HIST-SS 533/1 & HIST-SS 533/2: The "Greater Middle East":
Each of these courses can be taken separately. If taken as a sequence, they offer students a comprehensive introduction to a broad swath of the world in which Islam is the most widely practiced faith, and with which the United States is intimately -- and increasingly -- involved. Stretching from Morocco to Kashmir, from the Balkans to Sudan to the former Soviet Central Asian republics, this vast area includes the world's oldest crossroads in the heart of the Middle East and a contemporary cauldron of issues competing for our attention.
HIST-533/1 The Middle East:
Four class periods. The fall term concentrates on the interior Middle East and North Africa. We survey history from the dawn of Islam to the present day, then examine selected issues in depth. These issues have included the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Gulf War, statelessness and terrorism, political Islam, women and minorities, water and oil, the current situation in Iraq and the post-9/11 world. There will be guest speakers, films and opportunities for corresponding via email with students in the region. In addition to the books used in recent years, readings have included journal articles and primary documents. Andover's Intranet and off-campus Internet sites are used extensively as resources and in daily assignments. Students write a research or other major paper or contribute weekly reports from a variety of online media sites that they follow regularly throughout the term. There is no final exam.
HIST-533/2 Central & South Asia:
Four class periods. The winter term concentrates on the area between the Persian Gulf and the borders of Russia and China. There is an historical survey highlighting major themes, followed by an in-depth investigation of modern and contemporary issues. These have included Iran's revolutions, the partition of India, the Indian-Pakistani rivalry and its nuclear and Kashmiri dimensions, political Islam, and the emergence of Muslim-majority states in Central Asia following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Andover's Intranet and off-campus Internet sites are used extensively as resources and in daily assignments. Students write a research or other major paper or contribute weekly reports from a variety of online media sites that they follow regularly throughout the term. There is no final exam.
Major fall term readings have included:
Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem;
Arthur Goldschmidt, A Concise History of the Middle East;
Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples;
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations;
David Lamb, The Arabs: Journeys Beyond the Mirage;
Bernard Lewis, The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years;
Peter Mansfield, The Arabs and
Don Peretz, The Middle East Today. |
Major winter term readings have included:
Tom Bissell, Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia;
George Crile, Charlie Wilson's War;
Sunil Khilnani, The Idea of India;
Ahmed Rashid, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia; and
Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. |
As in the fall of 2003, the principal text during the fall term of 2004 will be Gilles Kepel, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Students also read journal articles, news stories and documents from the region.
(Mr. Drench)
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