Sixth Video
![]() |
ISLAMIC SOCIETIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: RELIGION, HISTORY AND CULTUREProfessor Asma Afsaruddin Middle East Studies Course Structure: Two 75-minute classes per week |
Image courtesy of the University of Notre Dame and
Stephen Vinson. Used with Permission.
Course Description
This new course offers a panoramic survey of the Islamic societies of the Middle East and North Africa from their origins to the present day. It will deal with the history and expansion of Islam, both as a world religion and civilization, from its birth in the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century to its subsequent spread to other parts of western Asia and North Africa. Issues of religious practices, political governance and movements, gender, social relations and cultural norms will be explored in relation to a number of Islamic societies in the region. The course foregrounds the complexities and diversity present in a critical geographic area of what we call the Islamic world today.



















