to the stability of these states and to the regional order. Topics include Arab nationalism; religion and minorities, the Arab-Israeli conflict and other issues. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Bellin

POL 134a Strategies of Islamic Political Activism in the Arab Middle East
[ ss ]
Islamic oriented, social and political movements in the Middle East politics, both violent and on-violent, ranging from the populist Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to salafi-jihadist organizations such as Al-Qaeda. Particular attention to understanding developments since 9/11 and the war in Iraq. Usually offered every year.
Staff

POL 164a Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East
[ ss ]
Evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the efforts to resolve it. Focuses on key documents and developments with particular emphasis on the Palestinian-Israeli dimension, and the different narratives adopted by the parties on the conflict. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Feldman

SOC 157a Sociology of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation
[ ss ]
An introduction to Jewish and Palestinian nationalisms; relevant sociological, political, religious, and resource issues; social psychological dimensions; and the conflict in world politics. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Fellman

IMES Elective Courses: Classical Period

NEJS 124a Arabic Literature, Hebrew Literature (500-1500)
[ hum ]
A comparative study of Arabic and Hebrew literature from before the rise of Islam through the fifteenth century. Studies major trends in Arabic poetry and fiction and how Jewish authors utilized Arabic motifs in their Hebrew writings, both secular and sacred, and sometimes wrote in Arabic themselves. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Decter

NEJS 144a Jews in the World of Islam
[ hum nw ]
Examines social and cultural history of Jewish communities in the Islamic world. Special emphasis is placed on the pre-modern Jewish communities. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Decter

NEJS 186a Introduction to the Qur'an
[ hum nw ]
Traces the history of the Qur'an as text, its exegesis, and its role in inter-religious polemics, law, theology, and politics. Examines the role of the Qur'an in modern Islamic movements. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lumbard

NEJS 186b The Quran: Composition, Collection, and Commentary
[ hum ]
Prerequisites: IMES 104a or NEJS 186a or permission of the instructor.
Examines the historical development and collection of the Quran, and the emergence of the different schools of Quranic commentary within various branches of Islam and the central themes upon which they focus. Emphasis is placed upon the guiding principles of Quranic commentary and the way in which they give rise to a hermeneutical tradition that is particular to Islam. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lumbard

NEJS 187b Slavery and Concubinage in Islamic History
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: IMES 104a.
Studies the diverse forms of slavery found in the Islamic world throughout its history, investigating such topics as domestic slavery, military slavery, concubinage and the harem, eunuchs, the slave trade, and abolition. Special one-time offering, fall 2012.
Ms. Urban

NEJS 188a The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1800
[ hum nw ss ]
A historical survey of the Middle East from the establishment of the Ottoman Empire as the area's predominant power to 1800. Topics include Ottoman institutions and their transformation, and the Ottoman Empire as a world power. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 190b Islamic Philosophy
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: IMES 104a or NEJS 186a or a course on Islam.
An examination of the development and teachings of the Islamic philosophical tradition, covering its development from the Greek philosophical tradition and in response to Islamic teachings, and the relationship between Islamic philosophy and theology up to the Safavid period. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lumbard

NEJS 191a Introduction to Islamic Theology
[ hum ]
An introduction to Islamic theology and intellectual tradition. After studying the formative period of the Prophet Mohammad's life, students examine the development of law, doctrines, beliefs, philosophy, and the diversity of thought in Islamic tradition. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 194b Sufi Teachings
[ hum nw ]
An examination of the teaching and practices of the Sufi tradition. Explores the foundations of Sufism, its relation to other aspects of Islam and the development of Sufi teachings in both poetry and prose. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lumbard

NEJS 195a Muhammad: The History of a Prophet
[ hum ]
Studies the life of Muhammad based upon the earliest biographical accounts and the academic analyses in both Islamic and non-Islamic sources, accompanied by an examination of his legacy in different aspects of Islam, such as Shi'ism and Sufism. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Lumbard

NEJS 196a Marriage, Divorce, and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law
[ hum nw ]
Using law to understand Islamic gender discourses and Muslim women's lives, the class addresses broad areas where law and gender intersect jurisprudential method and classical doctrines; women's use of courts to settle disputes; and contemporary debates over legal reforms. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

NEJS 197a Survey of Islamic Law
[ hum ]
Explores the classical sources of the Islamic legal decision-making process and modern challenges to them. Examines cases of people on the margins, such as heretics, non-Muslims, and women, over different historical periods and geographical regions, to understand compatibility and incompatibles between abstract legal principles and historical realities. Usually offered every third year.
Staff