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Session Topic Readings Key Dates
1 Introduction to the Geography and History of the Middle East; the Rise of Islam
 Chapter One from Peoples and Cultures, pp. 1-29
2 Islamic Civilizations and Societies
 Chapter Two from Peoples and Cultures, pp. 30-57; VIDEO: The Five Pillars
3 The Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods I
 Begin reading Edward Said's Orientalism; MOVIE: The Battle of Algiers
4 The Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods II
 Finish reading Orientalism; VIDEO: Edward Said on Orientalism
 Response Paper #1
5 Religious and Intellectual Trends and Movements
 Chapter Three from Peoples and Cultures, pp. 58-89
6 Diversity of the Middle East: Ethnicity, Communal Identity,   and Authority
 Chapters Four and Ten from Peoples and Cultures, pp. 90-119; 251-277
7 Kinship, Marriage, and the Family
 Chapters Eight and Nine from Peoples and Cultures, pp. 201-249; Intro, pp. 1-28 and "Gender and Sexuality: Belonging to the National Order," in Hermeneutics and Honor, pp. 70-88
8 Villages, Urban Lives, and Change
 Chapters Six and Seven from Peoples and Cultures, pp. 143-200; VIDEO: The Islamic City
 Mid-term exam
9 Popular Islam: Folk Practices and Beliefs
 Annemarie Schimmel, "Mystical Islam and Sufi Brotherhoods," "Popular Piety and the Veneration of Saints" (from CP)
10 The Palestinian Nakba—Tragedy and Conflict
 William Cleveland, "The Palestine Mandate and the Birth of the State of Israel" (from CP); and Men in the Sun (entire novel); MOVIE (optional): The Dupes (adaptation of Men in the Sun)
11 Gendered Identities and Islamic Feminism Afsaruddin, ed., Hermeneutics and Honor, pp. 29-54; 70-88; 89-116; 159-88
12 The Onslaught of Modernity I: Are Western and Muslim Societies on a Collision Course? John Trumpbour, "The Clash of Civilizations," in Qureshi and Sells, ed., The New Crusades (from CP); Samuel Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations," (online); Mazrui and Mazrui's "Islam and Civilization," in Tehranian and Chapell, ed., Dialogue of Civilizations: A New Peace Agenda for a New Millenium (from CP)
 Preliminary Term Paper Proposal Due
13 The Rise of Political Islam and Militancy Chapter Eleven from Peoples and Cultures, pp. 278-304; and Unholy War (entire book)
14 The Onslaught of Modernity II: The Challenges of Political Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Globalization Juan Cole, "The Modernity of Theocracy" (from CP); and Mehran Kamrava, "The Question of Democracy" (from CP); Class lecture by Professor John Voll of Georgetown University, "Modernities, Democracies, and Islam(s)"
 Response Paper #2
15 The Middle East in the Age of Globalization and Cybernetics Jon Anderson, "Wiring Up: The Internet Difference for Muslim Networks" (from CP)
16 Finals Week (no new material) Final exam and Term Paper Due
Copyright 2012, by the Contributing Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License
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